Justin Merriman was a judge in the 2023 v06 Photography Competition Contest

WPJA Judge since 2017 -

Justin Merriman is a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a founding member of American Reportage, a collective of documentary photojournalists specializing in comprehensive storytelling of the American experience.

After covering the September 11, 2001, crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military's War on Terror. He followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002; India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population; the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti; Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012; the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome; the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest; and Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine. In 2014, he offered a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future. Most recently, he traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration.

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and publications across the globe.

He has been recognized with awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, National Headliners Awards, and the Society for News Design. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Awards 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

After years of overseas work, Merriman has turned his camera towards the places he calls home. Working extensively in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, he is currently telling the stories of the communities throughout the region and the issues that they are facing.