(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 11, 2019) – The White House News Photographers Association® announced that Alex Kormann of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been named the WHNPA Student Still Photographer of the Year, and in the sixth year of the student video division Skyler Ballard of Western Kentucky University has been named the WHNPA Student Video Photographer of the Year in the 2019 WHNPA ‘Eyes of History®’ student contest judging on Feb. 9, 2019, at the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.
Additionally, Nathaniel Bailey of Kent State University has been named Runner-Up in the Student Stills contest and students from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Maryland, Ohio University and University of Florida also placed in the student video contest. Full results are available on the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.
The judges for the WHNPA 2019 ‘Eyes of History®’ Student still photography competition were Jabin Botsford, Jim Lo Scalzo and Carolyn VanHouten. The video judges were Beth Brown, Brian Hopkins, Alice Li and Nathan Luna.
In discussing Kormann’s win, Botsford said, “Alex had a strong mix of singles and stories. He utilized strong moments with complimentary lighting.”
Video winner Ballard won with a diverse collection of stories, which judge Li described as “creative and beautifully edited.” When told about her win by Student Video Chair Bethany Swain, Ballard said “I’ve found so much inspiration in past student and professional WHNPA entries, so getting that call was a good surprise and I’m excited to be part of this community now.”
“Judges observed that the bar was raised by this set of student entries,” said WHNPA President Whitney Shefte. “Our industry will be in good hands if storytellers such as these are entering the field.”
Judging for the professional divisions of still, video and multimedia also took place over the weekend at National Geographic.
The top winners of the still, video, multimedia and student contests will be honored at the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ gala on June 15, 2019, 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 a 98-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.
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.
Click here to download a pdf of this release.