Team Luster

Bill Luster

Bill Luster was the Director of Photography at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, and had worked there since joining the staff in 1969. He stared as a staff photographer and eventually became the director of photography in June of 1997. From 1965-1969 he worked for his hometown newspaper, the Glasgow, KY Daily Times. During his career, he shared in two Pulitzer Prizes; one for Feature Photography in 1976, and one for Local Reporting in 1988. He was the Kentucky News Photographer of the Year five times. He published three books and freelanced for National Geographic Traveler, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Time. In 2000 he received the Joseph Costa Award from NPPA for “innovative leadership in the administration of the Flying Short Course.” In 2010 he was awarded the National Press Photographers highest award , the Joseph Sprague award in documentary photojournalism. During his time at The Courier-Journal, he covered 55 Kentucky Derbies and had exclusive access to Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Obama. Two stories in National Geographic Magazine added to his legacy. Bill, who had been a Missouri Photo Workshop faculty member several times, died May 29, 2025, at his Louisville home.

He was 80.

Faculty Mentors

Melissa Farlow

Farlow is a freelance photographer who has extensively worked for National Geographic magazine photographing more than 20 projects, many in the American West for stories on public lands, environmental issues and wild horses. Her work is published in multiple books and outlets like Smithsonian, GEO, Stern, Marie Claire, The Washington Post, National Geographic and The Nature Conservancy. Awarded a Pulitzer Prize while at the Louisville Courier-Journal, Farlow also received a National Headliner Award as well as Pictures of the Year portfolio honors while at the Pittsburgh Press. She was inducted into Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame and the University of Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame. Farlow first attended MPW as a photographer in 1976, and this is the 30th year she is part of the faculty.

Jennifer Mosbrucker

Mosbrucker is a photo editor on the National Desk at The New York Times. She previously worked as a staff photographer at the Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, Miss., and at the Columbia Missourian. She is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, where she received the O.O. McIntyre Fellowship, the school’s highest post-graduate award. This is her seventh MPW and her first year on faculty.

Photographers

Katie Adkins

Allison Barr

Laura Brett

Caitlin Cooper

Austin Johnson

Jaysun Silver

Angela Tozzi

Danielle van Steenoven

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