Judgement Day has cometh and Adam Cairns from The Dispatch and Shane Flanigan from ThisWeek Community News are all the better for it. The pair have been chosen Photographers of the Year for 2022 by the Ohio News Photographers Association. Cairns won the large market title and Flanigan was the winner in the small market division.
They were both first time POY winners. It was a bittersweet win for Flangian who lost his job earlier this year when ThisWeek Community News was shuttered by parent company Gannett. Cairns also won the Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year award.
Finishing second in the large market division was Jeremy Wadsworth from The Blade, who also won the Clip Contest Photographer of the Year title from points accumulated monthly during the year. Bill Lackey from the Springfield News-Sun finished second in the small market division.
Isaac Ritchey from The Blade won Best of Show for his sports feature first place winner, “Rainbow.”
Akash Pamarthy from Ohio University won the Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year and Joe Timmerman from Ohio University placed second.
The James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award was awarded to Andrew Dolph from The Times Reporter for his entry “Mayor of Dover.” The story followed the fall from grace of Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen, who was convicted of theft in office, dereliction of duty and four counts of soliciting improper compensation for pocketing fees for performing wedding ceremonies, money that should have been deposited in the city’s account.
Thirty visual journalists from across the state submitted 431 entries in the 72nd annual news photography contest.
Judging the competition were: Sue Morrow, editor of NPPA’s News Photographer magazine; Jose Carlos Fajardo, Bay Area News Group staffer of 30 years; and Julio Cortez, staff photographer for The Associated Press covering Baltimore and winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News.
Michael Fagans, Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Mississippi and Brian Powers from the Des Moines Register judged the multimedia categories.
The still contest judging was recorded and can be viewed on the ONPA YouTube channel.
Best of Show – Isaac Ritchey / The Blade
St John’s Jesuit Titans long-distance runners Joseph Taylor (top left) and teammate Caleb Kelly huddle together for a conversation while awaiting to be crowned champions of the 4×400 relay qualifying them for states during the OHSAA Division I regional track and field meet at Findlay High School.
Large Market Photographer of the Year – Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch
Hideki Matsuyama hits his approach shot on the 15th hole during the third round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
ONPA Photographers of the Year Adam Cairns (left) and Shane Flanigan.
And the winners are:
George A. Smallsreed, Jr. Photographer of the Year (Small Market)
1st – Shane Flanigan, ThisWeek Community News
2nd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun
George A. Smallsreed, Jr. Photographer of the Year (Large Market)
1st – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade
Award of Excellence – Joseph Scheller, Ohio University
Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year Award
1st – Akash Pamarthy, Ohio University
2nd – Joe Timmerman, Ohio University
James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times-Reporter, Andrew Dolph, “Mayor of Dover”
Best of Show
Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Rainbow”
Monthly Clip Contest Photographer of the Year
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade
2nd – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade
Feature
1st – Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch, “Huge”
2nd – Marshall Gorby, Dayton Daily News, “Coming Home”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Santa’s Helpers”
Award of Excellence – Dave Zapotosky, The Blade, “Ship Shape”
Feature Picture Story
1st – Akash Pamarthy, Ohio University, “Telugu Americans”
2nd – Joseph Scheller, Ohio University, “ABCs Nursery Program”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Naturalization Ceremony”
Award of Excellence – Akash Pamarthy, Ohio University, “Corning, Ohio
General News
1st – Dave Zapotosky, The Blade, “Welcome Back”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Vigil”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Shawn Allen Sentencing”
Illustration
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Mayflower”
2nd – Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, “Cajun Pork Chop”
3rd – Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, “Pink Floyd”
News Picture Story
1st – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “Wagner Trial”
2nd – Shane Flanigan, ThisWeek Community News, “Korean War Vet”
Award of Excellence – Stephen Zenner, The Blade, “Rejoining the Joints”
Pictorial
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Shapes”
2nd – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “Columbus Zoo”
3rd – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “Winter Ice Storm”
Award of Excellence – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Sunset”
Portrait Personality
1st – Barbara J. Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, “Model Painting”
2nd – Stephen Zenner, The Blade, “Ukrainian in Romania”
3rd – Stephen Zenner, The Blade, “Trials of the Age”
Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year
1st – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch
2nd – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade
3rd – Albert Cesare, The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sports Action
1st – David Richard, Freelance, “Finger Pickens Good”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Eye Gouge”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Header”
Sports Feature
1st – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Rainbow”
2nd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Working the Waste Basket”
3rd – Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch, “Stress”
Award of Excellence – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Lipstick”
Award of Excellence – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Coach”
Sports Picture Story
1st – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “The Masters”
2nd – Barbara Perenic, The Columbus Dispatch, “Columbus Chaos”
3rd – Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “Prison Basketball”
Spot News
1st – Marshall Gorby, Dayton Daily News, “Deputy Rescue”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Fire”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “River Rescue”
Multimedia Photographer of the Year
1st – Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade
Audio Slideshow
No entries
News Video
No entries
Feature Video
1st – Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “The Death of Evan Seyfried”
2nd – Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “The Quiet Kid From Oak Ridge”
3rd – Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, “Intergenerational Taekwondo”
Sports Video
No entries
Documentary Video
1st – Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade – “We’ve Got Spirit”
Team Video
No entries
Small Market Photographer of the Year – Shane Flanigan / This Week Community News
Sgt. Brendan Tisher carries the remains of Korean War Army veteran private first class Jack E. Lilley with fellow Ohio Army National Guard Honor Guard Team members to a nearby hearse following a service held at Hill Funeral Home in Westerville. Pfc. Lilley was killed during the war on July 20, 1950 and was reported missing in action. His remains were kept in Honolulu at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl Cemetery, before being identified Nov. 5, 2021 and returned to his family June 10. Pfc. Lilley was laid to rest at Northlawn Memory Gardens in Westerville next to his parents, Chuck and Pearl Lilley.
Student Photographer of the Year – Akash Pamarthy / Ohio University
Keerthi Sanivarapu, 35, Ridhay Vemuri, 2, and Pavan Vemuri, 37, celebrate Diwali (the Hindu festival of lights) by lighting fireworks at their residence in Novi, Mich. on Oct. 24. They also adorn their home with lights, a tradition often confused with Christmas lights in the United States.
Ohio Understanding Award – Andrew Dolph / The Times Reporter
Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen hands paperwork to Safety Director Gerry Mroczkowski after firing him, the mayor’s secretary, and the safety director Dec 21 in Dover.
Sports Photoographer of the Year – Adam Cairns / The Columbus Disptach
Billy Horschel’s family rushes out onto the 18th green to greet him after he wins the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 5, 2022.