Inside Media: Celebrate FotoWeek DC
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- Michel duCille talks about his 1988 Feature win at the Miami Herald that chronicled the Crack Cocaine epidemic.
- Carol Guzy and other panelists talk about how difficult the editing process can be.
- Michael Williamson tells how he teaches students to think about what they’re shooting and explains that he’s a conduit for the reader.
- Lucian Perkins talks about the element of luck combined with timing and Michel duCille chimes in to emphasize this point.
- Matthew Lewis relates a humorous story about how he was asked to get a "two page spread" of a lawyer sitting behind a desk.
Photographers who capture the essence of raw human emotion win the Pulitzer. Five who won Pulitzers for their work at The Washington Post discussed the rewards and challenges of the job.
Michel duCille, winner of two Pulitzers, said each win was a humbling experience. His 1988 photo essay about a crack cocaine problem in a Miami housing project also led to a government investigation.
Carol Guzy, a three-time winner, agreed with duCille.
"The Pulitzer is the highest honor our profession can give. To have your photos deemed worthy means, hopefully, that they’ve touched people in some way," she said.
Capturing the most compelling image is tough. Lucian Perkins, who shared a Pulitzer with colleagues Michael Williamson and Guzy for their coverage of the war in the Balkans, said "you’re always looking to see where something might happen or predict where the light will be."
Matthew Lewis, who won the coveted prize in 1975, added that photographers have to persist at all costs, while Williamson commented on the emotional aspect of the job.
"The photos become a part of you," he said.
The photographers appeared at the Newseum at the conclusion of FotoWeek DC, a weeklong celebration of photography in the nation’s capital.
"Inside Media," produced by the Newseum and held in the Knight TV Studio, is open to the public. Seating is on a space-available basis.
