2016 Final Point standings

1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch - 1564
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade - 1124
3rd - Barbara Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch - 954
4th - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinniati Enquirer - 734
5th - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch - 724
6th - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch – 634
7th - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer - 604
8th - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal - 534
9th - Joshua Bickel, ThisWeek Newspapers - 484
10th - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch - 464
11th - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch - 434
12th - Chris Crook, Zaneville Times Recorder - 344
13th - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch - 330
14th - Molly Corfman, The (Fremont) News Messenger – 324
        - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer - 324
16th - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository - 284
17th - Shane Flanigan, ThisWeek Newspapers - 244
18th - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun - 224
19th - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images - 214
20th - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal - 194
21st - Jason Molyet, The (Mansifeld) News Journal - 114
        - Katie Rausch, The (Toledo) Blade - 114
23rd - Amanda Rossmann, Cincinnati Enquirer - 104
24th - Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch - 84
25th - Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal - 74
         - Cara Owsley, Cincinnati Enquirer - 74  
27th - Isaac Hale, Ohio University - 22

January 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Anxious Moments"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Breather"
3rd - Molly Corfman, The (Fremont) News-Messenger, "High Speed Chase"

Judges comments: Probably the weakest of all categories for the month of January. We selected the dog as the winner because it was great to see a different moment from spot news that was not something we expected to see from a scene.

General News
1st- Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "English Learner"
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Mayor"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Memorial"
HM - Kareen Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Zaragoza"
HM - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Anti Abortion"

Judges comments: We chose the Syrian child because it was very graphically appealing and clean with a moment that helped tell the story. 

Feature
1st- Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Snowdogs"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Auto Show"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Flakes"
HM - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Yule Log"
HM - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Magneto"

Judges comments: A few great, clean images in this grouping. We chose the dog one because everything in the photo worked wonderfully together. Great moment with compelling background that brought the image full circle.

Sports Action
1st- Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Tipped Ball"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, “Escape”
3rd - Katie Rausch, The (Toledo) Blade, “Big Hit”
HM - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, “Fumble”
HM - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, “Jammed”

Judges comments: Great images in this category as well, we selected the NFL photo as the winner because of the moment and really bringing the viewer to a split moment in time. It really shows the intensity, passion, and emotion of an important fourth quarter play in the playoffs.

Sports Feature
1st- Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Deaf Basketball Player"
2nd - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Face Time"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Goal"
HM - Isaac Hale, Ohio University, "Beasketball Fight"
HM - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Cheer"

Judges comments: We selected the deaf basketball player as the winner because of the clean graphic frame that really tells the story of this young man who is dealing with his condition as he plays basketball.

Portrait
1st- Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Robert Richardson"
2nd - Kareen Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "MVP"
3rd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Firefighter"
HM - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Mural"

Judges comments: We selected the portrait of Robert E. Richardso because it was the best executed portrait, with great use of natural light and not just an ordinary head shot of a company VP.

Story/Essay
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, “Sister Act“
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, “Katich Campaign”
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, “Struggle”
HM - Katie Rausch, The (Toledo) Blade, “Flint Water“

Judges comments: The 'Sister Act' story contained many great moments that told a story, we thought it could have been edited a bit tighter, but overall stood out as the story that the photographer put a lot of hard work into getting wonderful moments and presenting the reader a story that they would typically not have access to.

Judges: Joel Bissell || MLive Media Group- Muskegon Chronicle and Taylor Ballek || Spectrum Health Beat in Grand Rapids

February 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Man Injured"
2nd - Jason J. Molyet, The (Mansfield) News Journal, "Smoke"
3rd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Police Shooting"
HM - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Hot Spots"

Judges comments: First did the best job of telling a story, with angle that drove home the impact of the collision. Visually, second  stood out (wider comp may have been better). Third was static, but moody. HM sneaks in because of the FF’s worried expression, hurt for image quality.

General News
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Ash Wednesday"
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Primary Voter"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Breast Prothesis"

Judges comments: Some nice pictures in this group, top 3 stood out. Great searching around, color and comp for first and ditto for second. Third  is a nice contemplative and intimate moment.

Feature
1st - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Band Farewell"
2nd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Nice Day"
3rd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Sunseet Watch”

Judges comments: Great face for first , really feel the trudging through the snow. Terrific find for second , very Animal House. Good find as well for third, love the light and shapes.

Sports
1st - Jason J. Molyet, The (Mansfield) News Journal, "Pretzeled"
2nd - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, "Kayaker"
3rd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Dunk"

Judges comments: While plenty of o-k sports images in here, few stood out. First , great action – viewer’s eye is left searching for where the wrestler’s body goes. Best moment of the bunch. Water in kayaker’s face for second really captures the intensity. And third is a good job getting a concourse (remote?) hoops shot – could use a tighter crop.

