ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 22, 2005) – As the Best Of Photojournalism 2005 contest Still Photography and Web Site judges worked their way through another long day of looking at thousands of photographs Tuesday, on the third day of picking winners, Monday’s winners were posted on the NPPA Web site along with those from the first day of competition.
Judge Bonnie Jo Mount celebrated her birthday today as the panel combed through the categories of Olympics 2004, Feature, Magazine News, General News, Campaign Picture Story, Nature and Environment Picture Story, and Magazine Portrait and Personality.
The judges decided that the General News category was weak, and they did not award any Honorable Mentions. Mount felt that mediocrity in General News slowed the judging of the category, which contained more than 2,000 images, and that there was “a lack of real news events.”
To the contrary, the judges felt as if the Magazine Portrait and Personality category was very strong. “There’s just too much… too many good images,” judge Gary Hershorn said. “And we can only award first place through third place and a few honorable mentions.”
First, Second, and Third Places images in the categories judged so far, along with any Honorable Mentions, can be seen online on the NPPA Best Of Photojournalism Still Photography contest Web site.
In the Campaign Picture Story category, the repetitive nature of the political season was apparent as judges looked through 120 picture stories of more than 1,500 images. “Repetitive” was one of the words often heard muttered during the judging. Hal Buell said, “If a photographer gets an inside track with a politician during their campaign, and gets something different than their competitors, then their work rises to the stop. The moral to this story is, ‘less is more.’”
The panel of judges noticed that more photographers from outside the United States entered the Nature and Environment Picture Story category than did domestic U.S. photojournalists. Judge Victor Vaughan commented, “I think American photographers could possibly be missing an opportunity to do work closer to home that gives readers a better understanding of important environmental issues facing us.”
In the International News category, first place went to Rick Loomis of the Los Angeles Times for a photograph of Marines carrying a wounded comrade to safety while under fire in Fallouja, Iraq. Second place went to Ark Datta of Reuters for an image of an Indian man crying while he holds the hand of his eight-year-old son killed in the December tsunami, and third place to Daniel Aguilar of Reuters for a picture of a Haitian suspected of being a multiple killer for the Lavalas party. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Akro Datta of Reuters; S. Dal of Reuters; Khalid Mohammed of the Associated Press; Carol Guzy of The Washington Post; and Mario Tama of Getty Images.
In the General News category, first place went to Jennifer Brown of The Star-Ledger for a picture of a young woman being comforted by her family at a funeral service for her brother, 21-years-old, who was killed along with two other youths in a car accident. Second place went to Bob Owen of the San Antonio Express-News, and third place to David Guralnick of The Detroit News. There were no Honorable Mentions awarded in this category.
In the Domestic News category, first place went to Ryan Garza of The Flint Journal for an image of members of the “Missionaries to the Preborn” fighting in a melee with protesters during a fight between pro-life and abortion supporters in Flint, MI. Second place went to Richard Chapman of the Chicago Sun-Times, and third place to Greg Lovett of The Palm Beach Post. Honorable Mentions were awarded to freelancer Damian Hodkinson; Patrick Schneider of The Charlotte Observer; Timoth Cook of The Day; and Todd Maisel of the New York Daily News.
In the Magazine News category, first place went to James Nachtwey of VII for Time magazine for a black-and-white image of a woman caring for her son who is sick with Hepatitis E in Mornei, West Darfur. The photograph ran as a Time cover. Second place went to Shaul Schwarz of Corbis, and third place to Abir Abdullah of the Drik Picture Library. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Karim Ben Khelifa, freelance for Newsweek; Frederic Lafargue, freelance for Newsweek; and Stephanie Kuykendal of Corbis.
In the Feature category, first place went to Sarah J. Glover of The Philadelphia Inquirer for an image of orphans napping peacefully at a children’s center in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Second place went to Preston Gannaway of The Concord Monitor, and third place to Dudley M. Brooks of The Washington Post. Honorable Mentions were awarded to freelancer Ivan Kashinsky; Elaine Skylar of The Naples Daily News; and David Carson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In the Olympics 2004 category, first place went to Bob Martin of Sports Illustrated for an image of Paralympic swimmer Ervin Kovacs of Hungary diving into a swimming pool without his prosthetic legs. Second place went to Rodolfo Gonzales of The Rocky Mountain News, and third place to Adam Pretty of Getty Images. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Chris Faytok of The Star Ledger; Ronald Cortes of The Philadelphia Inquirer; Michael Robinson Chavez of The Washington Post; and Al Bello of Getty Images.
In the Magazine Feature category, first place went to Marcus Bleasdale of IPG for an image of an eight-month-old child killed by Malaria being washed before being placed in a coffin. Second place went to freelancer Krisanne Johnson, and third place to Bleasdale. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Andrey Zadorojny of Afisha magazine; Sherrlyn Borkgren, a freelancer shooting for Redux/Genesis; and Jane Evelyn Atwood, of Contact Press Images.
In the Sports Feature category, first place went to Mike Roy of the Syracuse Post-Standard for a picture of a woman laughing as she squeezes a foul ball she just caught at a Syracuse Skychiefs baseball game. Second place went to Scott Barbour of Getty Images, and third place to Martin Zabala of EFE News Services. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Stacia Spragg of The Albuquerque Tribune; Renee Jones of the Minneapolis Star Tribune; and Jim Davis of The Boston Globe.
In the Team Sports Action category, first place went to Same Riche of The Indianapolis Star for an image of Indiana Pacers forward Austin Croshere getting hammered by Ben Wallace in a game against the Detroit Pistons, shot from above. Second place went to Bary Chin of The Boston Globe, and third place to Aris Messinis of Agence France-Presse. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Louis DeLuca of The Dallas Morning News; Roger Simms of The Daytona Beach News-Journal; and Chris Lee of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In the Individual Sports Action category, first place went to freelancer Karl Stolleis for an image he shot while at The Houston Chronicle of a bull rider coming face-to-face, the hard way, with a bull named Wet Fish Justins who had just thrown him to the ground. Second place went to Mike Kepka of The San Francisco Chronicle, and third place to Lisa Dutton of The Toledo Blade. Honorable Mentions were awarded to David Bergman, a freelancer for Sports Illustrated; Bryan Patrick of The Sacramento Bee; and Adam Pretty of Getty Images.
In the Campaign 2004 category, first place went to Kat Wade of The San Francisco Chronicle for an image of Democratic candidate Senator John Edwards speaking to a cramped crowd in a soda shop in New Hampshire. Second place went to Gerald Herbert of the Associated Press, and third place to Diana Walker of Time magazine. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Jeffrey Thompson of The State Journal-Register; Luke Frazza of Agence France-Presse; Callie Shell of Aurora for Time magazine; and freelancer Bryan Smith.
Stay tuned through the week as daily stories are posted on the NPPA Web site with results from the Photography and Web Site judging.
Read Monday's story as the first round of winners were announced in Pictorial, Portrait and Personality, The Arts, Nature and Environment, Computer Image Illustration, and Conceptual Illustration.
Read Sunday's story from the first full day of judging, and learn more about the panel of judges.
