Rick Loomis is a New York area based freelance photojournalist. He has twice been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize - in 2007 (named) and again in 2016 (team).

Before becoming a freelancer, Loomis was a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times for more than 20 years.  He graduated from Western Kentucky University with a BA in photojournalism and a minor in Latin American studies. 

Loomis’ work runs the gamut of daily newspaper assignments, but two major themes - the environment and world conflict – have defined his career.  His sensitive eye draws viewers into situations they might not otherwise witness as he strives to capture the humanity of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances.

 In 2007, Loomis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a year-long project that documented the ills of the planet’s oceans. He took readers into some of the world’s most pristine, isolated underwater environments but also into less attractive locales like human sewage outflows and sea urchin barrens.  In pursuit of other environmentally based stories, he has camped out on the Alaskan tundra, trekked through the jungles of Uganda and rappelled from the cliffs of the rugged Oregon wilderness.

Often tasked to cover physically challenging stories in remote, dangerous places, he was one of the first journalists on the ground covering the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He then committed much of the next decade telling the story of America’s wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Loomis then followed the story home as the U.S.-led wars waned, doing in-depth projects on PTSD, soldier suicide and VA deficiencies.

Loomis covered the revolutionary movements in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Libya – all in straight succession.  He’s also chronicled other significant global news events including the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.   He also documented religious upheaval in the Central African Republic, the Syrian refugee crisis and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Ca.

In addition to the Pulitzer, Loomis has been recognized as the National Press Photographers Association’s “Photographer of the Year”, and been awarded the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi award (twice), the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Award (twice), and the Robert F. Kennedy Award (twice). In 2014, he became the 96th inductee into Western Kentucky University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni, the highest honor the university can bestow upon an alumnus.

He regularly guest lectures at universities and other institutions and also enjoys teaching and mentoring through workshops and class environments.

Loomis lives in Long Beach, Ca. with his wife, their son Casey, and the family dog Cinnamon.