Since its creation in 1954, Sports Illustrated has employed some of the best and brightest photographers and storytellers in the world. The result is a publication that personifies the meaning of award-winning photography and journalism in sports. One of our long-time friends and faculty members, SI Director of Photography Brad Smith, spends his days deciding what is good enough to run in his magazine. At the Summit Sports Workshops, Brad doesn’t simply teach students about the sports photography business, he also brings an exclusive opportunity to our students that can only be found at our workshops. For the student who conveys the most determination and enthusiasm to become a better sports photographer, Brad offers a one-time photography assignment from Sports Illustrated.
This award is given out to one student at each years Sports Photography Workshop, and for many it is the ultimate opportunity to get into the competitive sports photography business.
The only thing greater than the award itself is the name given to it. When Brad Smith decided that he would offer this award to Summit Workshop students, he also decided that it would be named the Bill Eppridge Memorial Award. Bill Eppridge was a long-time friend and faculty member of the Summit Workshops.
He was an incredibly talented photojournalist that all of his friends and colleagues admired, but he was also an incredibly talented human-being, who spread his knowledge and experience to those around him. Bill died on October 3, 2013, but his memory will live on through the people that continue to be inspired by him. By naming the Summit Workshop’s top-prize after Bill Eppridge, we hope to show the appreciation for the man that’s taught us so much, and the man that we miss dearly.
In November 2001 I signed up for a week long seminar called “Photography At The Summit”. I made it a point to stay at the hotel that the staff was using. Rooming where the faculty stayed gave me a chance to meet them every morning at breakfast and appreciate their experiences, and who they were as people. Memories of Bill Epperidge’s company is something I’ll always treasure.