Photojournalism Awards 2023
(Works Produced in 2022)
Excellence in Photojournalism, Single Photo: Kylie Cooper
Excellence in Photojournalism, Photo Story: Arin Yoon
Excellence in Photojournalism, Single Photo - Works Produced in 2022
Kylie Cooper, “Hmong Flower Farm,” The Seattle Times
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Flower bouquets are a staple at Seattle's Pike Place Market and many farmers markets. Many of the flower businesses are owned and run by Hmong people, including May Yang. In the fall of 2022, seven Hmong flower farms in the Seattle area were told they would have to leave their farmland by spring 2023 because their landlords wanted to repurpose the land. This story investigated a systemic problem of American agriculture: how people of color are not likely to own the farmland they work on, and are more financially unstable as a result.
Judges’ comments: “This work was selected as the winner because of its good execution, color and composition for a story about a Hmong Flower Farm with a focus on ‘a systemic problem of American agriculture: how people of color are not likely to own the farmland they work on, and are more financially unstable as a result.’ Judges admired the strong photo for a unique story about this AAPI community.”
RUNNER-UP: Kent Nishimura, “House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th to Present Findings in Hearing,” The Los Angeles Times
Kylie Cooper
(Photojournalist)
KYLIE COOPER: I am a photojournalist based in southeastern Massachusetts, where I grew up and have returned to to begin my freelancing journey. I'm motivated to share community-led stories that show people how ordinary life is extraordinary and worthwhile. I'm also interested in environmental and travel stories. As a Chinese adoptee, themes of belonging, identity and place are central to my storytelling. I concluded my fall photo internship at The Seattle Times this January and was the summer 2022 photo fellow at The Texas Tribune. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2022.
Excellence in Photojournalism, Photo Story - Works Produced in 2022
Arin Yoon, “Where the Tall Grass Sways,” Unpublished
ABOUT THE PROJECT: I arrived in this country when I was 5 and my brother was 7 - the same age as my children in these pictures. I was suddenly transported from the cityscape of Seoul to the American midwest. I have clear memories of walking through the vast prairie and the mazes of cornfields as a child.
My mom had a studio photo taken in preparation to come to the US- for the passport and visa applications. My dad was going to graduate school in Missouri and we had come to visit. We didn't know we were never going back to Korea. He didn't want us to leave. When I made a picture of that photo, it was drizzling. A tiny fortuitous raindrop fell right under my eye. I didn't realize until I was editing that this had happened. I ask my child self, "Why are you crying?"
I notice the kids interacting with nature, playing together and seeing how they create their own worlds and make their own memories. It is when I give in to seeing the world through their eyes that I find it easiest to parent. And then sometimes, their magic seeps into my world, when I let go of trying to be in control. I project my past onto them but I know parts of them remember it too- our past and future selves.
Judges’ comments: “This series was picked as the winner of the professional photo story category for its great visual execution of a deeply personal story of a Korean immigrant who had moved to the U.S. as a child. She tries to keep her own heritage while growing up in the American midwest, yet she is so far away from her motherland. It’s a strong piece of a reflection of an Asian immigrant’s upbringing that interweaves with the lives of her American born children. This evocative project stood out as the clear winner among all judges.”
RUNNER-UP: Arvin Temkar, “Labor of Love,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Arin Yoon
(Freelance Photojournalist)
ARIN YOON is a Korean American documentary photographer, visual artist, and arts educator based in the greater Kansas City area. Her work focuses on the military, families, and women and issues of representation and identity.
Arin is a National Geographic Explorer, a We, Women Photo artist, and an International Women's Media Foundation fellow. She is a fellow at a member of Women Photograph and Diversify Photo and an alumna of the Eddie Adams Workshop and the Missouri Photo Workshop.