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Each year, we invite five distinguished photographers with ties to Washington, D.C., to serve as special judges for our annual photography show. They review all of the winning images, and each judge chooses one image to receive a Best in Show award, which comes with a $100 cash prize, sponsored by Aperturent.
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s guest judges are Pete Souza, Angela B. Pan, Stephen Crowley, Sharon Farmer, and Jada Imani M. Get to know our special judges for this year’s show below and see which photos they selected in the days leading up to our opening celebration on Friday, July 12 at Fathom Gallery Georgetown. We hope you’ll join us to see all the winning images and meet the photographers at our opening reception! Advance ticket sales have closed; door tickets will be available for $20 and include an open bar for guests over 21 years of age (ID checked at door).
Congratulations to this year’s Best in Show award winners:
- “The Voice of Iranian Women” by Shell Long – selected by Sharon Farmer
- “Intense Repetition” by Valerie Short – selected by Angela B Pan
- “Fluffy White Hats” by Prescott Lassman – selected by Stephen Crowley
- “Alternative Renaissance” by Katelyn King – selected by Jada Imani M
- “Fog Head” by David Moss – selected by Pete Souza
This project is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Exposed DC would also like to thank show sponsors Fathom Gallery, Aperturent, and Capital Photography Center.
Judges
Pete Souza
Pete Souza is a best-selling author, speaker, and freelance photographer based in Peoria, Illinois. For all eight years of the Obama administration, Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer and the Director of the White House Photo Office. He is also Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University.
His book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, was published by Little, Brown & Company in 2017, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list. It is one of the best-selling photography books of all time.
Based on his best-selling books, Souza became the subject of the documentary film, The Way I See It, in November 2020. Directed by Dawn Porter–and produced by Porter, Laura Dern, Evan Hayes, and Jayme Lemons–the film takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through Souza’s eyes and camera.
Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 2021.
Voted “Best Visual Artist in Washington, D.C.” by the Washington City Paper two years in a row, Angela B. Pan has published photographs of the capital in The Washington Post, The White House Historical Association, and more. Her work has been featured in local galleries and publications like Washingtonian, Lionsgate, and several luxury hotels. She self-published her first book, Snap DC: Your Guide to Taking Extraordinary Photos of the National Mall and Beyond… to help fellow photographers and visitors save time and capture the best images they can of our Washington, D.C.
Website | Instagram | X (Twitter) | Facebook | YouTube
Stephen Crowley began his career as a photographer in 1972 at a community newspaper in Jupiter, Florida. In his personal work, Crowley searches for morsels of humanity, irony, and humor, collecting images that capture the country’s character through physical structures, shifting light patterns, and happenstance.
In 2002, Crowley was named Photographer of the Year by the White House News Photographers’ Association for a portfolio that included his essays “Voices of Afghanistan” and “A Day in the Life of President Bush.”
That same year, he was part of a team at The New York Times awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for work produced during the war in Afghanistan. He also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. In 2005, American Photo Magazine included Crowley in its list of the 100 Most Important People in Photography.
His personal photography has been exhibited in shows at the Library of Congress, The National Geographic Society, and the Corcoran Art Museum.
Sharon Farmer has been a professional photojournalist and exhibition photographer for more than 40 years, shooting news stories, political campaigns, cultural events, conferences, and portraits. Farmer was the first African-American woman to be hired as a White House photographer, and the first African American and first woman to become Director of the White House Photography Office, a role she held from 1999-2001. She also documented the beginning of the Clinton-Gore Administration.
Formerly an assignment editor for the Associated Press, she was part of the AP team in 2003 that covered the Super Bowl in San Diego. She was also the campaign photographer for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential election campaign in 2004. She has photographed for The Washington Post, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Urban League, the Brookings Institution, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to name a few. She has also taught and lectured on photography and photojournalism at the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, the Women in Photojournalism Conference, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), museums, and numerous universities.
Info on the National Museum of African American History & Culture
Jada Imani M is a photographer and fine artist who has made a significant impact in the DMV area. Born in D.C. and raised in District Heights, MD, her journey into photography began as a hobby in college. After taking a lighting class in 2016, she realized her potential to become a professional photographer, which became a clear career choice by 2017. Her work is recognized for its visual narrative capturing, and she has photographed a variety of artists, including Cheakaity, Ari Lennox, Kali Uchis, TiaCorine, Janelle Monae, and Alex Vaughn. Her work has been featured in publications like Essence, The Washington Post, Office Magazine, and Black Women Photographers. She also has a background in digital filmmaking and video production, having studied at The Art Institute of Washington.