Convention Time
Please join us for a focused theme on independent photojournalism and the business of freelance work
Please join us, Saturday, April 5th, starting at 9:30 a.m., for the 74th ONPA Convention at the Spring Hollow Lodge located in Sharon Woods, W. Main St, Westerville, OH 43081.
Coffee, pastries, and lunch will be provided.
We will feature presentations by and conversations with NYC-area freelance photojournalist Craig Ruttle, formerly of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and Madeleine Hordinski, a Cincinnati-based contract and freelance photographer, formerly of the Los Angeles Times.
Awards from this year’s contest will be presented. A raffle will be held. And, as always, portfolio review opportunities will be available.
Please RSVP by emailing Andrew: onpaprez@gmail.com – we can’t wait to see you for this special event! Be sure to note the number of people attending.
ONPA Carson Award winner Skip Peterson dies
By Bob DeMay
If you’re a photo journalist or car enthusiast you lost a good friend today. Skip Peterson passed in his sleep last night leaving behind a host of friends and colleagues who mourn his passing. He was 73.
Skip was chief photographer at the Dayton Daily News for 25 years and retired after a 34-year career in 2006.
Skip Peterson
As a photojournalist his list of accomplishments is lengthy. He was the lead photographer and photo editor of the Dayton Daily News’ seven-part series Military Medicine; Unnecessary Danger, which won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1998.
If you could think of a major sporting event, he covered it, from Super Bowls, World Series and the Olympics and was published in a host of national news and sports periodicals. As an avid MG owner it should come as no surprise his favorite event was the Indianapolis 500. He posted historical photos and his favorite memories from the race regularly on social media.
Skip was also all about giving back to his profession. He played a major role in the growth of ONPA serving in roles of president and chairman of the board spanning an 18 year period. He also served as Region 4 director of NPPA and also served two terms as national secretary.
When Skip turned over the reins of chairman of the board to me in 1997 I said that it was like taking over for Johnny Carson. He did the job for so long and so well, he made it look easy and it wasn’t. He and close friend Mark Duncan had to balance listening to the old guard and satisfying the wants of a new generation of journalists. They did it well.
Skip was still serving ONPA and was instrumental working with the Dayton Foundation and the family and friends of Larry Fullerton to establish the Larry Fullerton Photojournalism scholarship which ONPA oversees. Fullerton was a long-time member of ONPA and both a photojournalist and assistant managing editor of the Hamilton Journal-News.
In 1987 Skip was the recipient of ONPA’s Carson Award, which is given for outstanding contribution to photojournalism and is considered the organization’s highest honor.
He might have been retired, but he still followed the news and often questioned and commented on the coverage of his local television news market. He pulled no punches.
I spent quite a few evenings in the famous ONPA hospitality suite of days gone by with Skip. I think that Skip Peterson would not want us to mourn today, but to celebrate a life and cherish wonderful memories of a great friend and photojournalist. He wouldn’t mind, and probably encourage you to throw back a little bourbon to mark the occasion.
Skip Peterson is survived by his wife, Jennifer, four children and four grandchildren.
Bill Lackey from the Springfield News-Sun and Adam Cairns from The Columbus Dispatch have been chosen ONPA Photographers of the Year for their work in 2024.
Neither is a stranger to having their work selected as such. This is Lackey’s fifth small market POY title, winning most recently for his work in 2021. For Cairns this is his second title as large market POY winning previously for his work from 2022. Cairns was far and away the leading winner of hardware with 11 wins in the contest, four of them were first place wins.
Best of Show – Pearl Spurlock / Ohio University
Marlene Waechter, a Catholic midwife, examines Aspen Bowman while Aspen labors in an inflatable pool in her bedroom in Jackson, Ohio.
Wadsworth wins third consecutive clip POY title
Jeremy Wadsworth of The Blade led the ONPA Clip Contest standings wire to wire in 2024 to claim his third straight Clip Photographer of the Year title. Wadsworth is only third person to win three consecutive titles. Kyle Robertson from The Columbus Dispatch and Jim Witmer from the Troy Daily News are others who have achieved that milestone.
Jeff Lange from the Akron Beacon Journal finished second in the standings and Rebecca Benson from The Blade placed third. Andrew Dolph was just six points back in fourth place.
Wadsworth had 57 wins for the year and placed in all eight categories of the contest. Seventy percent of his wins were in General News, Feature and Portrait which are the bread and butter of most photojournalists daily assignments.
May – Feature – 1st place
Fourth grader Liam Farthing makes his way through a Tough Mudder style obstacle course at Greenwood Elementary School in Toledo. The entire school competed in obstacle courses for a focus on physical fitness and fun. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Bob “Scoop” Phillips dies at 91
Bob “Scoop” Phillips passed away January 12, 2025 at age 91.
Phillips retired from WDTN-TV in 2008 after working 51 years for the station.
On the day Phillips retired in 2008 at age 75, Skip Peterson was talking with him on the phone and “Scoop” was covering a traffic accident. Peterson said, “he won’t put the camera down until the 5 pm newscast is on the air.”
Phillips was the first ONPA Television Photographer of the Year for his work in 1976.
Dayton’s TV Dream Team (from left) Denny Chesham, Chuck Upthegrove, Charlie Day and Bob “Scoop” Phillips, pose for a photo to promote the 1999 ONPA educational seminar where they shared their then 160 years of experience.
News and inspirations from ONPA president Andrew Dolph
Updated February 2, 2025
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 – 162
– Andrew Dolph – 162
3rd – Jeff Lange – 132
4th – Kurt Steiss – 82
– Erik Schelkun – 82
6th – Rebecca Benson – 52
7th – Jonathan Aguilar – 42
Kimberly Barth
Board Chair
Andrew Dolph
President
Kristin Bauer
Treasurer
Sam Greene
Still Vice President
Chris Reece
Television Vice President
Lisa Scalfaro
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.
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