Look for MVA 2020 contest entry information updates to be posted on the MVA website no later than Oct. 31, 2020.
By MVA founders Jensen Stidham and Kenny Holston
“I can sleep when I’m dead.”
This saying became more than a catchphrase for us as we set out to build the world’s largest and most diverse military media competition.
From the ground up, is the classic rubric we used to create the foundation for an all-inclusive global military media competition. The self-funded program became our second and third jobs, rendering us sleepless for what feels like the last three years.
We have ignored the fact there are only 24 hours in a day. Defying the need for sleep, we stayed up countless nights to learn code, build a website, draft procedures, consult with lawyers, converse with industry partners and so much more. Establishing and managing MVA has been a tall order, to put it mildly.
But the story of how and why the MVA was created doesn’t start there. To get the full picture, we have to rewind this video to 2015.
Jensen Stidham picks up the story from here.
As the 2015 Department of Defense media competition came to a close, we were left in a state of bliss. Somehow Kenny had done it: He earned the coveted title Military Photographer of the Year, while the Marine Corps’ Matthew Callahan was named Military Videographer of the Year. Both of these talented visual communicators earned an honor so high, many would consider it the crescendo of one’s military career.
To elevate our state of delight, Kenny and I left our mark on that year’s competition by placing first and second in the photography category of “news,” which was especially meaningful to us, as we had traveled long and far covering a rigorous news beat throughout the year.
It was a tremendous triumph of which no military photographer would ever have the fortune to achieve via that style of competition within the DoD again.
It wasn’t long before stories came out in News Photographer magazine and others describing how the DoD’s Military Photographer of the Year program, also known as MILPHOG, was being restructured.
More stringent rules came out in the months that followed. It became clear the no-holds-barred style of competition was no more. The new DoD competition was no longer all-inclusive, as each branch of service was required to submit only one candidate to compete at the DoD level, excluding hundreds of service members from having the chance to compete.
Restrictions imposed on submitters during their respective service level competitions now make it difficult for senior military photojournalist and videographers to participate, thus giving the overall DoD program a watered-down undertone, according to some military photojournalists and broadcast journalists.
In addition, the program no longer rewards first through third place and has dramatically reduced the categories in which photojournalists and videographers are able to submit their work. “A bare-bones competition” is the phrase used by one military photojournalist.
Since the restructure, the DoD media awards program has never seemed to carry as much weight, ultimately toppling the platform that military journalists once stood on to be recognized as competitive with their civilian peers who work in the industry.
As questions ascended through the ranks, it was unofficially communicated that the restructuring of Defense Media Activity, the military media headquarters center located at Fort Meade, Maryland, contributed to the loss of importance in the awards program due to lack of staffing and funding.
Other reasons relayed for the disbandment included the need to better vet those who submit and an inability among service leaders to agree on changes, as nobody wanted to be a dissenting factor in the process.
With the traditional DoD media program subdued, we sensed the very real need for a new platform capable of reviving healthy, high-stakes competition among military photojournalists and videographers. We knew we’d be faced with all the same challenges the DoD had faced but still wanted to take a shot at it.
As time went by, we worked long hours devising a strategy to bring back the no-holds-barred style of competition.
Our No. 1 intent was to directly uphold the quality of military photojournalism and videography while sustaining the integrity of military photojournalists and videographers.
Eventually, MVA was created and had a successful inaugural competition in 2018.
Excitement for the competition grew as we landed judges like lighting master Joe McNally and seven-time military photographer of the year Jeremy Lock. MVA submissions were ranked to recognize the top images from military photographers across DoD.
With a portfolio of compelling imagery, Michel Sauret, U.S. Army Reserve photographer, was awarded the first-ever MVA Photographer of the Year. In total, 25 photographers had top-placing photographs out of nearly 1,500 submissions.
After a successful first year, MVA opened up the competition in 2019 to allow video entries and, unlike any other military media competition, allowing not only entries by U.S. service members, but by all countries’ military members and civilians alike who capture imagery for their respective branches of service.
With very few restrictions on who could submit or what could be submitted, we received more than 2,000 entries from four countries.
At the close of the 2019 MVA competition, Chris Hibben, U.S. Air Force Reserve photographer, was awarded MVA Photographer of the Year, while U.S. Marine Corps videographer Andrew Numen was awarded the first-ever MVA Videographer of the Year.
The 2019 judges panel was stacked with some of the most elite storytellers in the industry, as we brought on world-class photographers like Callie Shell, CNN and Time magazine photographer and Stacy Pearsall, Nikon ambassador and creator of the Veterans Portrait Project. These amazing judges helped determine which photos and videos would take the top awards in each of the 14 categories.
To each of this year’s judges — Shell, Pearsall, Jeremy Lock, Drew Geraci, Brien Aho, Matthew Callahan, Tommy Gilligan and Harry Kibbe — thank you for helping to keep MVA a respected and successful competition that portrays the amazing professional work military photojournalists and videographers are doing around the world.
Military photojournalism and video journalism is a unique storytelling medium that few service members have the honor of calling their profession.
These men and women have rare access to the brave military members who often sacrifice everything in the name of freedom. It’s the job of military journalists to document, showcase and preserve the efforts of those brave patriots.
The responsibility is astounding and the job challenging but humbling, which is why we’re expanding our MVA staff to continue to provide a platform for a robust military media competition that showcases the best of global military media.
We hope to ride the wave of success from this year and expand our operations for the 2020 submission season. We are excited to share what new initiatives we will be unveiling.
Look for MVA 2020 contest entry information updates to be posted on the MVA website no later than Oct. 31, 2020.
Editor’s note: MVA has no official affiliation with the DoD; however, we respect the competition it runs and encourage applicable U.S. service members to submit.
