The White House News Photographers Association announced that Getty Images photographer Chip Somodevilla has been named WHNPA Photographer of the Year and Alex Wong, also of Getty Images won Political Photo of the Year in the 2010 ‘The Eyes of History™ contest judging at the National Geographic Society in Washington.
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES
Chip Somodevilla is a Getty Images staff photographer based in Washington, DC. A 1995 graduate of the University of North Texas, Somodevilla worked for the Fort Wayne News- Sentinel, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Detroit Free Press before moving to the nation’s capital in 2004. Somodevilla was twice named Michigan Press Photographer of the Year and was awarded the Political Photo of the Year by the White House News Photographers Association in 2007. His work has been honored by the University of Missouri’s Pictures of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism competitions. Chip’s photography has been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek and many other publications. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife and two
children.
Somodevilla learned of his win while in attendance at the judging, and said,“ I’m extremely humbled and really surprised. To have my work recognized by such a wonderful group of judges, and to be congratulated by my peers - it’s the greatest honor I could receive.”
POLITICAL PHOTO OF THE YEAR - ALEX WONG, GETTY IMAGES
The Political Photo of the Year was awarded to Alex Wong of Getty Images, for his photograph of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifying on Capitol Hill. Wong said on learning the news of his win, “That totally surprised me. I didn’t expect that at all.” Alex Wong was born and raised in Hong Kong. He went to New York City to pursue his college degree in photography after he had worked for a number of newspapers and magazines in the city that he grew up. Alex moved to Washington, DC, for an internship at Newsmakers, the very first online news photo agency, after graduation. He was hired as a staff photographer by Getty Images in 1999 and has been covering the White House and the Congress for Getty's Washington bureau since then.
“The WHNPA ‘Eyes of History™’ winning images contest winners showcase the extraordinary talents of our members and this year is no exception. The winners are the best of the best, and I congratulate them on all their wins! ,“ said WHNPA president, John Harrington.
The judges for the 2010 ‘The Eyes of History™’ stills competition were: Tom Kennedy, former Managing Editor for Multimedia at The Washington Post and Director of Photography for the National Geographic Magazine, Melissa Farlow, freelance photographer and past Pulitzer Prize winner, and Stephen M. Katz, former POY Newspaper Photographer of the Year and staff photographer for The Virginian-Pilot.
POLITICAL NEWS PHOTO OF THE YEAR - ALEX WONG, GETTY IMAGES
photo by Alex Wong, Getty Images, UNTITLED
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 19, 2009.
VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: BETHANY SWAIN, CNN
Bethany Swain of CNN has been awarded the 2010 WHNPA Video Photographer of the Year in the ‘Eyes of History™’ video contest.
Bethany is the first female recipient of the WHNPA’s Video Photographer of the Year Award in the association’s history. She has worked for CNN since 2002, and it is her third year placing in the competition. Swain won first place in five categories in the photography and editing competitions for stories including “Men in Trees,” “Playing with Fire,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and “In Focus." WHNPA Television contest co-chair Pege’ Gilgannon said of Swain’s win, “it’s just a huge day for the organization. We’re just so incredibly proud of her. Her work runs the gamut, she was definitely the winner.” Swain, at the judging to witness her win first-hand said, “It a great weekend to see such amazing work, and I’m honored that the judges enjoyed and appreciated my stories.”
Bethany Swain has been a photojournalist for CNN for more than six years. From covering the political conventions to spending 22 days embedded with Gov. Palin’s campaign, Swain played an active role in the network’s America Votes 2008 coverage. Since 2002, Swain has been a versatile member of CNN’s team. In addition to capturing the political process, Swain also has travelled to Afghanistan to shoot, write and edit stories on NATO troops on the ground, as well as to the Bahamas and Florida to cover the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith’s death. In Dec. 2007, Swain launched the award-winning In Focus series, a collection of natural sound stories crafted by CNN photojournalists on a variety of topics, including the spirit of giving and veterans issues. Swain’s shooting and editing also has received praise from the White House News Photographer’s Association. Before coming to CNN, Swain worked in a number of local news newsrooms, including WPTZ in Vermont, WJAR in Rhode Island and NewChannel 8 in Washington. Swain graduated from the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, where she worked as both station manager and chief photographer at ICTV, the college television station. During high school in Burlington, Vermont, Swain produced her own documentary as well as interned at a local cable access station.
