Doug Menuez' Image Places First in the 2022 APA Awards' Photojournalism Category

The Last Portrait, February 28, 2022

"My father was always a huge supporter of my work and even as his life was ending encouraged me to document things if I wanted to. When I arrived on his 89th birthday, his last, I saw his wife Jean laying in his hospital bed with him. It was a sweet, deeply intimate moment I knew was important for me to capture before anything changed. The nurse saw my eyes and I could tell she was reading my mind. Before I could even lift the camera, she asked Jean to get quickly get dressed for a photograph. My first instinct was to stop everyone but as so often happens to me for my best moments, I realized it was out of my hands. So, I shut up and took a breath. Jean came back and laid back down exactly as she was before and I took the photograph. It was my way of thanking my father and saying goodbye and I knew he felt that." - Doug Menuez