Jury 2010
Jim Colton
PHOTO-EDITOR, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (USA)
Sports Illustrated set out to be "not a sports magazine, but the sports magazine." In the 1950s, few believed that it would survive for long. Sports coverage was then judged to be too thin on the ground, and not serious enough to sustain a weekly magazine.
Over 50 years later, it has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million people a week. Its annual swimsuit issue still creates semi-hysteria after its original launch in 1964. Jim Colton has been in the photography business for 38 years, with 12 of them as photo-editor at Sports Illustrated "looking at thousands of images a day." For Jim, it's the daily routine of finding a "photo that stops me cold" that gives him job satisfaction.
What does he think makes a great photo? "A good photo is like a good joke. If you have to explain it, it's just not that good. A good photo reaches down into your throat and grabs your heart."
Jim has also devoted much time over the years to the photography profession. "I am a big believer in giving back to the industry." He has been on the Board of Director of the Eddie Adams Workshop for over 20 years, a 4-day gathering of top photography professionals and 100 students chosen for the quality of their portfolios. He is also a mentor at JCamp, a program sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Association for gifted high school students from minority backgrounds who are interested in journalism.
Other important charity projects for Jim include the Heart Gallery, a traveling photographic exhibit created to find families for children in foster care, and Do1Thing.org which brings artists together to capture the individuality and unique spirit of children deemed "unadoptable." In 2005, 346 portraits were taken which led to 150 children being adopted.
"You will not be remembered for all the material goods you've earned on this earth, but rather the inherent good you've left behind," says Jim.
