A Legacy in Photojournalism

The Larsh Bristol and Bobby Model endowments support exemplary photojournalism.

By Tamara Linse

The impact of kindness ripples out way beyond the original intent, and philanthropy is a great example of this. It’s even more important when that philanthropy creates a legacy for someone whose life was tragically cut short.

Larsh Bristol

Larsh Bristol was a photojournalist known for his moving portrayals of human emotion. He was born and raised in Iowa but came to the University of Wyoming to earn his journalism degree. After graduation, he worked for a number of Wyoming newspapers before moving back to Iowa, where he was an award-winning photographer focusing on nature on the Upper Mississippi River. He died tragically in a car accident in 2006 at the age of 54.

In 2008, Bristol’s sister, Kappy, and father, James, created an endowment to honor his memory and to support those things that Larsh loved. The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship supports UW students whose photojournalism showcases strong visual storytelling.

The 2023 recipient of the Larsh Bristol fellowship is Ashton Hacke, who is pursuing degrees in journalism and political science at UW. He traveled the state documenting Wyoming’s print newsrooms and presented his final project at the 125th annual Wyoming Press Association Convention early this year in Casper, where he received a standing ovation. Locally and across the nation, the United States is losing its fourth estate — more than two newspapers a week nationally. Hacke documented Wyoming’s dedicated journalists who continue to report the news despite challenging circumstances.

“While working in Wyoming newsrooms, I noticed a group of people who dedicated their lives and went above and beyond for their work,” says Hacke. “I thought it would be important to go into the field and tell a story about the people in the newsroom and how print media is holding up in the state.”

Bobby Model

Bobby Model was a National Geographic photojournalist and a climber from Cody, Wyo. He earned a UW degree in environmental economics before capturing mountaineering expeditions the world over — starting with the free-climb of Trango Tower in Pakistan, when he was part of a team that included climber and fellow Wyomingite Todd Skinner. His work also appeared in the New York Times, Outside and Mother Jones, among others. He was in Kenya in 2009 when his life was tragically altered by a brick through a car windshield. He died in Cody two years later at the age of 36.

In 2019, Bobby’s father, Bob, created the Bobby Model Photojournalism Professorship and Bobby Model Excellence Fund in Photojournalism to honor the legacy of his son. The professorship and the excellence fund support photojournalism in the UW Department of Communication and Journalism.

The first Model Professor, appointed in 2021, is Shane Epping, who holds degrees in history, American culture studies and journalism. Epping’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, ESPN, the Associated Press, NFL.com, the Washington Post and NBC Nightly News, among others. He teaches photography, photojournalism, visual communication and qualitative research methods. His research examines how the intersection between photojournalism and health care can serve the public good. As a creative, Epping has earned award recognition for his photographs displayed in several international exhibits of scenes in Wyoming during the past two and a half years.

“The Bobby Model Photojournalism Professorship matters because we live in an environment, as noted by the Washington Post, where democracy dies in darkness,” says Epping. “The professorship encourages anybody with an interest in photography to tell stories with a camera and, in so doing, to make meaning of the world’s nuanced complexity.”