National Press Photographers Association

Best Use of Photography: 2nd Quarter 2009 Results
For News, Feature, Picture Pages, Sports, Multi-Page

2009 2nd Quarter BUP Results

Entries were judged at The Dallas Morning News. News pages were judged by director of photograpy Leslie White, picture editor Brad Loper, and photographers Melanie Burford and Louis DeLuca. Sports pages and picture pages were judged by Loper, Burford, and DeLuca. Feature pages and multiple-page entries were judged by White, Loper, Burford, DeLuca. and artist and designer Michael Hogue.

NEWS:

Judges' comments: The top three winners all have in common excellent photography, emphasis on storytelling and clarity of message, use of fewer photos sized for maximum impact, and no flaws such as technically weak pictures or redundant choices.

1st: The State, June 25, 2009
“Sanford Emails Outline His Affair”
Erik Campos, Chuck Dye and Julie Wyatt.
Judges’ comments: The first place choice rose to the top despite the fact that it's a dreaded press conference photo; it was still a strong moment, well shot, and extremely well-presented in line with the level of news it reported on.

2nd: Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2009
“Street Battles Rock Tehran”
Mary Vignoles and Mark Yemma with photos by Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: This page shows with its secondary image how storytelling and emotional even just a tightly cropped shot of a hand can be.

3rd: Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2009
“The Rebels On The Mountain”
Steve Stroud, Lynsey Addario and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: The page tremendous reporting and photography on a difficult subject, yet as a group of images they don't hold together visually as strongly or clearly as the other winners, in its attempt to bring together photos from at least three different situations while mixing candid and portrait styles.


Honorable mentions:

The Denver Post, June 16, 2009
“Spring With A Twist”
Ken Lyons, Darrel Watson and Karl Gehring.

Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2009
“Pakistani Civilians In Peril”
Steve Stroud, Carolyn Cole and Kelli Sullivan.

The Virginian-Pilot, June 14, 2009
“Wilson High School”
L. Todd Spencer, Norm Shafer and Sam Hundley.

The Virginian-Pilot, June 2, 2009
“Cop Shot In Rush Hour Chase”
Hyunsoo Leo Kim and Martin Smith-Rodden

 

 

FEATURE:

Judges' comments: The decisions in this category were closely contested and hotly debated. Opinions were very strong for both first and second place choices, and only one vote separated them. Interestingly, neither page shows a face (or at least a complete, recognizable one), yet both convey emotion and storytelling on the highest levels.

1st: Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2009
“Failure Gets A Pass”
Liz Baylen, Mary Vignoles and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: The first place page won for its successful execution and use of photography on a nearly impossible subject: attempting to make unrecognizable but meaningful photos of a sexually-abused minor who is learning disabled, with few situations to work with. The visual, emotional and storytelling content of the three images won over the majority of the judges.

2nd: The Virginian-Pilot, April 12, 2009
“Short Lives Remembered”
Bill Kelly III and Brandon Stock.
Judges’ comments: Some felt that using a submitted image huge on the page was not the best work that could be done, while others thought it was the perfect image for the content of the story or project, so it didn't matter who took it.

3rd: Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2009
“Starving For Medical Help”
Mark Bosler, Rob St. John and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: Judges admired the use of just four images to develop progression in a short story over what looks like multiple visits.

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Los Angeles Times, June 17, 2009
“New Battleground”
Kelli Sullivan, Steve Stroud and Carolyn Cole.

The St. Petersburg Times, June 14, 2009
“The Dirty Truth”
Bruce Moyer, John Pendygraft and Holly Braford.

 

PICTURE PAGE:

1st: The Virginian-Pilot, June 28, 2009
“Remembering Michael”
Martin Smith-Rodden with photos by The Associated Press and Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: First place rose to the top for relying on the basics of what works: the power of emotion and simplicity of design, even if the pseudo-emotion seems to bizarrely emanate from a wax figure.

2nd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, April 17, 2009
“Final Dramatico Para Un Dia Alocado”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.
Judges’ comments: A close second was another well thought out page with exciting and timely images of a news event. With nothing more than an extended caption as the storytelling device the designer lets the photographs say what the reader needs to know.

3rd: The Virginian-Pilot, May 31, 2009
“The Duel”
L. Todd Spencer, Bill Kelly III and Robert Suhay.
Judges’ comments: Awarding second and third places involved a debate having to do with the difference between content of photos and good use of photos, and how much each individual photo actually stood up on its own or not. In the case of third place, the majority of the judges finally decided it was a neat idea that was well presented, but in the end it used too many uneventful pictures and more hype than a duel between the birds. Second barely edged out third simply because it didn't have those flaws.

