Lionel Ferbos (Photo: Skip Bolen)

Every year as the weather starts warming and March turns into April, I start to get excited about Jazz Fest. As a photographer, I start studying the Jazz Fest schedule to get a sense of what stages and artists I’ll be photographing. I saw that the Preservation Hall and Friends were celebrating their 50th Anniversary on May 6, 2012. That day in the photo pit, Lionel Ferbos—a New Orleans jazz trumpeter still performing at 102 years old—took the stage. I submitted one particular photo to the Jazz Journalists Association’s annual competition for jazz journalists, photographers and performing artists. This June 19, they announced the JJA Awards for Journalism and Media at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City where I was awarded the 2013 Jazz Photo of the Year. The winning photo is the photo of Lionel Ferbos from that day.