(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 26, 2022) – The White House News Photographers Association® announced that Ethan Swope of Santa Monica College has been named the WHNPA Student Still Photographer of the Year, and in the ninth year of the student video division, Lucas Pruitt of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill has been named the WHNPA Student Video Photographer of the Year in the hybrid judging of the 2022 WHNPA ‘Eyes of History®’ student contest judging.
“Congratulations to Lucas Pruitt and Ethan Swope for winning the top awards in the student competitions this year. We look forward to seeing important work from both of them for years to come. They are both off to a tremendous start in their early careers!” said WHNPA President Whitney Shefte. Swope and Pruitt will be honored at the ‘Eyes of History®’ gala to be held later in 2022.
The judges for the WHNPA 2022 ‘Eyes of History®’ Student still photography competition were: Jabin Botsford, of The Washington Post, Elizabeth Frantz, Independent, and Stefani Reynolds of AFP.
When informed of his win Swope said, “Thank you for this great honor from the White House News Photographers Association and thank you to the many incredible photojournalists who inspire me.”
“Swope had a great consistent style that shined through the range of stories,” said Botsford. Frantz added that his win “had the most consistent vision,” and there was “a diversity in stories, with strong singles to compliment,” noted Reynolds. Maxim Elramsisy, photo editor at the student newspaper, The Corsair, at Santa Monica College said, “The Corsair photo staff looks up to Ethan for his outstanding photojournalistic work, his careful and compassionate storytelling, and his astonishing visuals. We look forward to every story that he works on and we are very proud of him for receiving this well-deserved honor.”
When told about his win by Student Video Chair Bethany Swain, Pruitt said “I am overwhelmed to receive this honor. This is a competition with tons of history and many notable people have come before me. I love this work and this recognition motivates me to continue telling great stories.”
Judges for the student video contest were: Brian Hopkins of WJLA-TV, Lance Ing of NBC4 WRC-TV, and Joyce Lee of the Washington Post. When reflecting on all of the video stories, judge Lee said, “Overall, the student entries for the video contest were compelling and thoughtful reflections on the communities the students lived in. We were so impressed with how creatively the students worked around the limitations in place due to the pandemic and the visual wit the pieces displayed.”
Stories from Michigan State University, San Francisco State University and University of Maryland also placed top wins in the range of video categories. Additionally, Morgan Pravato of University of Maryland, was honored with an award of excellence in the video contest. Full results from both contests are available on the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.
The top winners of the still, broadcast, digital and student contests will be honored at the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ gala later this year in Washington. The black-tie event celebrates all the winning visual journalists. The WHNPA is celebrating its 101st anniversary in 2022.
The White House News Photographers Association is a 101-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional visual journalists. 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.
For more information, please contact Whitney Shefte at president@54.85.141.172 or executive director Heidi Elswick at heidi@54.85.141.172 (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.
