Terrance Armstard, photographer and news editor at the El Dorado News-Times, will judge the South Arkansas Arts Center’s 2018 photography competition, “The Viewfinder.”
The competition, sponsored by William P. Cook and Associates, will hang in the Price and Merkle Galleries Feb. 2-27, with an entry deadline of Wednesday.
“An image might be pretty, but is it complex? I want to see the thought behind the work,” Armstard said when asked about what he might be looking for in a winning piece. “I need to see what the photographer is thinking. I’m really most interested in the complexity of the photo … not complexity, as in a busy photo, but a photo with complex thinking behind it. Is there something in the photo that causes me to think? That’s what I’m interested in seeing.”
Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Armstard studied photography and journalism at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, earning his bachelor’s degree in photojournalism and a master of arts degree in communication.
Armstard began working as a freelance photojournalist in 2001 for newspapers such as USA Today, Newsday (New York), the Times Picayune (New Orleans), The Advocate (Baton Rouge), as well as the Associated Press. He received his first staff position at his hometown newspaper, The News-Star, a small daily owned by the Gannett Co. While there, he received a scholarship to the prestigious journalism center, the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.
From there, Armstard was personally invited by Vme Edom-Smith, daughter of renowned University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism Professor Clifton C. Edom, to attend the Truth With A Camera workshop in Norfolk, Virginia. In 2010, he began working as the marketing and public relations photographer for the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
His work has been published in magazines such as Imagine Louisiana, Louisiana Life and KoreAm, a Korean American magazine. He also works as a speech teacher at South Arkansas Community College and resides in El Dorado.
For more information about “The Viewfinder,” call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.