Three from MSU recognized for achievements in photography

Contact: Karie Patton

Two Mississippi State University art students and a faculty member are honorable mention selections at the international Photographic Imaging Education Association Conference in Las Vegas.

Jeff S. Thruston, a graduate student in electronic visualization from Athens, Ga., was cited for a digital image entitled "Radiance," while senior art major Christina M. Moore of Starkville was chosen for a hand-colored silver gelatin print titled "Realization."

MSU art professor Marita L. Gootee's entry was a digital image titled "Voyage."

Mississippi State was among only three schools in the United States to have student work considered in the college/university judging category of the recent conference. Also, this year marked the second time Gootee and Thruston were chosen for the top photo competition.

PIEA is an international network of educators working with the photography industry to develop resources, solve problems and share ideas.

While at the 2000 convention, Gootee and MSU art lecturer Wendy K. Roussin gave special presentations. Gootee addressed the importance of photography in the fine arts. Roussin presented images from the recently introduced digital photography course at MSU.

The winning images of Thruston, Moore, Gootee, and others will be published in a future edition of Photo Marketing magazine, as well as in the Photo Imaging national newsletter and on the PIEA homepage at http://bobcat.tamu-commerce.edu/~stang/PIEA.