National Press Photographers Association

Best Use of Photography: 3rd Quarter 2008 Results

For News, Feature, Picture Pages, Sports, Multi-Page

2008 3rd Quarter BUP Results

Entries were judged at San Francisco State University by professor Ken Kobre, and SFSU XPRESS designer Tom Guffey and photographers Stephen Lam and Molly Stetson.

NEWS:

1st: The Houston Chronicle, Sept. 13, 2008
“The nightmare begins”
Team.
Judges’ comments: Headline works well with photo. The symbolism of the rush of water with the statue of storm memorial is effective. Clean design. Secondary headline not overpowering.

2nd: The St. Petersburg Times, Sept 21, 2008
“Believe it!”
Bruce Moyer, James Borchuck and Andy Braford.
Judges’ comments: Glorious headline exemplified story. Caught the energy of the moment and the people. Works over the fold, and really pays off when seen full. Great use of a full page photo.

3rd: The Houston Chronicle, Sept 24, 2008
“No power. No water.”
Team.
Judges’ comments: Rare successful juxtaposition of two heads/two separate photos. Great play of photos off each other. Though individual photos are particularly strong, the package is.

 

Honorable mentions:

The New York Times, July 24, 2008
“A Brooklyn train on a garden trail, on time as usual”
Jacob Silberberg, Ruth Fremson, Kim Moy and Becky Lebowitz Hanger.
Judges’ comments: Great use of secondary art which, though traditional, helps tell the story. Nice use of the photo of a map.

The Commercial Appeal, Sept. 1, 2008
“Taking no chances”
John Sale, Jim Weber, Mark Weber and Andrew Smith.
Judges’ comments: Powerful above the fold, but also a nice package.

The Los Angeles Times, Sept. 5, 2008
Republican National Convention
Steve Stroud, Kelli Sullivan, Genaro Molina and Ethan Miller (Getty Images).
Judges’ comments: Nice use of the doubletruck, with good, supporting secondary art. The headline works well with the photo.

 

 

FEATURE:

1st: The Rocky Mountain News, July 14, 2008
“Fetching beauty”
Dean Krakel and Ellen Jaskol.
Judges’ comments: Quintessential feature photo. Great headline that’s catchy and works with photo. Clean design to go with clean image; no clutter. .

2nd: The Virginian-Pilot, July 6, 2008
“Less talk. More dogs”
Todd Spencer and Bill Kelley III.
Judges’ comments: Strong package of photos with lots of character. The headline speaks to that character. Good placement of text.

3rd: The Oregonian, Aug. 5, 2008
“Frozen assets”
Mike Davis and Martha Holmberg.
Judges’ comments: Clean layout. Headline worked creatively into photo. Both photos and headline made something that could have been boring, interesting.

 

Honorable mentions:

The Virginian-Pilot, Aug. 24, 2008
“New drinks on the runway”
Todd Spencer and Bill Kelley III.
Judges’ comments: Great use of color in both photos and text, creatively designed.

The Virginian-Pilot, July 27, 2008
“A risky shot at womanhood”
Stephen Katz and Bill Kelley III.
Judges’ comments: Nice use of black space to extend the photo, giving it more attention. The integrated text provides for a unified, deliberate read.

 

PICTURE PAGE:

1st: The Virginian-Pilot, Aug. 16, 2008
“Pain of war”
Martin Smith-Rodden with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.
Judges’ comments: Compelling lead photo with equally strong secondary images. A great package that effectively captures the raw emotions of the situation.

2nd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, Sept. 15, 2008
“Cuentos de raquetas”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: Exemplary editing to fashion a story of a tennis racket.

3rd: The Virginian-Pilot, July 12, 2008
“Running of the bulls”
Martin Smith-Rodden with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.
Judges’ comments: Good layout using an amazing lead photo with effective storytelling supplemental images.

