Contest wins!

A great way to end the year was news from wins in two international wedding photojournalism contests. In the 3rd quarter contest of 2007 in the Artistic Guild of the WPJA, I won a 1st, 14th and 16th place enough to earn 6th place overall for the quarter. And in the WPJA, I gathered an 8th place. This continues an unbroken streak of winning an award in the top 10 of every quarterly contest that I've entered since I joined the WPJA in 2005.


For the first place win, below, from Liz and Jason's wedding this fall, the Judges said "We love this rockstar image! There is so much going on: foreground, mid, background and the blast of light brings it all together. Great job by the photographer for getting in the middle of the party and making the viewer feel like they are on the dance floor."

The great part about this comment, and this image for me personally, is that it embodies what I work for as an artist and storyteller. Visually dynamic images that transport the viewer into the moment experienced by the subjects of the picture. Granted, this image is on the funky side and may not be for everyone. But, it's part of the range of work that I provide for my clients. Each wedding gets the full treatment from classic, elegant and pretty to funky, fun and unexpected. It reminds me of a comment a friend's wife made about photography when I was in graduate school at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism "A photographer shows you what something looks like but a photojournalist allows you to feel what it was like to be there."