ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 22, 2006) – On the third day of the 2006 National Press Photographers Association’s Best Of Photojournalism contest, judges Tuesday picked winners in five categories of still photography and 13 categories of Web Site entries.
At the contest site at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, FL, winners and Honorable Mentions were awarded in General News, International News, Enterprise, Domestic News Picture Story, and Environmental Picture Story for still photography.
In the Web Site categories, judges gave awards in the Best News Picture Story, Best Sports Picture Story, Best Feature Picture Story, Disaster Picture Story, and Best Picture Story categories for Large, Smaller, and Unaffiliated sites. (Links listed below, with Web judges' comments).
This year's still photography judges are: Ramiro Fernandez, photography editor for People magazine; Christine McNeal, deputy managing editor for design, graphics, and photography for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Ricardo Ferro, director of photography for EFE America; Ruth Fremson, a staff photojournalist for The New York Times; and James Colton, photography editor for Sports Illustrated magazine.
This year's Web Site judges are: Margarita Corporan, a senior photography editor for America Online; Andrew DeVigal, an assistant professor at San Francisco State University and co-principal of Devigal Design; 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice, a staff photojournalist for the San Francisco Chronicle; and Juan Thomassie, a senior designer for USAToday.com.
STILL PHOTOGRAPHY RESULTS
In today’s still photography contest results, in the General News category First place was awarded to Todd Heisler of the Rocky Mountain News for a single image from his “Final Salute” essay (above), and Second place was won by Hadi Mazban of the Associated Press. Third place was won by Eric Mencher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Honorable Mentions were awarded to Altaf Qadri of EFE; Marcus Bleasdale shooting for the Saturday Telegraph Magazine; and Per-Anders Pettersson of Getty Images.
About the First place image, Ferro said, “It’s an incredible, incredible photograph." Colton commented, “This is a situation which has happened thousands of times, a soldier coming back from Iraq in a casket. I have not seen it done as well as this picture does it. It’s an important moment.”
About second place, a large family grieving over the casket of a 9-year-old killed in a car bombing, Ferro said, “It’s a misfortune of our world that many people are grieving. In this photograph, every face is shouting at me pain and dolor (agony).”
In the Enterprise category, First place was awarded to Heisler for another single image from his “Final Salute” essay, and Second place was awarded to Maxim Marmur of Agence France-Presse. Third place was won by David Guttenfelder of the Associated Press, and Honorable Mentions were given to Manish Swarup, of the Associated Press, and Eric Albrecht, of the Columbus Dispatch.
In this category, the First place photograph of the widow sleeping by the casket of her soldier husband was a unanimous choice of the judges. “This First place image is of a lady who went with her core emotions. I have never seen this situation photographed before and the photographer did a beautiful job,” Fernandez said.
About the Second place photograph of Muslims praying, Colton said, “A complex photograph, a good grab with a lot of layers. Very compelling.” Fremson said, “It’s a fresh way of seeing a typical situation.”
In the International News category, First place was awarded to Mohamed Azakir of Reuters (above), and Second place went to Chris Hondros of Getty Images. Third place was awarded to Jamal Aruri of Agence France-Presse, and Honorable Mentions were given to David Guttenfelder, of the Associated Press, and Stephen Dupont, from Contact Press Images.
“First place (the car bombing in Lebanon) was chosen in part because the photographer had to get there, be there, and take the right picture, everything is in there. It is an incredible photograph that tells the story of the moment,” Fremson said. Colton said, “Out of all the photographs in this category, this one screamed ‘the moment.’”
About the Second place photograph Colton said, “The photograph of the child standing in blood on the floor is a horrific, horrific event. She just lost her parents. There is an ominous factor with the presence of soldiers with guns and the lighting was minimal. This was a difficult situation to photograph and the photographer executed it very well.”
“The Third place photograph of the girl reacting at a funeral in Palestine is a tremendously wrenching and emotional picture which I think brought both compositional elements and horror into it,” Colton said.
In the Domestic News Picture Story category, First place was awarded to Matt Detrich of The Indianapolis Star. Second place went to Will Yurman, of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and Third place to Deanne Fitzmaurice of the San Francisco Chronicle. An Honorable Mention was awarded to Randall Hill of The Sun News.
The First place essay is about an Afghan baby brought to the States for heart surgery. Colton said, “The entry speaks for itself with all five judges agreeing that it was chosen as the First place.” Fremson said, “The photographer did a complete and concise job.” Fernandez said, “It has a first person feel to it.” Ferro said, “A very well done story.”
The Second place essay is about a Charter school. “This story has a good variety of images. It takes me to a place I knew little about,” said Fremson.
