Exposed DC

for the love of DC photography

  • Newsletter
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
    • Press
  • Learn
    • Resource Guides
    • Free Classes
    • Get Involved
  • Show
    • View the Winning Images of the 2023 Contest
    • Annual Contest Winners
    • Publications
    • National Landing Fotowalk Exhibitions
  • Donate

2022 Exposed DC Best in Show

April 28, 2022 By Noe Todorovich

Each year, we invite five distinguished local photographers and creatives 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. Get to know our judges for this year’s show and check back here to see the winners announced in the week leading up to the show!

2022 Best in Show Winners
Updates will be provided here as we announce this year’s Best in Show winners in late May.

  • “Untitled” by Andrew Merluzzi
  • “The Human Comedy” by Iñaki Sánchez Ciarrusta
  • “Morning Silhouette” by Arpita Upadhyaya
  • “A Sign of Hope” by Valerie Short
  • “Million Moe March ‘Moechella’” by Mike Landsman

Join Exposed DC and Lost Origins Gallery for the opening reception at Lost Origins Outside in Mount Pleasant on Sunday, May 29 from 3-6 p.m. Please note this is entirely outdoors, not at the indoor gallery; you can now find Lost Origins Outside on Google Maps here! There will also be an after party at Lost Origins Gallery with Hannah Atallah and MISS CHELOVE at the closing of the Flood Pulse exhibit.

Dee Dwyer

Photo by Farrah Skeiky

Website | Instagram

Dee Dwyer is a diversified photographer from southeast Washington, D.C. Her community has anointed her “The Visual Voice for the People.” Her goal is to show all aspects of human life with the primary focus being humanity. She developed her fascination for photography as a teenager, never leaving the house without her disposable camera to capture daily life of family and friends. Her love for photography blossomed when she had to shoot and develop her own film in a B&W photography class while receiving her BFA in Filmmaking and Digital Production. She’d spend half her days snapping candids and the other half in the darkroom. Her work has been in exhibitions such as PhotoSCHWEIZ, Photoville, and Catchlight and in publications such as Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BET, and The Guardian.

Andrew Harnik

© Andrew Harnik

Website | Instagram

Andrew Harnik has worked as a newspaper and magazine photojournalist since 2003. He has received awards from Pictures of the Year International, the National Press Photographers Association, and the White House News Photographers Association including the Political Photograph of the Year in 2012 and 2017. His work has taken him around the world with top U.S. diplomats and across the country with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in their race for president. For many years his work was focused off Capitol Hill and away from the White House, telling stories of the nation’s capital that are often overlooked. He believes that the stories of everyday people are as rewarding and important as covering high profile events and public figures.

Kenny Holston

Website | Instagram

Kenny Holston is a professional freelance photojournalist for The New York Times. Most recently he has covered Voting Rights, Afghan refugees fleeing Afghanistan, politics, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. Kenny is a former United States Air Force photojournalist who served for 14 years and was awarded Military Photographer of the Year in 2015. He earned a combat action badge as a combat photojournalist in Afghanistan and other joint service accommodations for his efforts in war and as an autopsy photographer at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Dover Air Force Base, DE. Kenny studied photojournalism at Syracuse University and attended The Eddie Adams workshop as a part of the XXVII class. He and his colleague Jensen Stidham co-founded the Military Visual Awards to recognize the best photography and videography work produced by military journalists from around the world.

Cheriss May

Photo by Gorden Campbell

Website | Instagram

Cheriss May is a portrait and editorial photographer based in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Focus on the Story, the immediate past president of Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW), co-chair of photography at The National Press Club, an Adobe Education Leader, and an adjunct professor at Howard University, her alma mater. She is often commissioned to speak about inclusive storytelling and provides training for organizations and educators around the world, including: Spotify, Adobe, Leica, The Merck Group, the Center for Creative Photography, and the International Center of Photography. Cheriss has been published in O Magazine, The White House website and archives, The New York Times, People magazine, ABC News, The Today Show, MSNBC, and other international publications.

