August 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Turnpike Crash”
2nd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Fire”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Train Derailment”

General News
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Homeless Shelter”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Keleman Vigil”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Clap-in”

Judge’s comments: The image ‘Shelter’ conveys a feeling of loss. The caption information helped give the photograph context. The other photographs had strong emotions both sad and joyful. ‘Olympian’ gets an honorable mention for composition and use of layering the foreground and background.

Feature
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Magnification”
2nd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Wheelchair Basketball”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Ballet”

Judge’s comments: Well done by the photographer getting close in ‘Magnification’.

Sports Action
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Flip”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Eyes on the Ball”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Mullens Pass”
HM – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Kick Return”
HM – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “First Down”

Judge’s comments: The reactions from the players on the sidelines and the sea of orange color makes ‘Return’ an excellent photograph. It gets an honorable mention because the other images had peak action. 

Sports Feature
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Touchdown Celebration”
2nd – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Hyped”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Student Fan Section”
HM – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “High Five”

Judge’s comments: Fantastic moments of faces and arms raised while cheering in ‘Touchdown’. Strong composition with the symmetry of the shoes and legs in ‘Hyped.’

Portrait
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Ronald Zak”
2nd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Bubbles”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Painter”
HM – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Sarah Logan”

Story/Essay
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Drought in Ohio”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Jeep Fest”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Olympics”

Judged by Taya Gray from The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, CA.

July 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Fires Out”
2nd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Controlled Burn”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Classmate of Crooks”

Judge’s comments: The first-place image has the most elements of a spot news photograph, which made
it rise to the top. While not the most breaking of news, I still commend the photographer getting
to the scene while there’s still some action happening. The second-place image is a unique composition which made it stand out. I’m not sure if a controlled burn constitutes spot news, but it is an event in which advance planning would be difficult. In any case, the scene seems pretty mild, but a nice composition made this photo stand out. The third-place image straddles the line between spot news and general news. Judging the image alone, it’s a pretty standard press scrum. Focusing on one of the cameras’ screens adds a little flair to the composition. However, the action here feels too far after the fact to be considered a true spot news image (though I understand this was big news and advance planning for much of this was not possible and the photographer was doing their best to get whatever there was to get). Overall, this was a weak category. Only three entries total.

General News
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Fraud”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Frog Jumping Contest”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Bark Ranger”
HM – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Disbelief”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Tractor Parade”

Judge’s comments: The first-place image has solid emotion and a clean composition. The only thing I find myself wanting is a tighter shot with a longer lens so the tears have more impact, but that may not have been possible, and cropping this photo in a lot probably wouldn’t do that idea justice. In any case, nice general news photo! The second-place image made me stop and wonder just exactly what was happening, in a good way. This is a nice clean and tight frame without any distractions. It’s also a nice moment with some action, in an event that otherwise might not have seen a lot of “action.” The third-place image is a sweet moment. The composition is a bit wonky and messy (which is
understandable for the scene), however the moment and novelty of the event carries this photo to place. The moment in the Clark County Fair Queen honorable-mention image works very well, and made me giggle. There’s not too much to the image besides the strong moment, but it is indeed a nice moment – Good catch!The tractor parade honorable-mention photo is framed nicely by the flags. Despite having a lot of contributing elements in the frame, the photo still is a clean read.

Feature
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Nap”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Fireworks”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Splash Pads”
HM – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Turtle Races”
HM – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Bubbles”

Judge’s comments: The first-place image simply stuck with me the longest out of the bunch. It’s a nice, quiet moment, and the circular eye movement between the girl, the cow, the girl’s hand petting the cow, and back to the girl keeps me engaged. The second-place image is simply a nice fireworks shot with all the elements I look for: fireworks, people, sense of place. The sense of place could perhaps be stronger with a different composition, but it’s a good shot nonetheless. The third-place image is a tried and true summertime trope (kids at a splash pad), but executed well. Nice job freezing the water and the moment, and the clean background contributes to the watery atmosphere and allows that moment to better sing. The honorable-mention photo of the turtle was quirky enough to catch my eye and keep me thinking about it. Nice use of humor in this one! The honorable-mention photo of the kiddo in the bubbles is a nice, cute moment. The busy background (understandable in this situation) and so-so image fidelity kept this image from rising higher.