Sports Feature
1st - Katie Rausch, The (Toledo) Blade, "Clock Runs out"
2nd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "District Champs"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Goal"
HM - Shane Flanigan, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Ball Boy"

Judges comments: Great faces in here. Several elements really come together for first. Good jube for second and ditto for third. Cool moment for HM

Portrait
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Art"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Clay Otter"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Machete Attack"

Judges comments: Great job on firstt and second, those two really leapt off the contact sheet even as thumbnails. Good color, comps and creativity. Love third , just shows great portraits that tell stories aren’t always faces.

Story/Essay
1st - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Kasich Campaign Trail"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Thomas Knox"
3rd - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Brain Cancer"

Judges comments: This came down to variety. Kasich and Thomas hockey stories did the best. Loved the color, comps and detail for Kasich stump events, and Thomas Knox hockey story was touching --  cool piece.

Judges: Mike Christy and Kelly Presnell from the Arizona Daily Star

March 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Too Hot"
2nd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "House Explosion"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "House Fire"

Judges comments: Sorry folks, this was a very weak category and light on entries.  Maybe it’s a statement on our ever changing industry with smaller staffs not being able to report on live spot news as frequently as we used to. Hopefully this isn’t a trend because we all know how exciting “spot news” images can be for our readers.  Don’t worry; it gets better.  

General News
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Capes For Kids”
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Kasich Wins"
3rd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Speaking With the Judge"

Judges comments: This will sound odd, but the judges toiled over 1, 2, and 3 here.  Any one of the photos could have been in any slot.  (1) Barb’s picture won because we all liked it’s fun and light fare, and we all agreed that (2) Kyle’s photo took a little luck getting that decisive moment when the confetti naturally framed Gov. Kasich’s face. Photographers like the inventor of the motor-drive, not so much the inventor of confetti.  Finally, the judge team discussed how much we hate silhouettes and then contradict ourselves by shooting a gauntlet of them all the time.  I think we dislike them because it’s so hard to get a brilliant one.  We all agreed that (3) Tom’s came close.  We all liked the composition and strong shadow on the right.  It made us think that this was a private and intimate conversation and it was cool treatment here.       

Feature
1st - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Sky High"
2nd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Pie Face"
3rd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Reading Time"
HM - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Breakfast Mirror"

Judges comments:  For some reason we couldn’t take our eyes off (1) Eric’s wind surfer photo for several reasons. It was a nice composition, great sky, and the fact that he included the other surfing companion’s board in the frame which played a temporary trick on our eyes.  We believed readers would take time to study that photo and smile, and that’s a good thing.  The other winners were nice moments that we all enjoyed.

Sports Action
1st - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, "Loose Ball"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Take Down"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Face Plant"

Judges comments:  Outstanding category from Ohio photogs.  This one took forever because they were all so good.  But, we had to award the places.  Anyone who’s experienced at shooting sport knows that women/girls basketball includes a lot of floor action and battling on the boards and you have to be alert to get anything exciting when the tumbling and wrestling begins. (1) Scott nailed it with this photo. One judge quipped, “Awesome! Less arm pits and more floor action.” (2) Barbara’s decision to include the ref in her image made all the difference telling the story and since our staff shoots a ton of hockey we all applauded (3) Andy’s ice crash.  Way to go Buckeye state, don’t change a thing.

Sports Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Wreslting Champ"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Blue Jackets Entrance"
3rd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "U.S. Soccer"

Judges comments:  Each image was displayed to the judge team on a big Apple monitor and when we saw (1) Andy’s “State Champ” picture everyone simultaneously shouted “Love it!”  Do you remember that old PJ professor who told you that it is most always better to shoot sports “reaction” than “action?”  Seems true here.  (2) Kyle’s hockey team entrance photo was enchanting.  We’ve all photographed the glitter and smoke show when the pros come out on the field, court or ice, and looked at our edits and said, “almost, maybe next time.”  This image is candid and it looked like Kyle shot it in a Manhattan commercial studio in Soho. Nice frame!  Remember how it was previously stated that we hate silhouettes?  Well, we still do, but not (3) Adam’s soccer bleacher with the Statue of Liberty crowns was fantastic and we hope The Dispatch lay-out editors used it large.  Good category.         