Michael McCoy

Website | Instagram

Michael McCoy is a Washington, D.C. based 2022 Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, Fujifilm X-Photographer, and two time combat veteran. His recent work includes covering the confirmation hearing for Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court and the Black Lives Matter movement. His photography has been described as engaging, affectionate, insightful, and alluring. He loves telling the story about the relationships between individuals, capturing those special moments of joy and contentment, and the “in-between” moments that are the most candid and authentic.

Filed Under: Announcement, Annual Exhibit Tagged With: 2022 annual show, 2022 Exposed DC Photo Show, annual exhibit, annual show, best in show, best in show judges

2021 Exposed DC Best in Show

May 31, 2021 By exposeddc

Each year, we invite five distinguished local photographers and creatives to serve as special judges for our annual photography show. They study 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.

2021 Best in Show Winners
Updates will be provided here as we announce this year’s Best in Show winners in early June.

  • “Untitled” by Michael Ryan
  • “Reflection” by Jenny Markley
  • “Polychromatic” by Dylan Bilbao
  • “Each Substance of Grief Has Twenty Shadows” by Arpita Upadhyaya
  • “Rose Rosé Bears” by Eric Purcell

Join us at the opening celebration for the 15th Anniversary Exposed DC Photography Show at Lost Origins Outside in Mount Pleasant on Sunday, June 6 from 3-6 p.m. Part of the kickoff festivities for the 4th annual Focus on the Story International Photo Festival.

If you can’t make it on Sunday, you now have the option to view our virtual gallery as well!

Adriana Mendoza

Adriana is the Creative Director and Operations Manager at Femme Fatale DC, a dynamic community that supports and amplifies womxn in business and in life. Her background includes a Master in Landscape Architecture focused in the design of public space in underserved communities. She worked at Floura Teeter Landscape Architects, bringing communities together through designing attractive and functional places for public gathering.

Deveney Williams

Deveney is a D.C. based visual storyteller and designer. Her photography work focuses on portraiture and editorial work. She aims to dismantle beauty standards and inspire people through her subjects.

Jamie Davis Smith

Jamie is a documentary and family photographer living in Washington, D.C. She is a former photography ambassador for Manfrotto, and her work has been featured in HuffPost, The Washington Post, and various other publications. Jamie has written extensively about photography. 

Kirth Bobb

Kirth is a FujiFilm ambassador, and his photographs have been published in several major publications including The New York Times, Washington Times, and HuffPost, and featured in several galleries across Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

Steve Bosak

Steve is an amateur photographer who’s lived in D.C. for 20 years. He is a design thinking consultant and trainer who helps companies and agencies use a human-centered approach to innovation. He has a keen interest in photographing nature, buildings, and macro subjects.


Filed Under: Annual Exhibit Tagged With: 2021 annual exhibit, 2021 annual show, 2021 best in show, best in show, best in show judges

Friday Links: January 15, 2021

January 15, 2021 By Ron Keith

Protecting the Capitol by Victoria Pickering

The deadline for entries to our 15th annual photography contest is fast approaching. With so much happening since our 2020 exhibition, we are sure you’ve captured countless scenes and moments that transpired in and around this city. We look forward to reviewing all the submissions and also can’t wait to see which images catch our special judges’ attention and receive a Best in Show award along with a $100 cash prize. Will it be one of yours? Submit your best images of the D.C. metro area to our contest by Jan. 27!

