Jeremy Kern Washington DC United States 1st Place Children

Originally from Rochester New York Jeremy Kern is a hobbyist photographer and pediatric hospitalist at Children s National Medical Center in Washington DC. He lives in the DC area with his wife two daughters and their Golden Retriever Abby. Once a year Kern travels to a medical facility in rural Haiti with a group through Project MediShare. The group is composed of several physicians along with many nursing and medical students. It offers an educational opportunity to gain a better understanding of medical challenges outside of the United States. This particular photo was taken during during my third trip to Haiti in the Central Plateau outside of Thomonde where news of our arrival travels by word of mouth. On this particular day we were stationed in a cinder block schoolhouse. Gaps in the cinderblocks served as a window and allowed for light and ventilation. Families were already waiting at the makeshift clinic as we arrived. They will often spend the entire day there. Children who are waiting to be seen were peeking through the window curious to get a glimpse of the foreign doctor teams. I had been playing with them through the window most of the day and decided to take a picture. I pointed the camera which was at waist level and snapped. Although it took little planning I think it is a beautiful image of these inquisitive kids.