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