Whether at his home base in Hawaii or a continent away, the May Journalist of the Month, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth, successfully uses photography techniques to illustrate military events. Holzworth serves with the Def more

Whether at his home base in Hawaii or a continent away, the May Journalist of the Month, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth, successfully uses photography techniques to illustrate military events. Holzworth serves with the Defense Media Activity-Hawaii News Bureau.

"TSgt Holzworth brings an immense amount of talent, passion and professionalism to the Defense Media Activity efforts in the Pacific area of responsibility," said Marley L. Costa, director, operations/deputy with Headquarters AFN/DMA-Pacific.

Because of the quality of his photography, it was sent to media outlets more than any other photographer that submitted content in May. He is among the top 10 May journalists for the number of times media used his images. Registered users also downloaded his images more than the majority of other journalists who submitted content in May.

His image of two U.S. Marines securing a flag at the USS Arizona Memorial 50th anniversary commemoration ceremony is crisp and has great depth of field. Military vessels are the blurred backdrop, which add to the subject. This may be one explanation why users rated this photo among the current top 5 images.

Users also currently give high rating to another one of his images from the USS Arizona Memorial ceremony. The photo of a 90-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor, who is saluting the memorial, displays the emotion of the event. Holzworth changes the backdrop and captures a second photo, but this time is a front-facing portrait of the same aged Veteran. Again the depth-of-field is excellent.

Holzworth's work also made a difference during a recent exercise with partner nations.

"His excellent photojournalism in covering bi-lateral exercises in the Philippines, Australia and Singapore has helped put the spotlight on the great work being done by service members while at the same time promoting the Pacific Command message of enhancing peace and stability in the region," said Costa. "We are proud to have him on our team!"

The detail in his shots and the way he sets up those shots illustrate the international marksmanship competition in Australia. For example, Flickr users have viewed Holzworth's detail shot of 7.62 mm ammunition at the competition more than 4,100 times. The image is now among the top 20 viewed images for the DVIDS Flickr page.

To better show the focus of the competition, Holzworth zooms in on a competitors' weapon. The image is so clear that you can see the smoke emanating from the barrel and the bullet casing being expelled.

Also during marksmanship competition, Holzworth zeroes in on the competitors in a way that makes the firing line extend and fade deeper into the photo. This draws in your eye to follow the line. Holzworth's image portfolio shows how he has mastered photography techniques to best tell the military's story no matter the location or event.

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