I’m excited to say I have won a 2008 WPJA Award for Quarter 2. The shot comes from Bill & Beth’s wedding on May 3rd of this year. The image placed 16th in the Creative Portrait category for the contest.

The contest was judged by Preston Gannaway (Rocky Mountain News, Denver CO), Renee Byer (Senior Photojournalist with The Sacramento Bee and the recipient of a 2007 Pulitzer Prize), Annie Wells (L.A. Times and a 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner), and Janet Jensen (NPPA Region XI Photographer of The Year for 2007). Here’s what they had to say about the photo:

“I kept going back to the expressions on these people’s faces. It doesn’t feel traditionally “wedding” at all and that made it stick out of the group. It’s just a lovely, almost haunting photo of a couple.”

While shooting their on-location portraits, we made a last minute stop at this abandoned school house outside of Sherwood, WI before the reception. Beth was brave enough to allow me to drag her out in the rather dirty and nasty location to shoot in front of the building. I like the shot, because of it’s dark and eerie appeal. Definitely an unusual wedding portrait, but in black and white it has a lot of moodiness.

Thanks go out to Bill and Beth for helping me make this image!
~dave