Neil Cowley ranked top 5 in US by the WPJA for 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Rochester, NY

The Wedding Photojournalism Association ranks Neil Cowley among the top five photographers in the nation for 2004. Neil Cowley, the 27 year old Rochester, NY resident has photographed weddings professionally for 3 years. Neil’s first weddings were those of his college friends who just ask him to come take a few snapshots. Those snapshots were so well liked that friends were willing to pay money to have them and so a business was born.Turning to the internet to research what a proper “wedding photographer” should do, Neil found the term wedding photojournalism was used to describe what he was naturally prone to do - “walk around and take pictures”. Neil credits the information sharing on internet bulletin boards and organizations such as the WPJA for defining and sharpening his aesthetic and business skills for such a quick path to success. In 2004 Neil photographed 42 weddings with the help of his partner and wife Liesl, who has also been awarded by the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA).Leading the way in wedding photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity. WPJA also hosts quarterly wedding photojournalism contests, judged by top working photojournalists and news photo editors. The purpose of these contests is to celebrate the photographers who document and record the found moment. View Neil’s winning images and judges comments with these links:

“For me personally these contest results feel like a grand slam because my peers acknowledge that I am successfully reaching the goals I set out to achieve in my work. Although a wedding is full of excitement and expression - true emotion is extremely difficult to catch because its manifestations are so fleeting. If you are snoozing on the job, you are guaranteed to miss it. Public recognition in the emotion contest feels like confirmation that I’m diligent enough to capture moments that validate the ideals I’ve set for myself. The Five from One category accepts five images from one wedding as a single contest entry. Above any other category I’m most pleased about the results from this category because it shows that my visual style is cohesive and coherent amid the thousands of images I produce during a wedding.”"Finally, the first place portrait image of a bride and groom tops even my hopes. The portrait image’s quality silences accusations that a photojournalist’s skills or creativity run dry when the circumstances arise that require the photographer to arrange people or photographs. This stylized image has received more attention than any other I’ve shot this year and came out of deliberate effort on my part to work in the studio with lights so that I could take those techniques to a wedding with me. What I feel is unique about this image is that while I did arrange the location and lighting, I only helped my clients to express something they might not dare to otherwise. In many respects I feel this arranged image is still true to my clients experience and my journalistic standards because I was not forcing their body pose, but simply provided a stage for them to act upon.”"As I understand how I created that portrait image, I understand the quality of my clients over the past year. Wonderful people who value artistic experimentation and journalistic integrity, but are brave enough to trust me to undertake those goals for them in the making of a document of their love and commitment to each other. I am completely indebted to my clients and their willingness to share their lives with me. I thank them, for without the quality of life and love they share - I am unable to produce the imagery that documents those traits. Thanks for a great 2004!”WPJA 2004 Contest Standings:Neil Cowley’s wedding photography web site: