WPJA Selected Judges was a judge in the 2010 BRIDES Magazine Contest

The WPJA provided another top-notch judging panel consisting of Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalists and picture editors for this round.

CAROL GUZY, PHOTOJOURNALIST

Carol Guzy is a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer with The Washington Post. Guzy originally studied to be a nurse, but changed course after taking a photojournalism class. She received her most recent Pulitzer in 2000 for photographs of Kosovo refugees, a second in 1995 for her portrayal of the U.S. intervention in Haiti, and her first in 1986 awarding her work during a mudslide in Colombia for The Miami Herald. Guzy graduated from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 1980 and acquired her first job with the Miami Herald after a successful internship. She spent eight years at the Herald, then joined The Washington Post in 1988. In 1990, Guzy was the first woman to receive the Newspaper Photographer of the Year Award, presented by the National Press Photographers Association.

RICK LOOMIS, PHOTOJOURNALIST

Rick Loomis is a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Times, where he has worked since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 1994. In 2007, Loomis won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on a 5-part series that delved into the ills of the world's oceans. A portion of the work is currently on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. He has also been a consistent contributor to stories on the U.S. military for the Times since 2001. More than two years of his life have been spent living in either Afghanistan or Iraq for months at a time.

He is a frequent lecturer at a number of universities, a long-time Photo Coach at the Mountain Workshop and has been a team leader at the Eddie Adams Workshop. Other notable distinctions include Photographer of the Year International, Award of Excellence for Portfolio (2008); 3rd place Portfolio (2006), John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism (2007), The Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for Overall Excellence In Photojournalism (2005), Los Angeles Press Club, Journalist of the Year (2004), Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for spot news, "The War in Iraq," (2003), National Press Photographers Association Newspaper Photographer Of The Year (2003), California Press Photographers Association Newspaper Photographer Of The Year (2002 and 2004).

Loomis is a prior judge for the WPJA, and has shot a wedding or two himself.

JAY DICKMAN, PHOTOJOURNALIST

Jay Dickman is a National Geographic photographer; he has photographed more than 25 assignments for the Society. Jay was a participating photographer on 15 of the Day in the Life Of series; also a photographer on “Passage to Vietnam” and was featured on the interactive CD ROM. Jay has photographed for publications such as National Geographic Adventure, Conde Nast Traveler, FORTUNE, Forbes, American Way Magazine, and TIME. Jay, an “Olympus Visionary” and a “Lexar Elite Photographer”, also has to his credit the Pulitzer Prize, many national and regional awards, and was most recently an instructor for a series of classes in ‘Advanced Digital Photography’ at the 2006 “MacWorld” in San Francisco. McGraw-Hill recently published Perfect Digital Photography, co-authored by Jay Dickman: a start-to-finish guide to digital photography, discussing the aesthetics of photography, workflow and working in Photoshop.

MICHAEL AINSWORTH, PHOTOJOURNALIST

Michael Ainsworth is a staff photographer at The Dallas Morning News. A graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington, with a degree in journalism, he has won awards for his coverage of spot news and sports. He was one of the staffers at the DMN who were honored to receive the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath.

JOHN KAPLAN, PHOTOJOURNALIST / AUTHOR

John Kaplan’s ‘Diverse Lifestyles of American 21-Year-Olds’ project won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. His work shows at museums and galleries worldwide including solo exhibitions in the United States, Bolivia and Korea as well as group shows in the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Japan, Korea, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Kaplan is 1989 Photographer of the Year for the annual Pictures of the Year (POY) contest and received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for outstanding coverage of the disadvantaged in the United States.

Kaplan is a photography, design and international journalism professor at the University of Florida. He is twice photography juror for the Pulitzer Prize and is a frequent lecturer at photo workshops and seminars worldwide.

Kaplan's ‘Survivors of Torture in West Africa’ project won the 2003 Overseas Press Club Award for Feature Photography and the Harry Chapin Media Award for Photojournalism, and received recognition from the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, National Headliner Awards, Best of Photojournalism Competition, Pictures of the Year International, Society of News Design and Photo District News Best of Photography Contest. Kaplan is author of Photo Portfolio Success (Writers Digest Books) and has beta-tested digital wedding album production techniques for two companies, including ArtZ.