 

Honorable mentions:

 

The Virginian-Pilot, June 28, 2009
“North Korea’s Violence Grows”
Martin Smith-Rodden with photos by The Associated Press and Getty Images.

The Virginian-Pilot, April 5, 2009
“Banks Take The Blame
Martin Smith-Rodden with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.

Judges’ comments: Both pages brought home world events to local readers with good use of wire photos and expanded visual storytelling that in many papers would have just been one inside image.

 

 

SPORTS:

1st: The State, April 11, 2009
“The Masters”
C. Aluka-Berry, Chuck Dye and Meredith Sheffer.
Judges’ comments: Similar to the News Page category, the first place winner also happened to have just one single image played at maximum size. The emotion and story captured in this amazing moment justify its use at such a tremendous size. Thankfully, the details of the situation are carefully conveyed in the small caption on the page, showing that it's not just any player giving thanks on any hole of the course, but is one of the single biggest moments in this man's 52-year career.

2nd: The Oregonian, April 29, 2009
“Passing Survival Test”
Bruce Ely, Mike Zucchino, Patty Reksten and Quentin Lueninghoener.
Judges’ comments: A nice, classic combination of reaction and action, offense and defense, displayed cleanly to emphasize the moments and content without other distractions.

3rd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, April 3, 2009
“Elegancia, Atletismo Y Coraje”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press
Judges’ comments: One of the most memorable pages in the contest for its successful use of 13 images while keeping the message and visual flow clear and effective - accomplished by extremely careful selection, pairing, sizing and design.

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Judges’ comments: The pages are heavy on the same idea (four giant pictures from the NBA Finals), but along with the HM from Jasper, IN (the polar opposite in many ways) all of them have the winning qualities described so far - and no flaws - and wouldn't otherwise have won.

The Herald, May 29, 2009
“Rain, Rain Go Away”
Justin Rumbach, John Rumbach, Krista Schinagl and Thomas Simonetti.

Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2009
“The Big Bounce”
George Wilhelm, Robert Gauthier and Vic Seper.

Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2009
Pau Gasol grabbing the net
George Wilhelm, Wally Skalij and Vic Seper.

Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2009
“Deep Fishing”
George Wilhelm, Wally Skalij and Vic Seper.

Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2009
“Ring It Up”
George Wilhelm, Wally Skalij and Vic Seper.

 

MULTIPLE PAGE:

1st: The St. Petersburg Times, May 17, 2009
“The Great Depression”
Bruce Moyer, Chris Zuppa and Terry Chapman.
Judges’ comments: One of the strongest categories we saw with many papers using pictures quite well, usually on longer-term stories and only occasionally on the daily news. First place was a classic set of black-and-white portraits shot with variety. Their chief strength was the power of the faces and charm of the moments in all but the last one, which was the only weak one of the bunch. To be nitpicky, it didn't make sense why so much effort was put into showing thumbnail versions of every single inside subject on the cover, yet one person was left out.

2nd: The St. Petersburg Times, April 19, 2009
“For Their Own Good”
Patty Yablonski, Edmund D. Fountain and John Engleman.
Judges’ comments: Second place was great use of photography on a difficult to photograph story about the past. Overall it was a tremendous job. There were some concerns over whether there were too many photos ... why the photo of scars on a man's rear end was shot (or edited) in such a blunt and confrontational manner, rather than with more sensitivity or different framing ... and whether there were better images throughout the spread than what was used on the cover.

3rd: The Herald, June 27, 2009
“Drew’s World”
Justin Rumbach and John Rumbach.
Judges’ comments: Third place's in-depth candid photos of a young boy was refreshing in that some of the photos went beyond the challenges of his blindness and into issues that any five-year-old boy faces. We wondered why the detail in the large image on page 2, which appears to show Drew's name spelled out in Braille letters above his bed, was not explained in the captions, since it was such a unique and storytelling element highlighting the importance of the background layer.

Honorable Mentions:

 

Judges’ comments: In two of the three Honorable Mentions the judges felt the 1A centerpiece images were weaker than some of the inside photos, particularly the 1A photo on Ana's Story (LA Times) which effectively hid the entire facial issue from the readers, and the the story on doctor house calls (The State) which had much more powerful and emotional moments inside.

Los Angeles Times, April 5-6, 2009
“Ana’s Story”
Al Schaben, Kelli Sullivan and Mary Vignoles.

Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2009
Coverage of the day after Michael Jackson’s death.
Mary Vignoles and Rob St. John with the design staff and staff and wire photos.

The State, May 31, 2009
“The Doctor Is In … Your Own Home”
Gerry Melendez, Tom Peyton, Chuck Dye and Susan Ardis.

 

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

 

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