Sports Action
1st – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Daly Putt”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Tee Shot”
3rd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Tennis”
HM – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Triathlon”

Judge’s comments: The first-place image has some quiet action, but a great composition. Putts aren’t the most exciting things, so kudos to this photographer for making a nice clean and tight image (where the golfer is still recognizable) that makes the putt look exciting. It’s nice the hole is in the reflection, as well! The second-place image is another example of a nice composition making quieter action sing. Nice silhouette, and kudos for stopping down to make the sun more of a starburst! The third-place image has some pretty standard action, but it’s framed up nicely and gives us a sense of place due to the text. The honorable-mention image of the triathlon has some lovely light, I just wish the individual people were cleaner and easier to make out.

Sports Feature
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Reunited”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Home Run”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Oops”

Judge’s comments: The first-place image simply had the strongest moment. You can tell that kid is so
happy to see her. Good use of a long lens to clean up the background. The second-place image is a nice celebration shot. Not much to say other than good job! The third-place image is a nice dejected reaction. The caddy’s hand also contributes nicely to the story of the photo.

Portrait
1st Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Hot Wings”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Micro Weddings”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Jillion Merricle”
HM – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Artist”

Judge’s comments: For the first-place image, great use of going tight to give the man’s expression great impact! You can tell the guy is having a tough time – The little snot bubble is what put this one over the top for me. Less pose-y of a portrait, but I’d still say it’s a photo that represents the. subject well. The second-place image has a nice background-foreground relationship to create eye movement around the frame. Nice job arranging this scene! The third-place image has a nice pose for the subject and clean composition considering the size of the vehicle. I do like the pose on top of the Jeep, but I find myself wanting to be able to read her YouTube username that’s on the windshield, and I can’t with her in that pose. Just food for thought. The honorable-mention photo has nice elements, but the composition leaves those elements feeling a bit disjointed. I wish the canvas was larger in the frame.

Story/Essay
1st – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Frog Jumping Contest”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “LPGA”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Walbridge”
HM – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Inaccessible”

Judge’s comments: The first-place story told the most complete story. I feel like I got to see and learn a lot about the event through all the photos – From actually catching the frogs to the event itself. The first photo is nice and mysterious, and made me wonder what was going to come next. The second-place story featured a nice collection of golf action and feature photos. Though a straightforward narrative, the quality and visual variety of the photos kept me engaged in the set. Could maybe do with one or two less photos (maybe nix 05 or 07?) The third place story was a nice slice of life (no pun intended with the slices of watermelon). The Americana is strong with this one, and provides a nice summer-y set of images. I would say theeating photos get a bit repetitive, especially since they comprise half of all the images in this story. The honorable mention story is an important topic, but perhaps could’ve been tackled better with more time and resources. Images quickly begin to feel repetitive due to setting and head sizes staying the same. Perhaps different lensing and a tighter edit could’ve helped this story rise higher.

Judged by Isaac Hale of The Deseret News, Palm Springs, CA.

June 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News

1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Crash”

General News
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Flag Burning”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Eid-al-Adha”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Paper Lanterns”

Feature
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Hot Dog”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Best Day Ever”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Splash Zone”

Sports Action
1st – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Stealing Second”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Out at Home”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Home Run”

Sports Feature
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Lacrosse Champions”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Softball Winners and Losers”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Diving Into First”

Portrait
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Gamer”
2nd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Looking Back”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Firefighter”

Story/Essay
1st –
2nd –
3rd –

Illustration
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Roasted Squash Salad”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “French Chic”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Coffee Ice Cream”

Judged  by John Greilick, Director of Photography, The Detroit News and Andy Morrison, Assistant Multimedia Editor, The Detroit News

May 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “House Explosion”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Stabbing”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Fire”

General News
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Memorial Day Prep”
2nd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Statement”
3rd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Northern Lights”
HM – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Gordie Howe Bridge”

Feature
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Tough Mudder”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Parade”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Amish Plowing”

Sports Action
1st – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Regional Lacrosse”
2nd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Dive”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “High Jump

Sports Feature
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Baseball Celebration”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Semi-final Win”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Doubles Champs”
HM – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Home Run Ball”