Portrait
1st - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Hoeroin T-shirt"
2nd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Paintball Referee"
3rd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Air Base Landfill"
HM - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Deported"

Judges comments: Molly (1) had a very nice portrait of a subject that is breaking the hearts of families, friends and community members around the nation.  It was a simple portrait of a person who lost a loved one from their battle with heroin addiction.  The Buffalo News staff has had several assignments in the last several months trying to tell this story with our cameras and it has proved almost impossible.  We looked at Molly’s picture for a long time.  We liked it.  Tom’s (2) reflective subject of the paintball ref was a way to make just another somewhat interesting character more interesting.  The team agreed that this kind of treatment can often be contrived, but this one was well done.  Chris’s portrait (3) of a cancer survivor locked behind a gate was smart and symbolic.  We hoped that it was used for a section front, because it deserved to be.        

Story/Essay
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Donald Trump "
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "The Arnold"
3rd - Shane Flanigan, Zanesville Times Recorder, "State Champs"

Judges comments: There was no obvious winners in this category so we shifted our focus on which shooter worked the hardest to get story telling imagery.  Adam clearly won this hand’s down taking the (1) and (2) spots.  Usually, picture stories are anchored by one or a few dynamic pictures and the rest seem to fall into play  a supportive roll.  In all of the submissions, this was not the case, but we agreed that an amazing amount of effort, energy and camera-angle exploration transpired and that was no exception with Shane’s experience (3) shadowing the state champs and community.  Good work Adam and Shane. 

Illustration
1st - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Water Testing"
2nd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Croissants"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Valter's Chicken Sandwich"

Judges comments:  The illustration category seems to be going the way of the T-Rex or unicorn.  Only five entries for such a big and talented state.  Maybe it’s because we don’t get the time during a shift to properly execute a controlled studio or remote illustration.  They used to be so dang fun.  Well, anyway… Hat’s off to Chris (1) with his water testing test tube globe inverted skyline photo.  Outstanding.  What a clever way to tell the story in one photo. You probably had the headline writers scratching their heads wondering how to give an excellent picture and story a good display.  Finally, we all enjoyed the teasing quality of Chris’s (2) bakery photo.  Took us a while to make sense of it, but once we got it we loved it.  Kyle’s (3) chicken sandwich was nice.  We wondered if you wrapped it up or ate it there. 

Judges: from The Buffalo News
1. Robert Kirkham/Staff Photographer/Judge Host
2. Cathaleen Curtiss/Director of Photography
3. Derek Gee/Chief Photographer
4. Harry Scull, Jr/Staff Photographer
5. John Hickey/Staff Photographer

 

April 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, "House Fire"
2nd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Potential Disaster Put to Bed"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Semi Crash"

Judges comments: Good emotion in first place winner. Second place showed strong composition and use of light. Third place showed a good angle.

General News
1st - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Vigil"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Bieber Fans"
3rd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Fire Training"

Judges comments: First place showed sensitive treatment of an emotional event. Second place showed great faces of Justin Bieber fans. Third place was a good angle showing interesting composition in both foreground and background.

Feature
1st - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Garland Waltz"
2nd - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Gone Fishing"
3rd - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Family Portrait"
HM - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Songkran Festival"

Judges comments: First place is a beautiful quiet moment during what could have been a boring rehearsal. Judges liked how the composition and color palette matched the event in the second place entry. Third place was just an odd situation that we have never seen.

Sports Action
1st - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, "Sandspray"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Diving Catch"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Air"
HM - Shane Flanigan, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Flipped"
HM - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, "Splash"

Judges comments: This was clearly the strongest category with much discussion about the winners. Judges liked the unique angle on the first place photo of the long jumper. Second place showed good timing and great composition. Third place also benefitted from great composition and a unique angle.

Sports Feature
1st - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Relay Finish"
2nd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Walk Off Homer"
3rd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Youth Baseball"

Judges comments: First place was a story-telling image away from the main action. Second place showed good timing and good composition after the play of the game. Third place showed great composition while telling a simple story well.

Portrait
1st - Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch, "Cowboy"
2nd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Wound Care Center"
3rd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "New President"

Judges comments: First place feels genuine. Very clean composition and a great moment. Second place showed great treatment of a situation that’s technically difficult due to reflections. Third showed great lighting skills and good composition.

Story/Essay
1st - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Funeral"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Pike Vigil"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Opening Day"

Judges comments: Judges felt that all of the stories could have benefitted by a tighter edit. First place contained the strongest images. Second place had some strong images from a general news event. Third place featured some interesting people moments.

Judges: John Beale, former chief photographer at the Post-Gazette in Pittsburgh now teaching photojournalism at Penn State; Curt Chandler, teaches multimedia reporting at Penn State. He previously was the editor for online innovation at the Post-Gazette and worked at the Plain Dealer; Cameron Hart, is a Penn State senior majoring in photojournalism and works for the student newspaper.

