ASMP Arnold Newman Award Presented to Photographer Chris Buck

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) recently presented the first annual Arnold Newman Award to Photographer Chris Buck. Supported by Canon USA, Getty Images and Photo District News, the prize is awarded to recognize work that is “grounded in the traditions and values of Arnold Newman’s portrait photography.”

I feel very fortunate to have seen Arnold Newman speak about his long career in photography, and I’ll always remember what he displayed during that presentation as some of his most important work–photographs of his grandchildren. I’ve also had the opportunity to see Chris Buck speak about his work, and I was very impressed by his down-to-earth nature, his humor, and captivating images.

The press release is printed below, and I highly recommend reading the interviews that are linked to from within the release. Here’s just one of many wonderful quotes by Arnold Newman from this interview on ASMP’s website:

“By the way, my best-known picture was commissioned by Alexi Brodovitch for Harper’s Bazaar and then turned down as a reject… . Everybody has that same reaction; nobody believes me.” -Arnold Newman

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On May 17, 2007, the American Society of Media Photographers
(ASMP) presented the first annual ASMP Arnold Newman
Prize to photographer Chris Buck. The prize is awarded each
year to recognize work that is grounded in the traditions
and values of Arnold Newman’s portrait photography.

The prize is being generously supported by Canon USA, Getty
Images and Photo District News. The recipient is selected
from among the top-scoring portrait submissions in PDN’s
Photography Annual Competition. This year’s prize includes
$2,500 cash donated by Getty and a Canon EOS 30D camera.

Chris Buck is a longtime admirer of Newman’s work. While
based in Toronto, he attended a Newman lecture at Ryerson
University, then asked the master if he could make a quick
portrait. This image, and a subsequent phone interview
between Newman and Buck, can be viewed on the ASMP Web site
at .

Buck moved to New York in 1990 and quickly established
himself in editorial and commercial circles for
environmental portraits of leading personalities. His images
are renown for an offbeat sense of humor and seeming ease of
approach. Buck’s clients include Microsoft, Citibank,
Moviefone, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire and New York
Magazine. He is represented by Julian Richards.

“Photography, as we all know, is not real at all.
It is an illusion of reality with which we create
our own private world.”
–Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was a unique and visionary master
of the art of photography, who created and took to its
highest form the genre of the environmental portrait — that
is, a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment,
such as the home or workplace.

Additional information about Newman is available on the ASMP
web site at

About ASMP

Founded in 1944, the American Society of Media Photographers
(ASMP) is the leading trade association for photographers
who photograph primarily for publication. ASMP promotes
photographers’ rights, educates photographers in better
business practices, produces business publications for
photographers, and helps buyers find professional
photographers. It has more than 5,500 members, including
many of the world’s greatest photographers, in 39 chapters
nationwide.