Moments from 2015

Written By Justin Merriman
Ryan Smith, right, of Corning, NY sits on his horse next to Rob Wright, left, of Alexander, NY at the Fort Armstrong Championship Rodeo at the Crooked Creek Horse Park in Ford City on Friday, July 10, 2015.
 A suspect is taken into custody at a coyote stash house in Edinburg, Texas where 12 immigrants  were being held. Typically the migrants are held in the home until they can pay the coyote for assisting them in entering the U.S.  
 A Hidalgo County Deputy Constable stands near his cruiser with two female illegal immigrants during a raid on a suspected stash house just outside of Edinburg, Texas.
Members of the Josh Gibson All-Stars stand on the field prior to their game against the Anderson Monarchs on July 2, 2015 at Manchester Field in Manchester.  The game was part of the Monarchs Barnstorming Tour, a 20-city tour to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson, the Negro League, and the Civil Rights Movement.  The teams wore Negro League uniforms with the Josh Gibson All-Stars wearing the Homestead Grays uniform and the Monarchs in their Philadelphia Star uniforms.
 W.M. Hanley behind the counter at the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Ariz.
 Bob Jones of Melbourne, FL stands in the audience at an campaign event for Rick Santorum, who announced his candidacy for U.S. President, at Penn United Technologies in Cabot, PA on May 27, 2015.
 Dylan Terrazes of Santa Barbara, Calif., touches his grandmother's fingers as she meets him for the first time at Freedom Park in Border Field State Park in Imperial Beach, Calif. Sitting at the end of the 1,933 miles of U.S. border with Mexico, the Border Patrol allows people to congregate on both side of the fence on weekends. The small holes in the fence leave little room for physical contact through the fence except for fingertips. Those who visit at the park say they give "pinkie kisses" though the fence.
 A man sits on a stoop along a busy Pittsburgh street on Sept. 2, 2015.
 Bob Johansen, 75, of St. Petersburg, FL., a pilot with the Geico Skytypers stands on the wing of a plane in a hanger at the Arnold Palmer Region Airport as rains pass through Latrobe on June 18, 2015 delaying the team's practice run for the Westmoreland County Airshow.
 Jayne May-Stim, 19, of Greenfield reacts to a speaker at a rally for Indigenous Peoples Day at the statue of Christopher Columbus in Schenley Park on Oct. 12, 2015. The rally called attention to "Indigenous Peoples Day," a day to honor the culture and history of Indigenous people.
 Raymond Hostetler of Piffard, NY rides out of the gate at the Fort Armstrong Championship Rodeo at the Crooked Creek Horse Park in Ford City on July 10, 2015.
 A man and woman sit in Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, LA on August 26, 2015. 
 A fan smokes a cigar on top of the bleachers at the Fort Armstrong Championship Rodeo at the Crooked Creek Horse Park in Ford City on July 10, 2015.
A cyclist rides through an alley in the Strip District as the sun begins to set on Sept. 24, 2015.
Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.   

After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror.  He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe. 

He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. 

Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource. 

http://www.justinmerriman.com
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