May 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Hilliard Shooting"
2nd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Teen Dies in Crash"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Homicide”

Judges comments: First place was a strong image and an example for how a quote can make an image even stronger. The comment from the little girl, just a few years older than the boy who was shot, is heartbreaking. 2nd place we would have loved to see executed technically a bit better, but it was a great example of being in a situation fast and capturing a hard moment. Third place was also a hard situation to document that was captured well.

General News
1st - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Fallen Officers"
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Hillary"
3rd - Amanda Rossmann, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Visitation"

Judges comments: We chose the first image for first place because we felt that compositionally and journalistically it was captured well by the photographer. It was relevant that the girl was looking at the memorial and newsworthy that he father was on the memorial. It was a true moment that had been captured and we appreciated that. The second image had a good “hometown” feel to it and we enjoyed the ties of red, white and blue (Clinton’s outfit and the blue sky) throughout the image. Third was a tough news situation, although we’re sure that circumstances were tough, it fell to third because we were a bit distracted by the foreground of cars, even a minor crop on the bottom of the image would have helped greatly.

Feature
1st - Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal, "Memorial Day"
2nd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Senior Prom"
3rd - Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch, "Too Close"

Judges comments: We debated a bit about awarding this image first as a feature, as we felt it might have fit better in the general news category, but we understand that in the case that it was a found moment and not a planned event, that by definition it does fit better into the feature category. It was a great, raw moment that was captured well by the photographer. The second place image was also a very great moment captured by the photographer between the gentleman and the senior citizen. Third place was a nice found situation and a fun image…the kind that any editor would be thrilled to have delivered to them.

Sports Action
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Shadow Runners"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Penalty Kick Save"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Hitting the Wall"
HM - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Safe at Second"

Judges comments: We were looking for interesting action, clean backgrounds, proper toning and solid crops. The first image immediately stood out to us as a unique way to shoot something we’ve all shot before. 2nd and third were both great action shots that stood out well and were clean and crisp. We’d love to see #3 cropped a bit tighter! The HM was also a well executed shot that stood out from the rest.

Sports Feature
1st - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Flying Pig Marathon"
2nd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Surprised"
3rd - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, "Curler"

Judges comments: The first place image stood out to us. It was nicely shot with nice lot and lots of emotion from the women. Again, a nice way of seeing an event that we’ve all shot before. 2nd place was all about that emotion and the flip of the hair. So great. Third place was very visual and easy to read compositionally.

Portrait
1st - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Archbishop"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Struggling Mother"
3rd - Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch, "Graduation Day"

Judges comments: First place shoot out well because it fit the category and was well executed compared to others in the category. Again, it immediately stood out to us. It would have been great for the caption to have a bit more information to it. Second and third place were both great moments that showed the portrait of the subject in a very candid way, we loved that.

Story/Essay
1st - Cara Owsley , Cincinnati Enquirer, "Bodybuilders"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Dream Field"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Steller View"

Judges comments: This category was tough for us to award a first, second, and third place for. We felt that all entries were imperfect in some way or another. 1st place had a tighter edit. The story had a narrative and a storyline that brought the reader through the images. 2nd place had lots of potential but we felt it could have benefited from a tighter edit, if edited a bit tighter this likely could have fallen into first for us.  Third place lacked a clear story line that was evident through images and not reading the story description, but contained lots of nicely shot images.  

Judges: Kristen Zeis and L. Todd Spencer from The Virginian-Pilot

June 2016 clip contest results  

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, "Casino Shooting"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Disbelief"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, Barbara J. Perenic, "Shooting"

Judges comments: First place had something we don't see that often in many contests, a photo of the spot news event happening and not just the response to an event. Second and third place stood out for the emotion in the photographs. 

General News
1st - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, "Flag Burning"
2nd - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, "Vigil"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Miracle"

Judges comments: In the first place picture the fire against the color of the flags and appearance of the veteran grabbed our eyes at first, however, the use of the crutch made the picture for us. Flag disposal ceremonies in Oklahoma are not as visually interesting. Second place had good emotion. We would love to see a photo story about the subjects of the third place picture. 

Feature
1st - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Splashdown"
2nd - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, "Sun Roof"
3rd - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Color Run"

Judges comments: It can be easy to get burned out on taking pictures of kids at pools in the summer, but the angle the photographer took on the first place picture made this one rise above what we often see. Second place shows that a big dog with its head through a sunroof is funny. You just can't deny it. Third place would have been number one in this category if the distracting legs of another runner were not in the background. After much discussion, we don't think there is anything the photographer could have done about that. 

Sports Action
1st - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Runners' Reflection"
2nd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Mountain Bike"
3rd - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Fall at the Finish"

Judges comments: The composition of the first place photo with the reflection in the water made it our top choice. In the second place photo we liked the lighting and color. There is a great finish line moment in the third place picture. We think cropping out the runner on the left would have made it stronger. 

