Judges for 2010 Nature’s Best Photography

Windland Smith Rice International Awards


Stephen Freligh Co-founder and Publisher of Nature’s Best Photography magazine, Stephen B. Freligh has spent the last 30 years connecting people with nature through visually directed and conservation motivated multimedia programs. His interest in photography has taken him to all parts of the globe including Africa, Arctic, Asia, Australia, Europe, Japan, Middle East, New Zealand, South America, and more. Beyond assisting in the selection of images that are used for Nature’s Best Photography, Freligh's past work includes 15 years of photo editing with the National Wildlife Federation and photo research and editing projects with the African Wildlife Foundation, Audubon magazine’s Photography Awards, Discovery Communications, Eastman Kodak Company, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Zoo, America Online, MSNBC, Canon USA, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Nikon, Sony, SIGMA, and more.
   The centerpiece of Freligh’s work is the long-term alliance with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the development of the Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Photography Awards program, where competition winners are displayed annually in 6-month print exhibitions.

Bonnie Stutski As the Senior Photography Editor for Smithsonian magazine, Bonnie Stutski researches, assigns, directs and edits photography to illustrate articles and photo essays on a variety of subjects, including nature. Stutski has more than 30 years experience in photography and publishing, working at various times as a freelance photographer, photo agent, documentary film producer, and as a photo editor and occasional writer for National Wildlife Federation Books, the National Geographic Society, and Time-Life Books. Stutski is a member of the American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP), the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), and is on the affiliate council of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). Besides judging Smithsonian magazine’s annual photography contest, she has judged and curated a number of other photography contests and exhibits mounted  by organizations such as FotoWeek DC, Nikon, Nature’s Best Photography, and regional Artists’ Guilds, galleries, and museums.

Craig R. Sholley Vice President for Philanthropy and Marketing of the African Wildlife Foundation, Craig Sholley's experiences with wildlife and conservation began in 1973 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, Africa. He has worked, traveled, and photographed extensively since that time providing conservation expertise in a variety of world arenas. As an L.S.B. Leakey grant researcher in the late 1970's, Sholley studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey. Returning to the US, he redirected his interests developing natural history programming for the Baltimore Zoological Society. Concurrently, he pursued his travel interests leading tours and photographing throughout Africa, South America, and Asia. Throughout much of the ‘90’s, Sholley was Director of Conservation and Education for International Expeditions, an organization widely recognized for its ecotourism initiatives.
    Sholley has served as a Senior Associate of the African Wildlife Foundation and on AWF’s Board of Trustees. He has also served on the Board of the Ecotourism Society. Blending field experience with his passion for photography, Sholley will focus his attention on our new African Wildlife category.

Charles Veatch Beyond his love for nature photography and his participation and presentations at the North American Nature Photography Association, Charles A. Veatch has been a respected judge for numerous photo competitions throughout Virginia and Maryland. In addition to his positions as Chairman of the Board and contributing Editor at NBP, he is a member of several non-profit boards including the Reston Historic Trust, the Greater Reston Arts Center, Nature’s Best Photography Fund, and the Potomac Conservancy. Veatch was also a founding board member of the Fairfax County Parks Foundation.
    Veatch was appointed Shenandoah University’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees in October of 2008. With a penchant for community service and higher education, Veatch is passionate about the stewardship of the environment. He serves on the endowment board of the National Wildlife Federation and is a real estate fellow at the McIntyre School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Deborah Freligh Recognized for her award-winning design, Art Director and Co-publisher Deborah L. Orbell Freligh has more than 35 years experience in art direction, design, graphics, illustration, directing photography, and advertising. Her clients include the National Wildlife Federation, the African Wildlife Foundation, Audubon magazine’s Photography Awards, Discovery Communications, Eastman Kodak Company, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, America Online, MSNBC, Canon USA, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Nikon, Sony, SIGMA, and more. She is also largely responsible for the success of the alliance between Nature’s Best Photography and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History exhibition program.

Brianna Potter Director of Photography for Nature’s Best Publishing, Brianna Potter brings us fresh views of the world through travels to Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, Japan, and South Korea among other interesting destinations. With a degree in Arts and Visual Technology, her true passion is photography. Potter helps review more than 30,000 images annually as photographers from around the globe submit for ongoing NBP projects. Recently, she managed the entries and judging process for Audubon magazine's first Birds in Focus Photography Awards competition, in association with NBP.

Mehgan Murphy Since joining the Smithsonian's National Zoo in 2006, Mehgan Murphy has gained a reputation for making striking images. Her position as a staff photographer at the popular National Zoo presents daily thrills and challenges from documenting newborn animals to covering a wide array of Zoo events. Her degrees in environmental science from the University of West Florida and in biological photography from the University of Nottingham in the UK, have instilled a strong sense of the animals as part of the natural world, not just as photo subjects. Murphy will be focusing her attention on helping judge the Zoos & Aquariums category.
 
Gabby Salazar A recent graduate of Brown University, Gabrielle Salazar has traveled throughout North America and 15 foreign countries to photograph and study wildlife, landscapes, and cultures. In September 2008, she was recognized by Glamour magazine as one of the Top Ten College Women in the United States for her work with students, photography, and the environment. She is the co-founder and editor of the Nature’s Best Students Online magazine and program and participates on numerous photography and education boards, including NANPA and the Nature’s Best Photography Fund. Salazar's judging participation is focused on the Youth Photographer of the Year selection.

Each winning photograph that is selected for display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is carefully selected by the judges for excellence in composition, use of light, ability to capture animal behavior, creative display, and overall image appeal and quality. Each exhibited image is also approved by museum scientists who review identification and caption accuracy. In addition, each selected image is screened by imaging specialists for technical and reproduction quality.