Portrait
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Foster”
2nd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Veteran”

Story/Essay
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “State Softball”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Memorial Day”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Easter”

Judged by Terrance Reimer

April 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Accident”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Tornado Damage”
3rd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Windham Tornado”

General News
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Holi Toledo Festival”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Vigil”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Crash”

Feature
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Mothers Day”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Eclipse”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Picnic”

Sports Action
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Marathon”
2nd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Ouch”
3rd – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Catch at the Fence”

Sports Feature
1st – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Home Run”
2nd – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Bullpen Bubbles”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Choke”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Happy Girl Friend”

Portrait
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Joyce Clemens”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Rachel Dudley”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Cindy Bench”

Story
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Eclipse”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “UT Eclipse”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Naturalization”

General comments: Lots of good variety and competition, though there was a fair amount of misclassification.

Judges from The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Katie Rausch, Assistant Managing Editor/Photo,  Alex Kormann, Photojournalist
Kayla Hart, Photo Editor

March 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Salvage”
2nd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Tornado”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Search”

Judge’s comments:  First place – The message written on the wall of the house as the woman experiences this disaster elevated the photo to first place for me. The photographer did a great job of using the environment to help tell the story. Second place  – An intimate moment during a tough situation. I wish the man and dog were in sharper focus, but understand the circumstances and think the photographer captured the moment well. Third place- Nice use of layering to give the viewer a sense of the environment inside of the home as well as the scene in the neighborhood. I wish the man was in sharper focus, which I think a faster shutter speed could have taken care of. There were only four photos entered into this category. The fourth image of a man riding a dirt bike through the park feels more like a feature to me.

General News
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Naturalization”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Library”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Women’s Day”
HM – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Election Returns”
HM – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Blood Drive”

Judge’s comments:  First place – A well composed photo of a monumental moment in two people’s lives. The photographer did a great job of using the background at the event to their advantage. Second place – A perfect example of finding a way to make an interesting picture at a fairly mundane event. The photographer did a great job of framing the people within the visually pleasing geometry of the space. Third place – Great moment. I wish the caption told me more about the women and further explained the significance of their celebration. HM – Both photos are nice moments with well written, informative captions that help elevate the pictures for me.

Feature
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Runner”
2nd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Acts of Kindness”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Egg Hunt”
HM – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Jehred”
HM – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Chocolate Prices”

Judge’s comments:  First place – The photographer did a great job of using the graphics of the bridge to create a clean and compelling image. I applaud the photographer for having the patience to wait for a runner to move into the frame, or being quick enough to see the moment forming and strike. Second place – Great moment at a community event. I love the expression of excitement on the girl’s face. I give the photographer a lot of credit for making a nice, well composed picture among the sea of attendees and tv cameras that can often block photographers from being in the right place at these kinds of events. Third place – The low, wide angle looking up at the child really makes this picture for me. It gives the photograph an intimacy that makes the viewer feel like they’re there. To be that close and not have the child looking at the camera is also impressive. Well done. HM- The photographer did a great job of reporting on the fire station photo. The extra bit of information on the person helped elevate the image for me. The photographer did a great job of using the graphic elements of the environment on the candy shop photo.

Sports Action
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Chase”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Basketball Hair”
3rd – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Over the Bar”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Golden Flash”
HM – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Steal”

Judge’s comments:  First place – Peak action. The faces, the way the arms are locked together, and the position of the ball in relation to the players’ struggle all put this on top for me. Second place – Great expression. Cropped nice and tight to bring the viewer right in. The hair adds a lot to the picture for me. Nice clean picture of players wrestling on the ground. Third place – Great use of available light. Great face and timing on the vault. I applaud the photographer for including the height of clearance in the caption. HM – The Toledo Rockets picture captured a unique moment well. I like the gesture of the Kent State player as his jersey is yanked on. The steal photo is excellent peak action. It appears that high ISO and low shutter speed hurt the technical quality of the picture. With that being said, I understand how terrible high school gym lighting can be and applaud the photographer for capturing the action this well.

