Since 1951

ONPA

The Ohio News Photographers Association, serving Ohio’s professional and student photojournalists

David Bradford wins fourth ONPA Television POY Award

David Bradford from WJW-TV in Cleveland is the 2023 ONPA Television Photographer of the Year in a very competitive contest in which only four points separated first and third places.

This is the first POY title for Bradford since he ran off a three year string of wins beginning in 2005. Bradford won first place in four of the six categories and his first place In-Depth Series entry “Dragon Boat Survivors” was selected as Best of Show.

For the second year in a row Chris Reece from WJW placed second in the contest. Joe Cromer from WTOL-TV in Toledo placed third.

For the third year in a row WBNS-TV in Columbus has won ONPA Station of the Year award.

Entries were judged by Photojournalists Daniel Blommel, Alex Maxwell, Catherine Steward and Devin Crawford from WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee.

Complete winners list and videos . . . . .

Best of Show – David Bradford, WJW-TV, Cleveland – “Dragon Boat Survivors”

Andrew Dolph and Jeremy Wadsworth are 2023 ONPA Photographers of the Year 

Andrew Dolph from The Times Reporter in New Philadelphia and Jeremy Wadsworth from The Blade have been chosen ONPA Photographers of the Year for 2023. Wadsworth won the large market title and Dolph was the winner in the small market division in the 73rd Annual Ohio News Photographers Association still contest. Both are first time portfolio winners.

Dolph also won Best of Show for his first-place winning feature picture “Junior Hog Showmanship.”

Wadsworth, who placed second in the competition last year, pulled off a rare double as he also won the Monthly Clip Contest Photographer of the Year title. Eamon Queeny from The Columbus Dispatch was the last to do so ten years ago.

Erik Schelkun of Elsestar Images won the Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year award.

More . . . . .

Best of Show – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter
Kaitlin Yoder stares down judge Seth D. Keplinger, from Springfield, as she competes in the 14-year-old hog showmanship division at the Tuscarawas County Fair in Dover.

Terry Clark to headline 2024 ONPA Convention

 

It is time to register for the annual ONPA convention which will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at the Fawcett Center on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.

Terry Clark is the featured presenter for the event. Clark will share his project 50 Photographs / 50 Years in the morning and will give a live small-light portrait workshop after the break.

A continental breakfast and buffet-style lunch will be provided.

Clark worked at newspapers in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, where he was the photo editor and chief photographer for The Lansing State Journal. In 1990 Clark turned to freelance work based in Pittsburgh.

In late 2019, Terry turned his focus to teaching, coaching, and consulting other photographers. After doing photography at a high level for 45 years, some figure he might know a thing or two. However, when the right project presents itself, he and his cameras are ready to go on another great adventure.

While the event is free you must pre-register to ensure that hospitality staff at the event can prepare enough food and beverages.

For those wishing to stay overnight for all or part of the weekend ONPA is working out details for a lodging partner in Columbus. Details about accommodations will be released here when finalized.

LA Times roving foreign correspondent Marcus Yam speaks during last year’s convention in Columbus.

The monthly clip contest: entering makes it better

February – Story – 1st place – A tear falls down a girls face during a candle light vigil for students that were killed in a shooting, at the Diag at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Jeremy Wadsworth & Rebecca Benson | Episode 17

On this short and sweet episode of the Buckeye Visualist, host Lori King talks with ONPA monthly clip contest co-chairs Jeremy Wadsworth and Becca Benson, who are also coworkers at The Blade in Toledo, Ohio. 

Our main topic is the 44-year-old clip contest. Jeremy and Becca fill us in on who can enter, deadlines for submissions, and why you should enter. They are also seeing more photographers to enter and judges, so this is a call for action! 

