Military Times photographer Mike Morones is used to capturing images of service members on and off duty. Now he's being honored by the White House Photographers Association for his images of troops in a different battle: the 2014 Warrior Games.
Morones recently received an award of excellence in the picture story/sports category within the 2015 "eyes of history" still photo contest for the games. The 12-picture series he submitted follows wounded or injured athletes from all four service branches as well as Special Operations Command in various competitions that took place in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This is Morones' first awards honor with Military Times, and his first year as a member of the association.
"The assignment was a week of watching wounded warriors compete, which was kind of — from a personal perspective — inspiring," Morones said.
Three judges on behalf of the White House Photographers Association — which dates back to the time of President Warren Harding — selected over 90 photographers in various categories within the stills contest. Morones' work for Military Times was among news organizations like the Washington Post, New York Times, Washington Times, wire service publications, freelance photographers and a number of other publications with Washington-centric coverage.
"It's nice to be recognized — there's a lot of really strong work produced within the press corps around D.C. so it's nice to be included," said Morones, who has been with Military Times more than four years.
Morones submitted dozens of photos in various categories. Most notably, he submitted his work for Arlington at 150, an in-depth look at the time-honored and revered Arlington cemetery in celebration of its 150th anniversary, in the 2015 "eyes of history" multimedia contest.
The results for multimedia have yet to be announced.
Morones is also a member of the National Press Photographers Association and the Virginia News Photographers Association.
View his work below:
