University Photographer Receives National Recognition

University of Rochester photographer Shannon Taggart has received dual honors in a recent national competition. Taggart not only was named one of "Thirty Under 30: Young Photographers to Watch," but also was chosen as the "2001 Nikon Shooting Star." She is the first person to receive the international photo giant's award.

An annual profile, "Thirty Under 30: Young Photographers to Watch" is published by the international trade publication Photo District News. The magazine receives submissions throughout the year, and had more than 500 entries in the final round of competition. The winners, who are featured in the March 2001 issue, represent a cross section of talented young photographers worldwide. Nikon selected its winner from among those 30 photographers.

Taggart, a resident of Rochester, submitted a portfolio for judging, including photographs she took of nuns at the Tyburn Convent in London, of outpatients from the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, and some of her family. One of these photographs appears on the cover of Lying Awake, a novel by Mark Salzman published last fall.

A native of Buffalo, Taggart graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts and honors in applied photography. She then traveled to London on scholarship from the Alexia Foundation for World Peace. Taggart has been the University photographer since August 1999. She will begin teaching a course in advertising photography at RIT in the fall.