Sports Feature
1st - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Goal"
2nd - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Finish Line Celebration"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "State Champs"

Judges comments: This category had lots of great emotion. The composition of the first place picture made it the winner for us. We liked the astonishment on the face of the winning runner in the second place photo. The number of faces you can see in the third place picture make this dog pile photo stand out.

Portrait
1st - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Weinel"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Play Space"
3rd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Barley Man"HM

Judges comments: The first place entry did the best job of making us get the feeling of its story.

Story/Essay
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Cavs Parade"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Transplant"
3rd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Clinton Campaign"

Judges comments: Some of the single pictures in this category would have been contenders in some of the other categories of the contest. We were surprised not to see them entered.

Illustration
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Achoo"
2nd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Bouillabaisse"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Salad"

Judges comments: Not many entries in this category. The first place illustration used a good technique to show the feeling of a sneeze. Second and third place did manage to make us hungry. 

Judges: Nate Billings and Bryan Terry from The Oklahoman

July 2016 clip contest results  

Winning images

 
 Spot News
1st - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Swing"
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "RNC Arrest"
3rd - Shane Flanigan, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Rollover Crash"

Judges comments: Pretty weak category, especially with only 14 entries. A few nice frames but they weren’t spot news (one was a portrait, the other a general news vigil well after a spot news event). The winning images stood out from the rest for their unique perspective or capturing a moment of storytelling.
 
 General News
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Trump Acceptance Speech"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Fireworks"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Trump Protestors"

Judges comments: Better category, but still some incorrectly entered photos. General news is a planned event. The first place image of Trump was uniquely framed. The second place image was a fireworks image we’d all be happy with. Third place was nice light but needed some more context.
 
 Feature
1st - Amanda Rossmann, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Hippo"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Back in Time"
3rd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Fair Adjustment"

Judges comments: Easily the strongest category but the winners rose to the top. The First place reflection image was very well executed. Gorgeous light in the second place image and the third place image made us laugh, which is always a good strategy.
 
 Sports Action
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Game Winner"
2nd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Header"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Slide Tackle"

Judges comments: This category was shockingly weak. Only 11 images entered. First place stood out for the moment. Second place needed a tighter crop but was good peak action. Third place similarly good action but the player on the right distracted from the moment and hurt the frame. Not much the photographer can do there unfortunately.
 
Sports Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Autograph"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Goal"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Piazza's"

Judges comments: We had high hopes for this category, and there were some nice frames, but just because a frame is wide doesn’t make it a feature. It it’s still action in the frame, it’s sports action. First place was great light and a nice moment. Second place similarly a nice moment and third place captured some strong emotion.
 
Portrait
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "RNC Portrait"
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Trump Supporter"
3rd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Kick Lee"

Judges comments: The winners here rose to the top quickly. First place was gorgeous light, second place really captured the character and third place was well composed with great technical execution of framing and composition elements.
 
Story/Essay
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "RNC"
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Dogwood Pass"
3rd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Civi War"

Judges comments: Strong category here but again the winners rose to the top for their variance in lens choice, storytelling imagery and use of light and composition. All were excellently done.

Judges: Kyle Grantham, Suchat Pederson and Daniel Sato from The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

August 2016 clip contest results

Winning images
 
Spot News
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Disbelief"
2nd - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Shooting"
3rd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Fire"

Comments: Very thin category and first place at least had some human reaction but still a little hard to tell what they are reacting to. Second and third were just kind of record/point photos but set the scene of what happened!
 
General News
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Vigil"
2nd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Distracted Driver"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Goodbye"

Comments: Very small category as well! All 3 hit the mark with some type of moment that made us feel for what was going on as the others were more feature type photos. 
 
 Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Strong Man"
2nd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Crib View"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Sealed"

Comments: Top 3 rose to the top very easily again. First is just a funny, sweet moment with the girl cheering on her dad!! Love the interaction! Second was just an easy chuckle and unique! Third was a classic photo and reaction you would hope to come away with at the event!!
 
Sports Action
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Tackle"
2nd - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, "Grounded"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Serve"

Comments: Nice trio of images!! First one was just composed perfectly with a nice peak moment and extreme low angle helps put us in that shot! Second was all a nicely timed soccer photo with great legs and faces! Third we’ve all seen before but very clean and nice facial expression takes this to third!
 
Sports Feature
1st - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Walk Off"
2nd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Dunked"
3rd - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, "Goal Celebration"

Comments: Nice winners. Lots of quiet photos in the category that just didn’t rise into the reaction the others had.
 
