RSS
January 2009
Judged by staff photographers Kevin Bennett, Bridget Brown, Kate Collins and John Clarke Russ of The Bangor Daily News, Bangor, Maine
News
1st: Cory Morse, Muskegon Chronicle, “Inauguration Tears” 2nd: Kendra Stanley-Mills, Muskegon Chronicle, “Motorcycle Victim’s Birthday” 3rd: Ken Stevens, Muskegon Chronicle, “Horse Accident” HM: Cory Morse, Muskegon Chronicle, “Inauguration Celebration Hug” Comments:
1st: We were drawn to the power of the image, intimate personal within the context of a huge news event.
2nd: Captured a tender moment and we liked the repetition of hands, but photo would have been better with a tighter crop.
3rd: Photographer could have gotten closer or used longer lens for a tighter shot, but overall a good storytelling photo.
HM: Standard celebration moment, but the emotion on the subjects’ faces stood out among the clutter.
Sports
1st: Ryan Garza, The Flint Journal, “Boxing Practice”
2nd: John Tully, Midland Daily News, “Hockey Smackdown”
3rd: John Tully, Midland Daily News, “Hockey Rivalry”
Comments:
1st: Nice contrast in moods, the photographer found an different, off moment in what could’ve been a typical boxing gym shot.
2nd: Great, hard-hitting peak action shot. 3rd: Beyond the obvious game shot and we liked the layering of the photo.
Feature/Single
1st: Kim Brent, Monroe Evening News, “Ballerinas”
2nd: Kim Brent, Monroe Evening News, “Giggling Girl”
3rd: Ryan Garza, The Flint Journal, “Obama on Bus”
Comments:
Overall, we found this to be the weakest category, with the best photos quickly rising to the top. 1st: Real moment, tender, nice light. 2nd: We liked spontaneous feeling and interesting framing of this photo.
3rd: Somewhat contrived, but still a unique found situation.
Feature/Multiple
1st: Jeremiah Wilson, Monroe Evening News, “To Have and To Hold” 2nd: Briana Scroggins, Midland Daily News, “Slick Sliding Tradition” 3rd: John Tully, Midland Daily News, “A Tribute to Elvis” HM: Erik Holladay, The Jackson Citizen-Patriot, “The Zen of Winter” Comments:
1st: Although we questioned the choice of the lead photo, it still showed strong storytelling with a minimal number of photos.
2nd: Again, we wondered about the choice of the lead photo, as the lead jump photo was our favorite. Overall, this story would have benefited from tighter editing.
3rd: Good, tightly edited photos that went beyond the usual Elvis impersonator photos.
HM: Simple, eye-catching photos of something we in Maine are very familiar with: searching for winter weather features!