Gerry Melendez is a professional photographer based in Columbia, South Carolina. He has traveled throughout the U.S. and abroad, winning recognition for his work in state, regional and national contests. Melendez was named the 2005 and 2006 South Carolina Photographer of the Year by the South Carolina News Photographers Association. His work has been recognized in NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism, South Carolina Press Association, Idaho Press Association, Inland Press Association, Sportsshooter.com annual sports photography contest, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and the Southern Short Course in News Photography. He was one of the photographers featured in the best selling book “America 24/7 and his images were recently part of a traveling exhibit in El Salvador and Washington, D.C. He is married to a wonderful wife, Liz, and has two children, Ava and William.