Portrait
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Renegade"
2nd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Gravestone"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Pathologist"

Comments: Very thin category. At least 1 & 2 intrigued us into “wanting to know more” First place, we thought, could use a small step to the left or a crop off the left to get rid of that pole but GOOD caption. Same as 2nd. Good caption and nice framing. 3rd place gave us NO information about then subject or why they were chosen as the “Going To School” subject but nicely shot.
 
Story/Essay
1st - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Ironman Ohio"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Pure Michigan 400"
3rd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "State Fair at Night"

Comments:  Where are all the stories? Feels like more stories could come from daily assignments with time but we struggled to pick a third with only 4 stories entered. The first & second place had some night images but the Iron Man was lacking emotion from the participants. Second was a process story but they made the best of covering such a big event by themselves.
 
Judges: Matt Detrich, Sam Richie and Matt Dial, Indiana University Health Visual Media Team (All former Indianapolis Star Photojournalists!)

September 2016 clip contest results  

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Truck Fire"
2nd - Shane Flanigan, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Runaway Semi"
3rd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Double Fatality"

Judges comments: Truck fire image caught the action itself, represented spot news best as it is defined by contest.

General News
1st - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "City Hall Protest"
2nd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Guilty"
3rd - Kyle Robertson , The Columbus Dispatch, "King Vigil"

Judges comments: Strong category, many entries and much debate about winners. First place was a clear winner, told the whole story in one image. Second image was clean and a defining moment like this can be hard to capture in a court room.

Feature
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Flag Memorial"
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Reds Yoga"
3rd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Balance"

Judges comments: Strong category but three winners were obvious. Statehouse image was a beautiful stand-alone image with nice light, the baseball field yoga made us stop and look longer than others. A few images didn’t quite fit feature category as it’s defined, might have done better in general news.

Sports Action
1st - Joshua A. Bickel, ThisWeek Community News, "Diving Touchdown"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Touchdown Catch"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Stiff Arm"

Judges comments: As always with sports, we looked for peak action, and technicality was a make or break for entries. Winners here all stood out in technicality and/or peak action of significance. As always, looking for faces and ball in frame.

Sports Feature
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Charge"
2nd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Wet Fans"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Upseet Win"
HM - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Shadow Net"

Judges comments: Many images depicted strong moment but lacked in composition, or vice versa. Winners each had nice balance. For HM photo, loved the concept but wish it were a bit more apparent what photographer was depicting with shadows.

Portrait
1st - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "OSU Soccer"
2nd - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Unemployed"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Indians Fanatic"

Judges comments: We enjoyed the variety of portraits, not every image was the subject posed looking into camera, we liked that. These three stood out as the best-orchestrated storytelling portraits.

Story/Essay
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Honor Flight"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Little Brown Jug"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Cow and Diane"

Judges comments: A tighter edit is always stronger, especially with event coverage. Winners showed great variety of wide, tight and medium frames. Every moment included served a purpose and stood well alone.

Illustration
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Summer Salad"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Diadem Cocktail"
3rd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Recorder, "Pickles"

Judges comments: These were the only three entries. We wished we could see the salad itself in the winner a little better.

Judges: Jenna Watson and Mykal McEldowney, The Indianapolis Star

October 2016 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Crash Comfort"

Judges comments: Spot news was by far the weakest category with only four entries and we decided only first place stood out as story-telling image. The foreground played well to help tell the story of the crash.

General News
1st - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Shaken Baby"
2nd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Hillary Supporter"
3rd - Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, "Bill Clinton"

Judges comments: In general news first place came to the top for its emotion during the peak of a trial. Second place has great energy with a clean composition and fun layers. Third place is a fun moment from a campaign where the character of the person meeting the politician shines through. 

Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Memorial
2nd - Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, "Cardboard Boat Race"
3rd - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Sunflower Festival"
HM - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Peter Parker"

Judges comments: First place is nice quiet, emotional moment. The kind of thing you that would really make you stop during a feature hunt. Second place is a funny photograph with a clean background but is a little too tight of a crop. Third place is a good use of layering and composition to really put you in the moment. Honorable mention we have seen before, but has good faces. The judges were confused about the crop.

Sports
1st - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Hail Mary"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Touchdown Leap"
3rd - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Football Dive"
HM - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Break Up"
HM - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Touchdown"

Judges comments: Sports action was one of the strongest categories of the month and it just so happened football was the best. First place is great photograph of what no doubt was an amazing catch. The clean background, faces and chaos made it rise to the top. Second place is a great use of split-second framing during the peak of a dive. Third place is a touchdown photograph you strive to make at high school football. Both the honorable mentions were nice moments.