Listen as we chat about how looking at contest entries inspires them; what kind of camera equipment the Blade staff is issued; the mileage Jeremy puts on his cars driving back and forth to work; and why Becca now has a fire lit under her ‘ass.’ Hint: there has never been a woman monthly clip contest winner … 

We also give a shoutout to Bob DeMay, ONPA’s webmaster who posts the monthly clip winners, as well as this podcast. Thank you, Bob!

Social media: Instagram: Jeremy | Becca

Lori King: ⁠Website ⁠

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

January – Feature – 1st place – Richard Bensman sleds with his daughters, Paige, 5, and Cora, 10, (top left) at Ottawa Park in Toledo. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)

Jeremy Wadsworth repeats as ONPA Clip Photographer of the Year

Jeremy Wadsworth of The Blade finished the year strong to repeat as ONPA Clip Photographer of the Year. Wadsworth who was in third place and trailing by 70 points in October earned 504 points in the final two months to claim the title by 312 points. 

Finishing in second place was Brooke LaValley from The Columbus Dispatch. Rebecca Benson from The Blade came in third.

Wadsworth had wins in all eight categories, 13 of them placed first and had 51 wins over the course of the year, which equalled his win total for the previous year. The bulk of his wins came in the feature and portrait categories.

Complete 2023 results

Jeremy Wadsworth’s 2023 clip winners 

November – 1st place Sports Feature – St. Ursula players celebrate defeating Avon to win the Division I regional volleyball final at Norwalk High School. St. Ursula defeated Avon 3 sets to 1. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)

Signal Akron – the new newsroom on the block

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, host Lori King talks about the power of visuals with Signal Akron’s Susan Zake, editor-in-chief, and multimedia reporter and producer Kassi Filkins

Signal Akron is a new nonprofit newsroom startup in Akron, Ohio. Susan, a former Akron Beacon multimedia journalist and editor, is leading that small but mighty newsroom, which launched in December 2023. 

Kassi worked at the Southeast Missourian and the Hartford Courant before getting her degree at Kent State University and joining the staff of Signal Akron. 

Listen as we chat about the false stigma that photojournalists can’t lead newsrooms; how visuals attract readers … and keep them more engaged; why photojournalists are a valuable asset to all newsrooms; the state of photojournalism education; the loss of independent journalism when newsrooms rely on handouts rather than their own visual reporting.

We also give a shoutout to the remaining three photographers at the Akron Beacon Journal. 

Social media:
Signal Akron | ⁠The Signal Akron Team⁠

⁠Kassi’s Portfolio⁠ | ⁠ONPA’s article on Sue Zake⁠

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Susan Zake & Kassi Filkins | Episode 16

Signal Akron’s Kassi Filkins (left) peeks into a frame taken by Susan Zake on New Year’s Eve while both were covering the swearing-in ceremony for Akron’s new mayor, Shammas Malik.

Criteria expands to apply for Larry Fullerton Scholarship

The ONPA Board of Trustees and the Dayton Foundation have changed the requirements for the Fullerton Scholarship making it more available to all students interested in visual communications. The Larry Fullerton Visual Communications Scholarship no longer requires applicants to declare a major in photojournalism. Applicants are now able to declare any major with an emphasis on photography, journalism, multimedia and/or visual storytelling. 

Students also submit a portfolio of 10-15 .pdf entries that demonstrate creativity, technical excellence, versatility and the ability to communicate visually. Online multimedia links may also be included. Both the ONPA and the Dayton Foundation are excited to make these changes and continue to help support the educational needs of our students. Please view the complete rules and deadlines on the Fullerton Scholarship page

Former Columbus Dispatch photojournalist Neal Lauron dies after battle with cancer

Dean Narciso / Columbus Dispatch

An award-winning photographer for The Dispatch, Neal Lauron spent a week in Manhattan just after Sept. 11, 2001, visually sharing the horrors he saw with readers back home. He photographed floods and fires and shootings with the same commitment and passion as he did shooting football games and parades.

The four-time Ohio News Photographer Association Clip Photographer of the Year (2011, 2008, 2005, 2001) who also won numerous Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists awards, died September 14 at his Grove City home surrounded by family.

