Witta Priester

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Records

Priester's most significant achievement is the role her photograph played in the official recognition of asperitas clouds by the World Meteorological Organization in 2017. That a single amateur image could help document a new cloud type is a rare distinction. Her work has been featured twice on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, reaching millions of viewers, and she has exhibited with the Photographic Society of America.

AwardsPriester has not received formal industry awards, but her work has earned notable honors within the photography and scientific communities. Her asperitas cloud photograph was twice selected as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, in 2013 and 2025. In 2025, she was named the Featured Artist at the Sequim Garden Show.

Honours & Distinctions

Contribution to International Cloud Atlas

World Meteorological Organization·2017

Her photograph helped document asperitas clouds, which were added as a new cloud type.

Featured Artist

Sequim Garden Show·2025

Selected as the featured artist for the annual show.

Records & Feats

First amateur photograph to help establish a new cloud classification

Historic First·2017

Her 2005 image of asperitas clouds contributed to the World Meteorological Organization's 2017 decision to recognize the cloud type.