2009 Judges Bios
Stacy Pearsall
Stacy Pearsall began her career as an Air Force combat photographer at 17. She traveled to over 41 countries, and attended S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. After three tours in Iraq, Pearsall shared her experiences as a female combat photojournalist on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her work has appeared in print and television media, including Time magazine, BBC, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Soldier of Fortune and more. Pearsall’s photographs have also been featured in the Oscar-nominated PBS production, Operation Homecoming, and GQ magazine’s “This is Our War.” Pearsall was one of only two women to win NPPA’s MPOY competition, and the only woman to have earned it twice. Her images have been exhibited across America from Hollywood to New York. She is now retired from military service and currently freelances. She is the owner/director of the Charleston Center for Photography in South Carolina
Christopher Record
Christopher Record is a versatile corporate, portrait, editorial and wedding photographer whose award-winning background in photojournalism influences all of his work.
With a diverse base of clients including advertising agency Eric Mower and Associates, Farm Bureau Insurance Racing, Crosland, TradeKing, Tier One Partners, Mad GENIUS Inc., the United States Golf Association, the Professional Golfers Association, , Pass & Seymour Legrand, HGTV, the North Carolina Dance Theatre and Habitat for Humanity, Record prides himself on finding the best visual solutions for every assignment.
Record’s resume is lined with awards from the top photojournalism groups including the National Press Photographers Association, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Southern Short Course, the Society of Newspaper Design, the North Carolina Press Photographers Association and the North Carolina Press Association. He has been a North Carolina Photographer of the Year, was twice runner-up NC POY and was also runner-up Southern Photographer of the Year.
Record was the lead photographer on a team project selected as a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. The Charlotte Observer project, “Sold a Nightmare,” was a finalist for the Gold Medal for Public Service. The series focused on the area’s high rate of housing foreclosures and questionable sales practices by one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
Record has spent the past 20 years photographing presidents, celebrities and athletes and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The London Times, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today and numerous other publications and books.
Record covered the Carolina Panthers from their inception to the Super Bowl in Houston. He has also covered numerous NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments, ACC basketball tournaments and many professional golf tournaments including the men’s and women’s U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, The Players Championship and The Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte.
His career has included stints at three newspapers with roles ranging from reporter, photographer, picture editor to director of photography. Record most recently spent 14 years as a staff photographer at The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, N.C.
He left newspapers in 2007 to concentrate on his freelance photography business.
Record accepts corporate, portrait and editorial assignments and he also does a select number of documentary weddings each year.
Michael Holahan
Michael Holahan is a staff photographer at The Augusta Chronicle. He was recently
honored in the NPPA Best of Photojournalism as an honorable mention photojournalist
of the year for smaller markets. His images have also been recognized by The Southern
Short Course, The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar and The Gordon Parks Photo contest.
Born: Los Angeles, CA
Childhood: Lived in the Chicago area
Teen years: Lived in Naples, Florida. Graduated from Naples High School
College: University of Florida. Earned a BA in Political Science and BS in Journalism
Internships: The Gainesville (FL) Sun; The Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, FL; Patuxant Publishing, Columbia, MD; The Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph.
Staff: The Sacramento Bee – Zoned Editions; The Augusta Chronicle (1997-present)
Family: wife, Amanda and son, Elliott, 2.
Recent awards (2008-09) from: Pictures of the Year International (POYi); NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism; The Southern Short Course; The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar; The Gordon Parks Photography Contest; Georgia AP; Georgia Press Association; Placed second in NPPA’s 2008 clip contest Region 6.