Sports Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Cross Country"
2nd - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Soccer Wall"
3rd - Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, "Handstand"
HM - Kyle Robertson, , "Touchdown"

Judges comments: Sports feature was another strong, and well-entered category. First place struck us right away as a beautiful photograph. Great composition, thought and use of black and white. Second place is made all the judges stop and laugh. Third place is another clean, humorous photograph we haven’t seen before. Honorable mention we have seen plenty of times but it is never that perfectly clean and framed.

Portrait
1st - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Mushroom Farmer"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Earl Bruce"
3rd - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Starry Night"

Judges comments: First place stood out in the portrait category. Great use of light and nice thought to only show the child’s eyes, not to mention what a unique story. Second place we weren’t sure on the crop but the subject’s personality really comes through. Third place is a nice use of light in the hard assignment to photograph something that does not exist yet.

Story/Essay
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Columbus Dance Theatre"
2nd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Prayer Rally"

Judges comments: The story category is always a tough category to enter these days. We thought first place showed the best attempt at having a well-rounded, character-driven story with a few nice photographs. Second place had a couple nice photographs that kept it in despite needing at better edit. We think some of the stories had photos that might have placed in singles categories.

Judges: from the North State Journal: Eamon , Christine  and Madeline Gray

November 2016 clip contest results  

Winnng images

Spot News
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Attack Suspect"
2nd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Tragedy Hits East Palestine"
3rd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "Chase Ends"

Judges comments: First place used the news elements in it most successfully (a body, police tape, officers). Though, it could have benefitted from a crop (from the top and left to remove the signs). Second place showed a good scene, and third place was a decent moment, but technically was a little rough (high iso). Overall, this category had little emotion and several technical issues (and only six entries).

General News
1st - Kareem Elgazzar, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Tensing Verdict"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Medal of Merit"
3rd - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "AEP"
HM - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Not My President"

Judges comments: First place had a nice moment, but the moment could have been more impactful with a tighter crop. Second place did not first due to the severe tilt. Otherwise, we felt it was the best picture of this category. Third place was a ordinary scene shot in a fresh way. Though, the highlights are still a bit too hot, but we appreciate the fresh view. The honorable mention was a relatively standard news photo, but nicely executed.

Feature
1st - Shane Flanigan, ThisWeek Newspapers, "Family Fun Night"
2nd - Shane Flanigan, ThisWeek Newspapers, "Turkey Cleaning"
3rd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Supermoon"

Judges comments: First place used lens compression nicely to clean up this nice moment to make a solid picture. Second place is also a clean frame with a quiet interaction. Third place had the better foreground of the two supermoon photos that were submitted, and the moon looked much more prominent in the third place picture.

Sports Action
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Jumping Receiver"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Mike Weber"
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Missed Tackle"

Judges comments: First place had the best overall peak action and was also the cleanest frame (though, crop it tighter and into more of a vertical). Second place placed because of its nice action and great use of an interesting pocket of light. Third place was also a solid jumping picture, but had less clean separation and less of the ball than first place (nice shooting in rainy weather, though). The honorable mention was simply a quirky action shot, nice catch! (Despite the game happening in rough light, perhaps give it a better tone it up again.)

Sports Feature
1st - Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, "Season Ending Loss"
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Throwback Uniforms"
3rd - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Anthem"

Judges comments: First place did a nice job of showing the player’s isolation to everyone else, which made for a frame that was a bit more refreshing than standard crying player shots. Second place was simply graphic and stood out from other entries. Third place did a nice job of putting several elements into a single frame (fans in foreground, stadium, field pageantry, fireworks).

Portrait
1st - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Wolverine Cave"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Sheriff Baldwin"

Judges comments: First place was nicely lit and filled the entire frame, nicely done. Second place was also well lit and did a good job of using lens compression to clean up the scene while also including bits of the environment effectively. This was one of the weakest categories. Many of the portraits used lighting techniques decently, but didn’t tell us much more about the subjects or use composition well enough to overlook that.

Story/Essay
1st - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Syria Refugees"
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Cart Magic"
3rd - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal, "Game 7"

Judges comments: First place had a lovely variety throughout the frames. We could tell through the several different settings that a lot of time was spent on this story, and that effort makes it an easy read and full-feeling story. Though, we weren’t big fans of the portrait in the story. Second place was quite close to first. It also had a several solid images, but we got bogged down a bit in all the go-kart shots (though it is a big part of the story, possibly try and condense the go-cart scenes?) We also were not drawn to the opener at all here. The rest of the images are great, and many could have been used instead of the silhouette. Third place was a thoughtful concept, but didn’t have enough visual variety to place higher. (Also, we agreed you should have entered image 05 as a sports feature – nice frame!)