Lauron was diagnosed with kidney cancer about a year ago, a shock to those who knew him as a fitness buff and the epitome of health.

He photographed U.S. presidents, local families, daredevils, celebrities, celebrations, food and fashion and funerals.  Lauron’s devotion to his craft was eclipsed only by his devotion to family and faith, those who knew and worked with him said. “He was like a marine,” said Doral Chenoweth III, a long-time Dispatch photographer. “He would take on any assignment and do what was asked of him without questioning it. He did that for years.”When asked to go somewhere, he’d respond “You call it. I’ll haul it,” recalled Chenoweth.

More . . . . . 

 

Neal Lauron

David Andersen retires after 44 year career in Cleveland

As he embarks on retirement the list of work places on David Andersen’s resume is very short. The list of awards is very long. There was one employer – The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

In 1979 he was the new kid on the block from Kent State University joining a staff of 18, For 44 years he consistently produced work that many contest judges rated above his peers. In 1981 Andersen was the Ohio News Photographers Association Photographer of the Year.

Like many photojournalists of his generation Andersen has witnessed numerous changes in the industry. He began his career making black and white images without a motor drive and making prints at an enlarger and ended it carrying a video camera and a computer. The staff of 18 grew to over 20, but now stands at three. There were a lot of great images in between.

 Andersen was a member of the ONPA board serving as secretary from 1995-99.

Cleveland fire fighters disappear into the smoke as they cut holes into the boarded-up abandoned building at W. 97th St. and Lorain Ave. in Cleveland. A body of a homeless woman was found after the triple three alarm fire was put out. (David I. Andersen/The Plain Dealer)

Cleveland.com reporter Julie Washington shares Andersen’s story recording history in Northeast Ohio.

Susan Kirkman Zake named editor-in-chief of Signal Akron

Signal Ohio, a nonprofit news organization with a mission to produce local journalism in service of Ohio communities, announced that it has hired Susan Kirkman Zake as editor-in-chief of Signal Akron.

Zake’s hire marks the launch of Signal’s second newsroom in Ohio. Under her leadership, Signal Akron will be representative of the communities it serves, and lower barriers to access by offering its content digitally, free, and across multiple formats.

Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986.

Over a 20-year career, Zake worked as an assignment editor, picture editor, graphics editor, assistant metro editor and assistant managing editor. She most recently served as a professor and newsroom adviser at Kent State University.   More…

Dave Zapotosky retires from The Blade

Chief photographer Dave Zapotosky gets one last look at the photo department room on his last day of work as he retires after over 30 years at The Blade and 47 years as a photojournalist.  More recent news in this months newsletter. (Kurt Steiss/The Blade)

The Buckeye Visualist

The official podcast of the Ohio News Photographers Association

The Buckeye Visualist

Monthly Clip Contest

Questions concerning the monthly clip contest can be directed to Jeremy Wadsworth or Rebecca Benson.

Entries are accepted from the first through midnight on the 15th of the month following publication. 

1st – Jeremy Wadsworth – 232
2nd – Kurt Steiss – 132
3rd – Jeff Lange – 102
          Brooke LaValley – 102
5th – Isaac Ritchey – 92
6th – Erik Schelkun – 62
7th – Bill Lackey – 52
8th – Andrew Dolph – 42
          Sam Greene – 42
10th – Jonathan Aguilar – 32

 

Kimberly Barth
Board Chair

Andrew Dolph
President

Barbara Perenic
Treasurer

Sam Greene
Still Vice President

Chris Reece
Television Vice President

Gaelen Morse
Secretary

The Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship was established at The Dayton Foundation through contributions from Larry Fullerton’s family and friends to assist students pursuing careers in photo- journalism. Larry Fullerton was a long-time member of ONPA and both a photojournalist and assistant managing editor of the Hamilton Journal-News.

More info . . . 

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