Shutterstock Announces Winners for Creative Grant Program Shutterstock Stories

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), a leading global provider of digital imagery, today announced the 7 winning recipients for Shutterstock Stories, a creative grant program that will award a total of $75,000 to artists around the world.  

Shutterstock received submissions from 39 countries, representing diverse backgrounds and creativity. "To hear what inspires our artists was an incredibly rewarding process," said Meagan Kirkpatrick, who oversees Global Communications at Shutterstock. "We hope these grants provide a resource for contributors to do even more with their talent, and that sharing their stories will encourage others to pursue their own creative passions," she added.

Six of the winning entries were chosen by the previously announced panel of judges, which included Academy Award® winning film producer Geralyn White Dreyfous; Head Future Media's of Creative & Design Group, Declan Gough; top Shutterstock contributor Anja Kaiser; Tumblr's Annie Werner; Nicole Stipp of kate spade new york and Shutterstock Founder/CEO Jon Oringer. The seventh was determined by a public vote, with nearly 17,000 votes being cast during a ten-day period.

$25,000 Winner (Judges' Choice)

• Paul Prescott, a travel photographer and video artist whose journeys have included India, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Israel and Egypt. He currently resides in Correze, France.

$25,000 Winner (People's Choice)

• Beto Chagas, an art-director turned photographer. He is a self-described "one-man studio" and is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

$5,000 Winners (Judges' Choice)

• Maaike Boot, an independent graphic designer and illustrator based in The Hague, Netherlands. Her cheerful illustrations have been used by stationery and lifestyle brands around the world.
• Franck Camhi "Ostill", a world-traveling storyteller with a passion for sports, dance and fashion photography. He is based in Paris, France.
• Fernando Gregory, a Mexico City-based artist who combated an economic downturn with his photography in order to support his family.
• Aff Marshall, a New York City born self-taught photographer, cinematographer and digital innovator. He has specialized in creating imagery for the fashion and beauty industries.
• Susan Schmitz, a Scottsdale, Arizona photographer whose images on pet adoption ads have saved hundreds of animals' lives.

For more information on Shutterstock Stories and to view the winning entries, visit http://www.shutterstock.com/stories.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a leading global provider of high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations and videos to businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations around the world.

Shutterstock works closely with its growing contributor community of photographers, videographers, illustrators and designers to curate a global marketplace for royalty-free imagery. Shutterstock adds tens of thousands of rights-cleared images each week, and with more than 28 million images currently available, the company recently surpassed 300-million all time paid downloads.

Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock also owns Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media agency; Offset, a high-end image collection; and Skillfeed, an online marketplace for learning.

For more information, please visit http://www.shutterstock.com/, and follow Shutterstock on Twitter or on Facebook.

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