Judge 2007
Katie Ellsworth
PICTURE EDITOR, TIME MAGAZINE
Admitted addiction: "I am a news junkie."
As the photo editor for Time magazine, Katie Ellsworth has a lot to keep up with. From elections to assassinations, declarations of war to peace treaties, the stories that make up the content of her magazine are in a constant state of flux. Then again, that's what makes her job so exciting. "It changes so much within the span of three days," says Ellsworth of working with current events, "so you're constantly doing something new and trying to gauge what kind of photographs you would need."
Ellsworth is responsible for conceptualizing and assigning the imagery for pieces on everything from stem-cell research to the state of national security - a perfect fit for her politically curious nature. "I have been a lifelong learner and passionate about current affairs," she says. "I remember with fondness getting up early on Sunday morning with my dad to watch Patriot missiles in the first Gulf War." It comes as no surprise, then, that Ellsworth's first news-media position was with Newsweek, where she acted as photo editor for four years before taking her current position with Time.
Judging action-sports photography may fall outside Ellsworth's day-to-day focus, but she's excited about this unique opportunity. "Athletes in themselves are geniuses," she says. "You can read so much more in an action photo, in a sense…With politics and portraits, it's a lot easier to control your subjects and environment, as opposed to shooting something in the blink of an eye. In adventure and sports photography, you don't get that latitude [of being able to re-shoot] because it's instantaneous. You can't recreate those moments."
On self-globalization:
Ellsworth is as enthusiastic about seeing the world as she is about representing the people and events in it: "Vietnam is my favorite place in the world: the best food, people, sights, and history. Nepal is one of my favorite places, a bit of East meets West; it's like a place that time stood still. I have hiked in the Himalayas, climbed [Mt.] Kilimanjaro, hung with a Maasai tribe, ridden camels in Diani Beach in Africa, backpacked and hiked on my own in northern Thailand, stayed with a Keran family, and ridden elephants near the Burmese border. I've backpacked through seven European countries, hiked on my own to Machu Picchu [in Peru], hitchhiked in Cambodia, seen Angkor Wat, [explored] India by myself, [and have seen] China on my own."