 

Honorable mentions:

The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, July 18, 2008
“Momentos culminantes”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.
Judges’ comments: Good design, and the crop of each picture heightened its intensity.

The Houston Chronicle, Sept. 12, 2008
“Across the area, they took heed and took cover”
Team.
Judges’ comments: Clever choice of photos to show human elements and what was gone (something that’s hard to do). Good tonality.

 

 

SPORTS:

1st: The Los Angeles Times, Aug. 18, 2008
“Pure Gold”
Derek Simmons, Alex Gallardo, Calvin Hom, George, Charis Tsevis, Robert Gauthier, Wally Skalij and Julian Abram Wainwright (EPA).
Judges’ comments: The composite tells a complicated story on multiple levels, drawing readers in and inviting them to spend more time studying the image. The picture goes well beyond a typical winning image. And the secondary photography added to the strength of the page.

2nd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, Aug. 1, 2008
“Una para recordar”
Mark Edelson, Sam Morris (Las Vegas Sun), John Locher and John Gurzinski (Las Vegas Review-Journal) and Ethan Miller (Getty Images).
Judges’ comments: Second used a standing page format devoted to exclusively to the staff's photography. While there were several entries of this type, this one stood out due to the excellence of the layered image that meshed well with the very clean design.

3rd: The Oregonian, July 13, 2008
“Long way down”
Patty Reksten and Joel Odom.
Judges’ comments: Good full-page use of a photo with great perspective. Good use of text in the dead space of the photo.

 

Honorable mentions:

The Virginian-Pilot, Aug. 3, 2008
“Ready, Set, Gold!”
Genevieve Ross, Bill Kelley III and Buddy Moore.
Judges’ comments: Gutsy call to run such a selectively focused image so big. The powerful image, headline and layout make for an intense package.

The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, July 4, 2008
“Reventando récords”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: Good decision to turn page horizontally and work the headline into the photo.

The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, Aug. 8, 2008
“X Games”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: Good use of a variety of photos and white space, and good placement of text.

MULTIPLE PAGE:

1st: The Los Angeles Times, July – Sept. 2008
“Street Scenes”
Mary Vignoles and Kelli Sullivan with staff photographers.
Judges’ comments: Great page design with consistently strong, powerful images and headlines that work well with the photos. Each installment is a jewel, and the package comes together to accurately represent L.A.

2nd: The Rocky Mountain News, July 21-23, 2008
“Deadly denial”
Dean Krakel, Judy DeHaas and Javier Manzano.
Judges’ comments: Intimate photos and stories simply drawn; the photography, not overpowered by text or design, help humanize the problems addressed; all images have very significant weight.

3rd: The Rocky Mountain News, Aug. 4-6, 2008
“Betting on the West”
Dean Krakel, Judy DeHaas and Matt McClain.
Judges’ comments: A good look at places with a great variety of images. This could have been clichéd, looking like a basic travelogue, but it isn’t and doesn’t. The very deliberate design is effective.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Naples Daily News, May 11, 2008
“Jesus would be, like, thrilled”
Kate Palazzi, Lexey Swall-Bobay, Judy Lutz and Eric Strachan.
Judges’ comments: Great storytelling photos. The headline works well with the images and the design (particularly the sizing of the photos) is effective.

 

The Rocky Mountain News, Aug. 9, 2008
“America’s crooked road”
Janet Reeves and Preston Gannaway.
Judges’ comments: Fantastic, brave use of diptychs that maintain a photojournalistic style. The unique juxtaposition of images convey a real sense of contrast. And the images play well off the headline.

The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, July – Sept. 2008
“A traves del lente”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images, The Associated Press, EFE, The Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas Review-Journal..
Judges’ comments: A great showcase of consistently strong, creative images. Well-edited, not formulaic, seamlessly interweaving big stories with smaller stories.

 

Comments? Corrections? More information? Next quarter's deadline? Contact BUP contest chair Mark Edelson at medelson@pbpost.com.

 

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