The du Cille Fellowship
“Trust – Dignity – Respect”

A Fellowship in support of the highest standards of visual journalism.

The National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF) is pleased to provide a $15,000 annual fellowship to honor the memory of Michel du Cille, a dedicated photojournalist who died in 2014 while covering the Ebola crisis in Liberia. Our goal is to encourage photojournalists to cover topics of great importance in today’s changing world. Application deadline for the 2024 Michel du Cille Fellowship is Monday December 30, 2024 at 6:59 PM ET.

Michel’s photographs touched audiences in ways words alone never reach. They crossed boundaries of every kind and connected us to deeper truths.

The du Cille, a premier fellowship established for a professional photojournalist, will honor and reflect the highest professional and personal standards of photojournalist Michel du Cille.

He went where others would not go, and showed respect to all he met. His images spoke eloquently and directly. He was diligent in pursuit of the truth. His work and his life set the measure of The du Cille Fellowship.

The completed work should be a substantive, in-depth exploration of the recipient’s project that meets the highest standards of contemporary storytelling.

NPPF will provide a coordinator for The du Cille recipient to update their progress at least once a month. The coordinator will be available upon request to assist in completing the project.

The du Cille Fellowship is open to professional visual journalists who are legal residents of the United States.

To enter, you will need:

• Your name, date of birth, permanent address, personal email address, personal mobile phone number
• A concise bio highlighting your experience, your commitment to completing a project of consequence.
• CV including 2-3 professional references with names, email address and phone number.
• Project title
• A project description/summary of less than 2500 characters including spaces
• Project proposal of less than 4000 characters including spaces explaining what project you plan to undertake including a brief timeline including how you expect to use the grant.
• A body of work up to 24 images for still only applications or 2-3 videos of less than 10 minutes each for video applications.

Example entries include:

  • 2 stories of 12 or less images each
  • 1 story of 12 or less images, and 1 video of less than 10 minutes
  • 2-3 video stories of less than 10 minutes each

Digital images should be .JPG and 3000px on the long side

IPTC fields are required: 

  • Author: photojournalist’s first and last names.
  • Document title: This MUST be Blank. Do not have so much as a space in this field.
  • Description:
    • A caption according to AP Style (Do not include author’s name)
    • Picture Stories begin with a short summary in the first image description. Subsequent images must have captions.
  • City: Where image was captured
  • State: Where image was captured
  • Creation Date: Verify that this field is correct. 
  • Copyright Notice: photographer’s first and last names or other copyright holder (if applicable)

Once you have compiled your materials, complete your application at Picter.

https://site.picter.com/2024-nppf-michel-du-cille-fellowship

Applicants are encouraged to create a profile as soon as possible to begin the process. Entries can be edited up to the deadline.

The National Press Photographers Foundation will administer The du Cille Fellowship.