Sports Feature
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Free Ball”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Championship Smile”
3rd – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Winners”
HM – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Celebration Jump”
HM – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Defeat”

Judge’s comments:  First place – The photographer did a great job finding something different on the edges of the event. Great seeing. Second place – Great moment captured well in a chaotic post- game environment. It can be difficult to catch these moments as you’re scrambling for the trophy photos, etc. Great job. Third place – Nice fan interaction moment. I like how the photographer stuck around with the scene long enough to get the women raising her arm up. They could have easily moved on after the initial hug. I wish the woman’s name was in the caption, but I understand the fast paced nature of these events and how you risk potentially missing other pictures by stopping to report. HM – The cheerleader jumping photo was excellently timed by the photographer. Judging by the focal length, they also risked getting kicked/punched. Great example of anticipating the moment and acting quickly. Dejection photo is a classic game telling image. Opposing team players seen celebrating in the background is a nice touch of context.

Portrait
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Marcus Waugh”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Rivers Edge Racing”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Bradley & Cooper”
HM – Lisa Scalfaro, Akron Beacon Journal, “Good Company”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Wrestling Coach”

Judge’s comments:  First place – Nicely lit and composed environmental portrait. Great job posing the firefighter. The photo perfectly illustrates the story in a visually compelling way. Second place – I admire the photographer for finding a creative way of shooting this portrait. They took a run of the mill business portrait assignment to the next level. Third place – Nice clean portrait with a strong caption to to help tell the story. I like how the officer and K9 are looking at each other. HM – The portrait of the bar owner gives the viewer a good sense of his personality and the environment of his establishment. Nice natural expression. Comes off as a candid moment while still having the structure of a nice environmental portrait. I like how tight the crop is on the wrestling coach portrait. It brings the viewer right into the intensity of the moment.

Story/Essay
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “State Wrestling”
2nd – Lisa Scalfaro, Akron Beacon Journal, “Jason Kolb”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Esports”

Judge’s comments: First place – An excellent essay that covers the event completely. Action, reaction, celebration, victory, and defeat are all displayed. Captions are complete and informative. Multiple day state championship events are exhausting, especially with all of the work involved with keeping track of different events and wrestlers. I applaud the photographer for all of the effort they put in to this. Second place – A well done story that I can tell the photographer put a lot of effort into. I admire the amount of trust the photographer gained with the person to tell their story. This was shot over multiple days in a variety of different settings, including scenes of the person at home with family. I wish more background on the story was included in one of the captions. Third place – Nice coverage of an event. I like the visual variety of wide/tight shots, Only three entries were included in this category.

Illustration
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Gluten Free”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Classy & Trashy”

Judge’s comments:  First place – Nice Composition, lighting, and use of depth of field. Second place – Nice lighting. Color of background nicely complements the color of the drink. Well thought out concept.

Judged by Stan Sussina/ The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana

February 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Tornado”
2nd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Truck Fire”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Blarney Fire”
HM – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Fire”

General News
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Wax Museum”
2nd – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “Hallway Prayer”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Naturalization Ceremony”

Feature
1st – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Water Work”
2nd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Mural”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Train Station”

Sports Action
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Charge”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “City Series Basketball”
3rd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Findlay Basketball”
HM – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Rebound”

Sports Feature
1st – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Dunk Reaction”
2nd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Chewing on Trey”
3rd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Coach Reaction”
HM – Rebecca Benson, The Blade, “Team Chant”

Portrait
1st – No Places Awarded

Judges comments: Judges felt that portraits should be a collaboration between the subject and the photographer. Simply having a photo of a person does not make it a portrait.

Story/Essay
1st – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “Meade Trial”

Judged by Chris Walker, Assistant Professor, School of Communication and Journalism Minnesota State University Moorhead and Alex Sapp

January 2024 clip contest results

Winning images

Spot News
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Fire”

Judge’s comments: This image was pretty grainy, probably because of the fast ISO in daylight conditions. It also looked like it was taken during the day, but the ISO was 2000. Way too fast of an ISO for daylight conditions. On the positive side: the image not only captures an intense moment but also the colors portray tone – black smoke with red fire engine. It was a good angle because you needed both the smoke and fire fighter presence to tell the story in one image.

