Darren Durlach Named 2010 Ernie Crisp Television Photographer Of The Year

 

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 5, 2010) – Darren Durlach of WBFF-TV in Baltimore has been named the new Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year today by judges at NPPA's 2010 Best Of Photojournalism Television contest.

Judges said this year's finalists for the top shooting title along with Durlach were Scott Jensen, formerly of KTUU-TV in Anchorage; Nathan Sharkey of WTVF-TV in Nashville, TN; and Andy Shilts of KMSP-TV in Minneapolis.

It's the second year in row Durlach's won the top spot. Last year he won over runner-up Jonathan Malat of KARE-TV in Minneapolis during the 2009 BOP contest.

"Darren Durlach was the hands-down winner," judge Steve Fedoriska said. 

"The judging panel voted five out of five. I knew we had something special in this tape very early on. Both spot news stories were extremely well shot and allowed the viewers to experience the stories. General news was great; “Inauguration Influx” was journey from Baltimore to the Inauguration of the President. A story that gave me a true appreciation of what the on-lookers went through to be there. It felt like the shooter never stayed in one place or had one person mic’ed up for more than a few minutes. Lots of changing perspectives, in both camera angle and sound."

Judge Peter Ross said, "The stories kept unfolding, a cascade of natural, memorable moments showcasing extra effort and  rock steady shooting. The colors seemed brighter, the people happier, the events more spontaneous. I don't know a lot about cameras, but this one seemed to have a special shine, a sheen that made all the images crisper and cleaner. This video had such positive energy. The stories were natural sound masterpieces."

Ross said that Durlach's stories were, overall, "extremely well told."

In a live online chat today between the judges and Durlach, the winning photographer was asked about how he approaches spot news coverage.

"When I get to spot news, the first thing Ii do is shoot anything that makes noise because that will be the first thing that goes away," he told the panel.

"C'mon Son,' the spot news entry, was the best spot news story of the year, as was the entry in general news, 'A  Special Piece of History.' This photographer hustled to get microphones all over the place and it paid off."

"What motivates me is making a difference, here in Baltimore," Durlach wrote in his Best Of Photojournalism entry. "I am honored to be given the opportunity each day to meet incredible people and help share their stories in a sensitive and compelling way with our viewers."

Durlach's first television job out of Radford University was at WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, where his wife Kathryn was attending graduate school. 

"I knew that I wanted to shoot video and with a degree in Media Studies, I applied to be a part-time production assistant's job to get my foot in the door. Two months later a photojournalist position opened up in their bureau and with a shameful demo reel and a lot of luck, the chief photographer took a chance on me."

"Once I was given the chance, I picked the brains of talented and patient photographers who had more experience, and were willing to teach me some valuable lessons. I made a lot of mistakes and took each one as an opportunity to get better. When my chief photographer let me borrow an NPPA quarterly clip tape, my world opened up. I studied it like an NFL quarterback, watching film for a game."

Durlach said that in 2006 the station offered him a chance to attend the NPPA NewsVideo Workshop in Oklahoma. "I learned more in a week about telling stories than I did about world history in four years of college," Durlach said.

After two years at WVIR-TV, Durlach said he knew it was time to make the move to the next storytelling level. "I was given an opportunity to work with a nationally recognized staff at WBFF-TV," he said. "The station is dedicated to an NPPA philosophy, and is committed to telling compelling, people-driven stories. Having the best photographers in the country just an edit bay away and working with the most talented reporters in the country on a daily basis has helped me grow."

Earlier this week judges picked KARE-TV of Minneapolis as the Large Market Station of the Year, WAVY-TV of Portsmouth, VA, as the Medium Market Station of the Year, and KTUU-TV of Anchorage as the Small Market Station of the Year.

NPPA's 2010 Best of Photojournalism competition is sponsored this year by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, ibiblio, Camera Bits, Ohio University, and the St. Petersburg Times.

Read about winners in BOP's television photography and editing categories

 

 

 

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