RSS
October 2008
Judged by Heather Charles, Danese Kenon, Alan Petersime, Robert Scheer and Kelly Wilkinson of the Indianapolis Star.
News
1st Ryan Evon/Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun – Arraignment
2nd Ryan Garza/Flint Journal – Dog
3rd Ken Stevens/Muskegon Chronicle – Wreck
Comments:
Weak category, no HMs. A couple of the photos in the Feature category would have done well here.
1st: We gave the award to the smaller, lower photograph, which should have been played as the dominant image, instead of the larger one above. Kind of looks like a designer picked the vertical to fill a narrow hole. Anyways, the winning photo has great emioton, and a very clean well-done image in a tough situation.
2nd: A tender photograph that is both sad and uplifting.
3rd: A snapshot, except for the grinning cartoon of course.
Sports
1st Erik Holladay/Jackson Citizen-Patriot – Dandelions
2nd Ken Stevens/Muskegon Chronicle – Soccer Head
3rd Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle – Football LossComments:
HM John Adkisson/Flint Journal – Cheerleader Foot
HM Erik Holladay/Jackson Citizen-Patriot – Football Band
Comments:
Good category. Lots of good discussion among the judges.
1st: One of those photographs that we try for, and it never quite seems to line up right. The photographer thought this one out, and had a bit of luck on his/her side. A fun picture you don’t always see out of this category.
2nd: Very cool, very lucky, one of those pictures that’s always a hit.
3rd: A lot going on in this photograph: A lonely main player and his teammates, the scoreboard, fans. You really feel this image.
HM: A common photograph, made really, really well with the eyes and fantastic background
HM: Nice layering and excellent timing. Should have run much larger.
Feature/Single
1st Ryan Garza/Flint Journal – Dog Struggle
2nd John TullyMidland Daily News – Cowboy Swinger
3rd Briana Scroggins/ Midland Daily News – Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
HM Nathan Morgan/Midland Daily News – Leaf Pile
HM Bryan Bosch/Monroe Evening News – Band Director
Comments:
Strongest Category
1st Nice moment, good timing.
2nd Great energy. The lens may not have been available, but would have been nicer shot with a very fast lens, wide open, like a 28mm 1.8.
3rd Composition is kind of a mess, but a very cute image, and a laughing toddler in a chicken costume scores points.
HM A classic autumn photograph, well executed, but nothing new.
HM Good lines, nice light, but a bit heavy-handed with the Photoshop work.
Feature/Multiple
1st Nathan Morgan/Midland Daily News – Fostering Love
2nd Kendra Stanley-Mills/Muskegon Chronicle – Avery’s Journey
3rd Shaminder Dulai/Midland Daily News – Silent Struggle
Comments:
Except for the winner, a very weak category.
1st It’s nice to have this kind of space for images in this smaller news hole era. This badly needed at least one or two tight eyes-and-teeth portraits. Too many heads are the same size. Some judges thought that everything should have been in B&W, some editors weren’t bothered by that. Overall, the photos have a lonely feel, the final layout should have included an image showing the chaos of such a large family (probably an editing decision). The mulit-elbowed baby photograph was a winner with judges. Nice job!
2nd A good job with this one-day shoot. Overall: check. Close-up: check. Detail: check. Medium shots: check. A well-shot, well-edited package. Doesn’t take any chances, but doesn’t need to.
3rd A difficult story to tell in photographs. One real moment in this essay, and the photographs don’t match the struggle. A tight portrait would have helped.
Standings
1. Ryan Garza/Flint Journal 758
2. Erik Holladay/Jackson Cit-Pat 708
3. Tyler Sipe/TC R-E 436
4. Dave Weatherwax/Jackon Cit-Pat 380
5. Cory Morse/Muskegon Chronicle 320
Jan-Michael Stump/TC R-E 320
7. Mandy McConoha/Midland Daily News 230
8. Kevin Benedict/Midland Daily News 214
9. Kendra Stanley-Mills/Muskegon Chronicle 210
10. Kim Brent/Monroe Evening News 190