Third place is an essay about an amputee soldier returning home. “A lot of soldiers are returning home in boxes or halfway (injured). The photographers work showed me the life of this soldier, an amputee, on a personal level,” said Ferro.
In the Environmental Picture Story category, First place was awarded to Joel Sartore of National Geographic magazine. Second place went to Christopher LaMarca of Redux Pictures, and Third place to Simon C. Roberts of NB Pictures. An Honorable Mention was awarded to freelancer Michael Robertson.
“It’s an appreciation of the natural world,” Colton of First place essay in the Environmental Picture Story category. “I find the photographs stunning,” McNeal said.
Fernandez commented: “You have all the elements. You have nature by it’s self, the community involvement, a distinct point of view and nice great photography all around.”
“I love the photography,” McNeal said about the Third place essay, a series of images illustrating how Russia claims to be the coldest country in the world.
WEB SITE RESULTS
In today’s Web Site contest results, in the Best News Picture Story (Large Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to The New York Times for “Leaving Gaza” (above). Second place was Washingtonpost.com for “Hopelessness in Balakot.” And Third place was Washingtonpost.com again, for “Life in the Territories.”
Judge Deanne Fitzmaurice said, “This (First place) entry stood out as a unanimous first place for almost all of the judges. The work was shot with great heart, passion and understanding of the story. It really gives us a sense of what it felt like to be there. You learn so much by looking at this well-edited series of photos. They tell us everything we need to know about the story. Visually, every frame is composed so beautifully with layers of information edge to edge. Everything in the frame is there for a reason.”
About Second place Fitzmaurice said, “This entry rose to the top in a strong category. The photographer shot this story with great compassion. These images in Pakistan, shot in a difficult situation are very powerful. These storytelling images capture the emotion of the people, a sense of the land and the horror of having your world ripped from under you. The photographer makes us care about these people and their fate.”
In the Best News Picture Story (Smaller Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to TCPalm.com for “Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.” Second place was Time Asia for “Rebel Territory.” And Third place was Mercurynewsphoto.com for “Historic Oath.”
Judge Margarita Corporan said, “The (First place) overall package is strong, specifically beginning with the introductory image of the young girl with hair sweeping over her face and the background audio of the wind blowing. The images present an intimate understanding of the community. Usability and tech execution are easy to navigate. Overall, a very tight package.”
“Second place (Nepal, Time Asia) had great editing giving strong perspective of each individual and the surrounding environment. Easy navigation and great option to see a contact sheet of the images, but only if they weren’t cropped too tightly.”
“‘Historic Oath’ (Third place) has a great sense of news telling about how a Vietnamese girl makes moves politically within an American community. Strongest photo is a profile image of her at the mike. She looks so vulnerable but yet coming into her womanhood. Nice package overall but a bit slow with the slide show presentation.”
In the Best News Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to MediaStorm for “Never Coming Home” (above). Second place was TimGruber.com for “In Search of the Right Road.” And Third place was Moment Agency for “Unity for the Pope.”
About the Best News Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) category, judge Juan Thomassie said, “This (First place) entry stood out for the quality of the content – the photos by Andrew Lichtenstein matched with great first-person audio, produced by Zac Barr. The design of this entry was elegant and easy to use. The transitions were well executed and timed. Very good storytelling with high production values.”
“‘In Search of the Right Road’ (Second place), this entry’s strong photos and the first-person audio were equally compelling. The photos really showed the day-to-day struggle to survive, the high moments and the lows. The photographer captured a sense of environment, as well as a closeness to the subject and his relationships.”
“‘Unity for the Pope’ (Third place) was a strong contender with solid photos. The story idea and setup describing the tension between the two soccer teams presenting a passionate and different perspective on Pope John Paul's death. The quality of the audio was not as strong as the photography. The judges all commented on the long download time for this entry.”
In the Best Sports Picture Story (Large Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to the Los Angeles Times for “The Girl” (above). Second place was The New York Times for “Harley’s Heros.” And Third place was a tie between USA Today for “A Gold Medal Balancing Act” and Washingtonpost.com for “Making Weight.”
About the Best Sports Picture Story (Large Affiliated Sites) category, Corporan said, “‘A Surprise in the Ring, Girl Boxer’ was a great story overall. It’s compelling and gives the viewer the opportunity to get to know the subject and understand the unique nature of her relationship with her father. Strong photographs complement the audio perfectly. Usability was lacking the option to advance forward and backwards and didn't display the length of time of video. Our strongest concern was the editing of the first few images, we would have preferred to have various images of her boxing; presenting both details shots as well as pull-back of young girl in action.”