  • Join Capital Photography Center to explore Antietam National Battlefield tomorrow, 2:30 p.m., $94. Or if you plan to stay in, you can sign up for Sunday’s online course for photography basics and exposure control, $140.
  • Photographer Edas Wong keeps an eye out for times when two disparate subjects come together in one scene and captures them with his camera.
  • It’s the last day to submit to Photoworks’ call for entries to “Hindsight is 2020 – Street Photography in a Tumultuous Year.” 
  • A new auction marks 100 years since the birth of Ruth Orkin who traveled the world making waves in an industry dominated by men.
  • The National Portrait Gallery is accepting entries through January 29 for its triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition that celebrates excellence in the art of portraiture.
  • Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW) is sponsoring a Civil Unrest Training by Global Journalist Society today from 6:00-8:00 p.m. that will cover best practices for civil unrest with a focus on visual journalists covering protests and major political events, including the upcoming inauguration in Washington, D.C. WPOW also started an emergency fund to help journalists purchase safety gear.
  • In response to the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol last week, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is hosting a free 90-minute training webinar for journalists today at 12:00 p.m.
  • Apostrophe is accepting applications through Jan. 29 for their second round of the Apostrophe Mentorship Program, a 12-week course focused on amplifying the voices of the BIPOC community within the photo industry. 
  • Imaging USA will be held entirely online this year, with general sessions running this Sunday through Tuesday. A 3-day all-access pass is $59 or free for PPA members.

Filed Under: Friday Links Tagged With: 15th annual contest, Annual Contest, best in show judges, friday links

Announcing the Best in Show Judges for the 2021 Exposed DC Photography Show

January 13, 2021 By Ron Keith

We’re excited… The 2021 Exposed DC Photography Contest is here and open for entries through January 27. Residents of the D.C. metropolitan area: we invite you to submit the best images you’ve taken that showcase your personal experience living and working in our nation’s capital.

Don’t wait. Enter here.

Winners will be announced in February, and we’ll host a virtual happy hour to celebrate and commemorate our 15th annual contest and show–can you believe it?

The 2021 Exposed DC Photography Show will feature the winners of this year’s contest. Additionally, we have invited five distinguished local photographers and creatives to serve as special judges. They will study all of the winning images, and each judge will choose one image to receive a Best in Show award, which comes with a $100 cash prize. 

We are happy and honored to announce the special judges of this year’s show.

Adriana Mendoza

Adriana is the Creative Director and Operations Manager at Femme Fatale DC, a dynamic community that supports and amplifies womxn in business and in life. Her background includes a Master in Landscape Architecture focused in the design of public space in underserved communities. She worked at Floura Teeter Landscape Architects, bringing communities together through designing attractive and functional places for public gathering.

Deveney Williams

Deveney is a D.C. based visual storyteller and designer. Her photography work focuses on portraiture and editorial work. She aims to dismantle beauty standards and inspire people through her subjects.

Jamie Davis Smith

Jamie is a documentary and family photographer living in Washington, D.C. She is a former photography ambassador for Manfrotto, and her work has been featured in HuffPost, The Washington Post, and various other publications. Jamie has written extensively about photography. 

Kirth Bobb

Kirth is a FujiFilm ambassador, and his photographs have been published in several major publications including The New York Times, Washington Times, and HuffPost, and featured in several galleries across Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

Steve Bosak

Steve is an amateur photographer who’s lived in D.C. for 20 years. He is a design thinking consultant and trainer who helps companies and agencies use a human-centered approach to innovation. He has a keen interest in photographing nature, buildings, and macro subjects.


The contest and the annual photography exhibition are an integral part of how Exposed DC supports and celebrates local photographers and their work. We also love seeing the images you share with us on Instagram and in our Flickr group, curating Fotowalk exhibitions, creating opportunities for us to gather together to share our love for all things photography (more virtually than in person these days), and keeping you informed of photography news through our newsletter.

Filed Under: Announcement, Annual Contest Tagged With: 2021 Exposed DC Photo Contest, 2021 photography contest, best in show, best in show judges

How to Get Involved

Latest Posts

  • Friday Links: March 17, 2023
  • Friday Links: March 10, 2023
  • Friday Links: March 3, 2023
  • Winning Photos of the 17th Annual Exposed DC Contest

Newsletter

  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Contribute Your Photos

Copyright © 2023 Exposed DC and Ten Miles Square · All images are property and copyright of their respective owners and are used with permisson