“The members of the WHNPA travel the world and tell the stories both domestically and internationally that are the Eyes of History. Swain’s win particularly, is a first for the WHNPA, and I commend her for her entries which showed a spectacular breadth and depth,” said John Harrington, President of the White House News Photographers Association.
VIDEO EDITOR OF THE YEAR: CHRIS SHLEMON, ITN
Chris Shlemon of ITN Channel 4 News has been named Video Editor of the Year. This is Shlemon’s third WHNPA contest win. He has been in broadcasting since 1983. He received first place awards for three entries, “Carbon Capture,” “The Legend of Goldman Sachs,” and “Operation Panther’s Claw.” “This is completely unexpected, I’m just thrilled!” Chris said upon getting the news of his win, “It always comes down to the people and I couldn’t have done this without them.”
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded over Florida in 1986 on Chris' first official day at ITN. The tone was set for what has been a fascinating career of covering every major political event, breaking news story, natural disaster and cultural trend in the U.S. and around the world. Growing up in Chicago during the exciting and tumultuous 60’s sparked his fascination with television news. He says it's what he always wanted to do. Covering the United States for a British television network over the last 20 years has given Shlemon a unique foreign perspective of America. "So many aspects of American life, things that we take for granted, fascinate the rest of the world. It’s been my privilege to broadcast stories about America to a foreign audience on a daily basis. We always seek to engage our viewers and try to give them a little “eye candy” when we put our stories together. I’m passionate about editing and have the good fortune of working with some of the best news photographers, correspondents, and producers in the business. "
The judges for the television contest were: Anne Herbst, KUSA-TV in Denver; Gregory Hickey, an editor at Mills James Productions; Michael Thorne, of WABC-TV; Steve Sweitzer of Sweitzer Productions; Steve Childress of Forerunner Productions; and Marc VanSchaick, of WABC-7.
NEW MEDIA awards have been incorporated into the main contest site, with illustrative screenshots and links to the winning new media entries on other web sites.
The top winners of the Still, Television and New Media contests wll be honored at the annual Eyes of History’ Gala on May 15, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington. The black-tie event celebrates all the winning photojournalists and the President of the United States. Nearly 1,000 guests, including government dignitaries and industry celebrities attend. The White House News Photographers Association is an 89-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional photojournalists. The WHNPA aims to provide professional and educational outreach to its members and the community through scholarships, programming, an annual competition and a celebration of the industry at the annual ‘Eyes of History™’ gala. The Television competition and the New Media contest were also judged over the weekend at National Geographic Channel headquarters in Washington. For more information please contact John Harrington at john.harrington@whnpa.org (202-255-4500) or executive director Heidi Elswick at heidi@whnpa.org (301-606-8251). For further information about ‘The Eyes of History™’ and to view the winning images and videos, visit the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.
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The WHNPA and “The Eyes of History™” are sponsored in part by Nikon, Tiffen/Domke, PNY, and Continental Airlines.
STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: DIEGO JAMES ROBLES
Originally from Southern California, Diego James Robles discovered his passion for photography while on deployment with the U.S. army in Kosovo.While studying criminology at a community college, an inspiring tour of the Los Angeles Times newsroom made him decide to switch careers. Diego soon applied and was accepted into Ohio University's School of Visual Communication. There he served as the photography editor for the school's yearbook and the president of the NPPA student chapter. After finishing school in November, Diego currently freelances for different news organization in the heart of the Navajo Nation and Southwest. Diego has interned for El Deber: Diario Mayor (Bolivia), Democrat & Chronicle and The Orange County Register. On March 29, he will join the staff of The Denver Post.
CONTEST ARCHIVE has links to ten years of WHNPA contests ranging from 2009 - 2000.
If you havent seen them (or if you'd like another look), check it out!
For example, here are some of the award winning photographs from the 2009 contest. (Flash slideshow)
The White House News Photographers Association announced that Getty Images photographer Chip Somodevilla has been named WHNPA Photographer of the Year and Alex Wong, also of Getty Images won Political Photo of the Year in the 2010 ‘The Eyes of History™ contest judging at the National Geographic Society in Washington.
Bethany Swain of CNN has been awarded the 2010 WHNPA Video Photographer of the Year in the ‘Eyes of History™’ video contest.