“‘Harley’s Heros’ (Second place) offers a different way of looking at traditional black and white photography with the photographer’s technical conquest. The story has a strong edit of images that are both portrait-like and journalistic covering the relation between the fans and the athletes.”
“Third place, ‘Making Weight,’ gave us the opportunity to get to know the subject in all aspects of his life. However in the beginning images it is not easily known that he is a wrestler, but they offer a glimpse at the relations he has at school and in his personal life. When we see wrestling, it draws us in with amazement and makes us care and feel for the subject. Audio was missed and could have enhanced the overall web package,” Corporan said.
In the Best Sports Picture Story (Smaller Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to Mercurynewsphoto.com for “Salute In Bronze” (above). There were no other awards in this category.
About the Best Sports Picture Story (Smaller Affiliated Sites) winners, Fitzmaurice said, “This category had only three entries. One of them was eliminated since video is not allowed in this category. We awarded first place to ‘Salute in Bronze.’ The story was good deeper coverage of a daily story combining still pictures with audio. The other entry, the ‘Old Ball Game,’ was a good idea to try to do something different with opening day of baseball season, but we didn’t feel the photos went beyond the obvious. The subject was dead center in almost every image with little finesse in the composition and nowhere else for your eye to go in the frame. We were hoping to see some surprises in this story and were also hoping to see more entries in this category.”
In the Best Sports Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to JD Perkins for “The Last Wave.” Second place went to Mark M. Hancock for “Photojournalism: Aaron Brannen, State Champion.”
About the Best Sports Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) winners, judge Andrew Devigal said, “The clear winner was ‘The Last Wave’ by JD Perkins. It was not, however, the one that received the strongest recommendation. Though the photos are compelling and beautiful, the judges felt that the package needed a visual introduction beyond the text graphic. Save two photos, one with the Israeli flag and the wall with the barbed wire, these images could have been Venice Beach, California. And finally, though the site was well designed with special attention paid to the presentation of photos, the adage of “Keep It Simple” needs to be applied. The navigational device of six little dots made us think that there was only six images to view and thought that the gray dots were ways to navigate from one photo to another. In addition, it’s ironic that the text ‘photographs 2000-2005’ was larger in size and brighter in color then the brand of the site “jd perkins.’ This should have been the more prominent of the type display.”
In the Best Feature Picture Story (Large Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to The New York Times for “Varanasi: City On The Ganges.” Second place went to Time.com for “One Life At A Time.” Third place went Time.com for “Honor After the Fall,” and Honorable Mentions were given to USAToday.com for “Johnny Holiday: Finally Acting His Age;” to Washingtonpost.com for “The Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo;” to Washingtonpost.com for “Life in a Sudanese Cattle Camp;” and to Washingtonpost.com for “Obesity’s Struggle.”
In the Best Feature Picture Story (Smaller Affiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to TCPalm.com for “Hope for a Cure.” Second place went to NorthJersey.com for “Beyond Skin Deep.” Third place went to TCPalm.com for “Gifford Gardens,” and an Honorable Mention was given to Mercurynewsphoto.com for “Vietnam: 30 Years Beyond the War.”
In the Best Feature Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) category, First place was awarded to Kari Collins for “Beside Still Waters.” Second place went to fotoco.dk for “Ardoyne Suicides.” Third place went to JD Perkins for “Building a Dream,” and an Honorable Mention was awarded to “City Circus Battles for Olympus.”
For the Disaster Picture Story (Large Sites) category, First place was awarded to Time.com for “After the Deluge.” Second place went to The New York Times for “After The Tsunami.” And Third place went to Time.com for “Recovering From the Tsunami: One Year Later.”
For the Disaster Picture Story (Smaller Sites) category, First place was awarded to Time Asia for “Asia’s Tsunami: Indonesia 3 Months After.” Second place went to Time Asia for “After the Quake.” And Third place went to Time Asia for “Asia’s Tsunami: Thailand.”
In the Disaster Picture Story (Unaffiliated Sites) category, no award was given.
In the Best Picture Story category, it was a tie for the winner between “Beside Still Waters” by Kari Collins and “Varanasi: City on the Ganges” by The New York Times.
At the end of the week the judges will pick the Photojournalists of the Year for the large market and small market categories, as well as the winner of Cliff Edom’s “New America Award.”
NPPA's Best Of Photojournalism contest is sponsored by Canon, Avid, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Hesketh.com, Ibiblio.org, Western Kentucky University, Camera Bits, Ohio University, and Merlin One.
Read an earlier story about the judges and the contest here.
Read about Sunday's winners here.
Read about Monday's winners in nine categories here.