Judges: Sammy Jo Hester, Dominic Valente and Isaac Hale from The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah)

December 2016 clip contest results  

Winning images

Spot News
1st - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal, "Fatal Fire"
2nd - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Blast"
3rd - Patricia Schaeffer, The (Lisbon) Morning Journal, "In the Drink"

Judges comments: A challenging category to judge due to lack of entries. Second and third place were largely reactionary to an incident, while the first place winner had a clear emotional human element.

General News
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "John Glenn"
2nd - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal, "Santa"
3rd - Joshua A. Bickel, The Columbus Dispatch, "Welcome Home, Brian"

Judges comments: First place was a beautiful photo with strong news value, but we wondered about a tighter crop to emphasize the floor, flag-draped casket and servicemen only. Second place was a tender moment with gorgeous light. Third place was stark and fitting for the story.

Feature
1st - Tom Dodge, The Columbus Dispatch, "Santa Dog"
2nd - Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch, "Light Reaction"
3rd - Joshua A. Bickel, The Columbus Dispatch, "Colo Turns 60"
HM - Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, "Buckeye Bash"
HM - Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch, "Chinese Lanterns"
HM - Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Tucker's Restaurant"

Judges comments: The first and second place photos were clear winners at first sight… both moments of love and interaction. Composition, color and light can only take a feature photo so far. The moment is what makes it.

Sports Action
1st - Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Upended"
2nd - Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Only Touchdown"
3rd - Erik Scelkun, Elsestar Images, "Scramlbe"
HM - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Stiff Arm"

Judges comments: The four winners were all strong moments that were – for the most part – cropped tight and right – or were close. They separated themselves "from the pack” of other entries because of this. We were splitting hairs on all of them and another day we might have ordered them differently. Advice to entrants, winners or not: watch your toning (under- and over-) and watch your cropping (balance, extraneous details, distracting elements at the edges).

Sports Feature
1st -Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "And One"
2nd -Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Game Winner"
3rd -Molly Corfman, The News-Messenger, "Crying After a Loss"
HM - Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, "Daddy"

Judges comments: The first place photo stood out having a clean background and strong moment, but could have been cropped a little less awkwardly at the bottom. In the second place photo, the crowd steals the show and warrants a crop that emphasizes them instead of the player and the rink. We hate hockey advertising as much as any photographer and sometimes there’s just no way around it. But here, you have a great excuse to crop it out. The third place winner was a nice moment but was lacking in composition. The honorable mention was a light insight into an aspect of NFL coverage we don’t often see – family.

Portrait
1st - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Family Christmas"|
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, "Postman"
3rd - Chris Crook, Zanesville Times Reocorder, "Accident"
HM - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal, "Salute"

Judges comments: The first place photo was well lit, and showed the family in a simple and apparently pleasant existence. The second place winner was a nice unposed moment in a fortuitous lighting situation in the postal worker’s element. The third place portrait was well lit and was successful in helping us feel the injured man’s pain. The honorable mention was a strong photograph but we were disappointed the caption failed to include the veteran’s name.

Story/Essay
1st - Leah Klafczynski, Akron Beacon Journal, "Brotherly Love"
2nd - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Paying Her Respects"
3rd - Joshua A. Bickel, The Columbus Dispatch, "New Concord Remembers John Glenn"

Judges comments: We wholeheartedly recognize that it has become more and more challenging to find time to photograph stories, and that this industry trend has been reflected in monthly clip contests in every state and NPPA region. We would always like to see more, and stronger, competition (in all categories). That said, the photographers here have made attempts worthy of recognition. The first and second place winners both had their strengths and weaknesses. The emotional subject matter ultimately won out for the story of burn victim Jerry Miller. There were some strong intimate frames in this collection of photographs. But by spending some more time following Jerry, a stronger sense of relationships could have been established visually. The train photograph didn’t fit. The second place winner did a very nice job with coverage of a significant news event. We [the judges] shoot in a statehouse all the time and we know how they are technical nightmares despite being beautiful buildings. The photographer here handled that well and captured moments of significance within the ornate place. The seventh photo would have been a better opening photo to instantly tie the story to John Glenn for the viewer. Mind you we don’t know the restrictions placed on the photographer, but ideally we'd like to see some views of people and happenings outside the rotunda to avoid the feeling of repetition being in the same room the whole story. The third place story had a few strong photos depicting a proud hometown remembering Glenn, but too many of people talking or reacting to talking.

Illustration
1st - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “Asian Noodle Bowl”
2nd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, “Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie”
3rd - Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch, “Pad Thai”

Judges comments: The winner was well-composed and exceptionally lit. With the second place photo, we’d like to see more of the pie in the frame. (Who could say no to more pie?) The photographer of the third place photo was wise in using the restaurant’s wall colors as a compositional device. The shallow focus and lighting were flattering to the dish.

Judges: Amber Arnold, John Hart and Michael King from the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)