NPPF Awards 2024 du Cille Fellowship to Mark Leong

The National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF) is proud to announce that photographer Mark Leong has been awarded the 2024 Michel du Cille Fellowship. Leong will receive $15,000 in support of his project, Coming of Age: China’s Post-90s Generation. This year saw a record number of applications for the fellowship, underscoring both the growing need for support in visual journalism and the exceptional quality of work being produced across the field.

See more at the 2024 du Cille Fellowship Winner.

2025 Scholarship Awardees

Dr. James Kelly of Indiana University announced on behalf of the NPPF board of directors that fourteen college and university students have been selected by the National Press Photographers Foundation to receive $2,000 scholarships. (Se e more)

Ayiana Andrella

Md Zobayer Hossain Joati

Sage Russell

HG Biggs

Grant Johnson

Von Smith

Michael Blackshire

Milton Lindsay

John Stember

Abigail Cutrer

Ben Pennington

Jordan Tovin

Dominic Di Palermo

Loriene Perera

Photojournalism Loses a Gentle Giant

William Luster: 1944 – 2025

When Bill Luster entered a room, people noticed. Perhaps it was his wide, warm smile that drew them to him, or his ability to regale photographers with stories of his vast and colorful career. A photo shoot with Bill Clinton, perhaps, or a thrilling photo from his beloved Kentucky Derby.

Luster may have been small in stature – 4-feet, 11-inches by his own account – but with a camera in hand, he became a giant in the photojournalism field.

From a humble beginning in 1965 as a staffer on The Glasgow Daily Times, his hometown newspaper, he moved to the vaunted Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, eventually taking on leadership roles as chief photographer and director of photography.

The scope of his 50-year career was legendary, from exclusive access to four presidents, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, to photos in elite publications, including Time, Fortune, Newsweek, Life, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic and Sports Illustrated. He covered 55 Kentucky Derbys and four presidential inaugurations.

Luster’s photographs drew high praise for their artistry of design and composition, coupled with a deep sense of history and respect for humanity. His images often portrayed the essence of a place, an event and the emotion of his subject with high drama and perfect timing. Among his colleagues, he was the quintessential photojournalist.

He was also known for his skill at telling jokes and relating humorous accounts of his adventures that spanned the globe. Among the accolades that marked Luster’s career:

Visual Journalist of the Year and Sports Photographer of the Year, Kentucky News Photographers Association.
Two shared Pulitzer Prizes in 1976 and 1989 with other photo staff
President of NPPA, 1993 – 1994
Won NPPA’s Joseph Costa Award for Innovative Leadership, 2000
Inducted into the University of Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2012

Bill Luster is survived by his wife of thirty-six years, Linda; their son Joseph, a freelance writer; his daughter-in-law, Lauren; and his two grandchildren.