Track Photographer Troy Hugen!
Monday, May 8, 2017
By Joanne Cram
Marion County’s Troy Hugen isn’t a new face around Knoxville Raceway, but he does have a new title. He was selected as Knoxville Raceway’s official track photographer over the winter.
Troy is a plant manager for Helena Industries by day, and hobby photographer by evening and weekend; as well as a busy husband to Brenda, and dad of Trey, Taryn, Ty, and Teah. Between work and the kids’ crazy schedules, Troy has a lot of subjects to choose from for his photography passion. Adding to that passion is his love of sprint car racing at Knoxville Raceway.
Troy dabbled in photography when in high school, drawn to the creative outlet and ability to capture life’s moments. He began his photography career in the late 1980’s, capturing sporting events while a teacher in northwest Iowa. When he started a family in 1992, he quickly learned that finding time for hobbies and passions outside of raising a family was a difficult thing to do. Photography is one of those passions that allows the photographer to fill the hobby into pockets of time that appear, and not be confined to tee times or game schedules.
Things really changed back in 2003 and 2004 with the age of digital media, making the expense of film and developing pictures a thing of the past. Digital images allow the photographer to immediately assess the photo, looking for the perfect shot. Troy continued to work with sports teams, wildlife, as well as a few indoor events in his photography career. He has had the state association contract for football championships for the past seven years, and subcontracts for state wrestling. Troy also does some basketball shooting, as well as the Dam to Dam marathon contracting. You can find many of his images throughout Marion County at community events.
Troy’s passion at Knoxville Raceway deepened when his good friend, Chris Walraven, decided to get back behind the wheel of a sprint car after several years’ hiatus. Troy was able to capture some great shots of his buddy, as well as dabble in capturing images of other sprints that he submitted to the track. He is excited for this new opportunity to shoot for the track many Saturday nights throughout the spring and summer, and is enjoying getting to know a lot of the race family better.
Off the track, Troy and his wife Brenda are very passionately affiliated with The Raining Season Ministry, which supports “The Covering Orphanage” in Sierra Leone, on the west side of Africa. The Hugen family is working towards adding to their family of 6, by adopting a pre-adolescent child from Sierra Leone. Freetown, Sierra Leone, is the second poorest metropolitan city in the world; with a large population of children in orphanages due to the Ebola outbreak, leaving thousands of children orphaned and without family to care for them. Troy’s wife, Brenda, and their daughter, Taryn (a sophomore at Pella Christian High), will be embarking on an eleven-day mission trip to Sierra Leone later this summer, in hopes of connecting with their newest family member.
Another passion of the Hugen Family is GiGi’s Playhouse, an organization that supports and helps people with Down Syndrome. The Hugen’s youngest daughter, Teah, is eight years old and is an energetic, high functioning child with Down Syndrome. This organization is the only world wide network of Down Syndrome achievement centers. The programs and support provided by GiGi’s are free to individuals of all ages, and offer help and support to their families and communities, and strive to help those with Down Syndrome achieve their best potential in their communities.
You can see Troy's work on his Facebook page titled "Troy L. Hugen Photography" where he has work from Knoxville Raceway to local sports and scenes from around the Pella area.
|