WHNPA STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR CONTEST 2008

© 2008 Michael Mullady

Michael Mullady of San Francisco State University was chosen as the 2008 White House News
Photographers Association Photographer of the Year on March 15, 2008 at a public judging at American
University. The three esteemed judges of the competition this year were Katie Ellsworth, Photo Editor for
Time Magazine; Gina Martin, Collections Manager for the National Geographic Society + Look3 Festival
Coordinator; and WHNPA 2007 Photographer of the Year Jahi Chikwendiu, staff photographer for The
Washington Post.

Michael’s portfolio included two photo stories: “Children of Lead,” which studied a town in Peru where 99%
of the children have lead poisoning, and “Delicate Strength,” which followed a young woman struggling
to overcome stereotypes of people with disabilities. Michael will receive a $1,000 scholarship, two tickets
to the Eyes of History (tm) Awards Gala in Washington, D.C., a double spread in the Eyes of History (tm)
Awards book and a year membership to contest sponsor Digital Railroad.

The judges also awarded the portfolios of Jenn Ackerman of Ohio University, Travis Dove of Ohio University,
and Justin Maxon of San Francisco State University with Honorable Mention awards.

WHNPA would like to thank American University and Professor Bill Gentile for all their help in hosting this year's judging!

Download a PDF version of this press release

2008 STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Michael Mullady is a 24-year-old student at San
Francisco State University in San Francisco, CA.

Mullady is a California native who grew up in
diversity of the Bay Area. He began his career in
Photography just out of High School. Upon graduation,
he split his time between college in the Bay Area and
photographing in the vast wilderness of the California
Sierras. Shortly into experimenting with a camera,
Michael realized the power of photography and found a
deep desire to examine photojournalism.

Mullady pursued internships at Santa Maria Times and
Palo Alto Weekly, then immediately transferred into
San Francisco State University's Photojournalism
program.

Mullady's passion for photography lies in long-term
documentary projects. He seeks to find and tell the
often-untold stories that surround us in our everyday
lives. Michael mission is to use his photography as a
medium to open dialogue and ignite change. He feels
that if his images can make you see and feel just a
fraction of what he does, then he's accomplished what
he set out to do.

In 2007, Mullady was named National Press
Photographers Association College Photographer of the
Year. His photographs earned him second place in the
2008 Hearst Foundation News and Sports Contest and
First Place Picture Story in the Associated College
Press Annual Photo Excellence Awards of 2007. He also
received a silver medal for spot news and a bronze
medal for domestic picture story from Missouri's
CPOY62 Contest.

Mullady is a firm believer that documentary
photography is more about who you are a person than
who you are as a photographer, and considers himself a
visual humanitarian. He has a specific interest in
documenting environmentally-themed social issues in
developing countries.

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