2008 Pulitzer Prizes' winners

hmmm… i have often had to stop and wipe away tears at what i see, stunned by what people do to each other, and yet also awed by what we stand by and observe.

i photographed my mother just after she died, it was the last photo of a series, it was so hard to stand and compose, to think about the light and composition, my dad was trying to close her eyes and mouth, i just took the pictures and was done with it. i cried as i drove home that night. it was the best that i could do in the moment, i guess that i could put the images up on a screen and say maybe this or that, it won’t change a thing though.

I’m just thankful that they didn’t give a “team” award. There’s been a trend toward the “staff” of a newspaper winning the award. For the last two years now they’ve given to individuals. ’Just my opinion.

Both submmissions by winners were very powerful. The one by Preston Gannaway (a woman photog and member of LS – http://www.lightstalkers.org/preston_gannaway) on the family whose mother was dying of cancer and the reaction afterwards was particularly good. This is a scene that many photogs have tried to capture but this one really pulled it off, IMO.

The shot by Latif was a terrific and shocking portrayal of the brutality of the current Burmese government. It also shows the importance of being at the right place at the right time. But even being at the right place is no good if you cannot take advantage. And sometimes you can increase the odds on being at the right place, which I suspect Latif did.

So congrats to both, especially Preston, who is a member of this community (and, on a personal note, a fellow North Carolinian).

was lucky enough to spend some time working with Preston last year while shooting a photojournalist documentary (’CHIMPING’)… not just an incredibly talented photographer, but an amazing person as well.