General News
1st – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “HB 68 Override”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Sentencing”
3rd – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Last Alarm”
HM – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Call to Duty”
HM – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Sentencing”

Judge’s comments: First – tells a story that gets your attention. Dynamic moment –every part of frame tells the versatility of the story. Nice framing of women in bright pink hat, Second – subtle yet potent capture of emotion. Imagine it’s difficult to capture. Third – shallow depth of field highlights the main subject of a grieving wife. Strong rule of thirds. HM –  rule of thirds. A contrast dynamic of feelings. Juxtaposition of a tragic moment yet he’s displaying silliness, in contrast to the grieving mom. HM – Wholesome photo. Nice line of airmen leading the happy moment.

Feature
1st – Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Sledding”
2nd – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “MLK Breakfast”
3rd – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Snow Angels”
HM – Brooke LaValley, The Columbus Dispatch, “Homeless Count”
HM – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Puzzle Team”

Judge’s comments: First – strong juxtaposition of kids playing with little snow, the possible result of global warming caused by factories. Second – Various moments of engagement with colorful outfits. Third – Liked composition and the deep depth of a broader scene. HM – Captures common and natural moment between mom and child. HM – Shows happy emotion between women

Sports Action
1st – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Dunk”
2nd – Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal, Akron Beacon Journal, “Half Nelson”
3rd – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Choked”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Freeman Dunk”
HM – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Dive”

 Judge’s comments: First – Love the suspension in air and how his blue uniform stands out from a dark background. Though should have been cropped at below the knee of #2. Second – Nice closeup of pain and anguish. Third – A different viewpoint of the violence of wrestling. HM – Good moment of eyes on the dunk and opponent watching it happen. HM – Everything is off the floor – foot, ball, leg. Like the background of watching players.

Sports Feature
1st – Isaac Ritchey, The Blade, “Rivalry”
2nd – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Senior Night”
3rd – Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer, “Slap”
HM – Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images, “Three Pointer”
HM – Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Three Pointer”

Judge’s comments: First – Nice angle and love how the attention is drawn to the UToledo player. Great emotion all away around. Second – Classic sports feature that is different than the action. Good lighting. Third – Nice closeup of a foul (assuming it was a foul) that you don’t see too often. We always don’t need to see the player hanging off the rim. HM – About a stop overexposed, but good reaction off the bench. HM – One of those shots when the photographer is looking at the background and  not just the obvious player reaction. The ref adds to the image.

Portrait
1st – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Connie Durand”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Christina Rodriguez”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Tsunami Lopez”
HM – Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, “Josh Compton”

 Judge’s comments: First – This is definitely the essence of a person loving what she does. Nice reflections to add to the framing of Connie and her client. Second – Classic pose. Might have been stronger is Christina was angled right under the Still Dreaming text in the background. Pulling out the subject a few feet forward would have done the trick. Third – Nice emotion, but would have been stronger if the background would have been more shallow. HM – We definitely know who this guy is and what he does. We think the tight shot works here.

 Story/Essay
1st Kurt Steiss, The Blade, “Last Alarm”
2nd – Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Ashland Manor”
3rd – Jonathan Aguilar, The Blade, “Hostage”
HM – Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Northern Kentucky Cat Colonies”

 Judge’s comments: First – This was a tough decision – it was between this story and AshlandManor, though after reviewing all of the images for rahe, it was a clear winner. The funeral has obvious emotional appeal and that always propels a story to the top. But what made this story No. 1 was the attention to detail: the Honor Guard shoulder and chair shots. It also has wide, medium and tight images to offer visual variety. The coverage was complete – from inside the church to outside with the line of fire vehicles. Well done. Second – This story is a bit unique, which is what we liked about it. The first image sets the tone of an apartment complex that had trash issues. We think all of the pics were pretty solid except for maybe 04 of a guy looking into the camera and the line of people, which we had to look at the caption to know what was going on. But all of the pics told a complete story. Third – This story had potential. We like the drama of the kids looking out the window and the police activity. The weakest photo was the first photo of a cop staring at the camera. That really didn’t set the scene. We think 04 should have been the first photo. Sometimes the order matters. A strong first photo is like a great lead sentence. It gets your attention and makes you want to see more. HM – This story could have been 3rd but we think what was missing in this story was the capture and transport of the cats by the authorities, or whoever caught them. That was an important component and would have provided a more dramatic element.

 Judged by Lori King and her Wayne State University (Detroit) digital photojournalism students