2009 ONPA Pictures of the Year

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

While their parents argue over the pageant logistics and details (from left) Racheal LeAnn Frost, Tomi Sue Schweikert, Alexis Thompson and Stormy Daniels try, unsuccessfully, to console Heidi Jo McGrady on April 27. McGrady was accidentally stepped-on while the girls jumped in the Nelsonville Burger King play-pen.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Tomi Sue, 5, yells from her swing at her mother, Jana, after she tells her they must go inside before it starts raining, on April 21, in their McArthur home. Jana usually gives into her daughter's wishes and laughs when she doesn't obey her.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

The oldest girl in the Little Miss pageant, Hannah Lanning, 8, fires a bubble-gun to amuse her step-brother Leum, 4, during the New Straightsville Moonshine Festival, on May 23.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

From right, Heidi Jo, 6, and her t-ball teammates chase a loose ball during fielding practice in Logan, on May 11. Like most child beauty queens, Heidi is involved in numerous extracurricular activities.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

While attending the mandatory Turkey Festival in McArthur, last year's Little Miss Congeniality, Tomi Sue tries to console last year's Chauncey Dover Spring Festival Queen, Jayla Beal, after she inadvertently ripped her dress on the festival’s float, on May 9. As part of their obligations as members of the court, pageant winners must attend and represent Chauncey Dover in several festivals throughout Southeast Ohio.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Atop their float and in the final leg of the parade route during McArthur’s Turkey Festival, from left, Hannah, Heidi Jo and Tomi Sue wave and smile to the empty streets on the way home.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Hannah watches the Jonas Brothers on T.V. at home in Lexington while her grandmother, Cathy, applies rollers to her hair the night before the beauty pageant. Hannah won first attendant last year and is considered the favorite by many for this year's crown.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Candidates for the Miss Chauncey Dover beauty pageant eat lunch together in Chauncey's Quaker House, a few short hours before the coronation on Saturday afternoon, June 6. The day of the pageant is filled with activities including a gift-exchange amongst the girls and a parade through the town.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Moments before the coronation, more than a dozen beauty queens from in-and-around Southeast Ohio wait for their turn to address a small crowd of Chauncey residents. Queens and runners-up of every beauty pageant are by regulation obligated to represent their pageant at other nearby pageants and events.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

While reading her farewell speech to a large crowd of parents, supporters and local residents, Racheal LeAnn breaks down in tears and falls into the arms of her longtime friend and pageant chairman, Kevin Bennett. Frost, the 2008-09 Jr. Miss said, “I will miss all the girls but especially you Kevin.”

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Heidi Jo, left, reacts while Tomi Sue snatches the winner's trophy from her, seconds after Tomi was announced the 2009-10 Little Miss Chauncey. "I wanted her to win," Heidi Jo said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Jana laughs at the mysterious smudge on her daughter's face while making good on her promise to take her to Burger King if she won the crown in Nelsonville. "We won Sissy (Tomi Sue), we won!" Jana said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

While waiting for an all-terrain emergency vehicle to reach them, friends hold and console one of their own while he screams and moans about his broken ankle during Six Fest, on May 16, 2009. Heavy rain, mud and a massive amount of alcohol made the Ohio festival a wasteland of mud and intoxicated people.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Volleyball players and fans gather in Long Beach, Calif., on April 11, 2009.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

After a one point loss on the last possession of the game, London Malone (left) cries with teammates Jaylen Kennedy and Curt Clifford. The Portsmouth High School Trojans lost to the Jackson High School Ironmen in Portsmouth, 27-26, on Sept. 18, 2009. "I promise to do everything in my power to never lose another football game ever again," Kennedy said while sobbing.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Senior knight at Buena Park’s Medieval Times, a diner and show establishment, Max Naylor hits a pose with his favorite horse after winning the night’s tournament on Aug. 30, 2009. “The best part of the job is hearing 300 people cheering you as you battle the other knights on horses,” Naylor said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Scott, a self-proclaimed alcoholic, shares a moment with his intoxicated girlfriend after hours of physical fighting in the middle or rain, mud and alcohol, during Six Fest, in Athens on May 16, 2009. Scott and his girlfriend often fight inebriated about his drinking problem. Almost 13,000 young people from Ohio and surrounding states attended Six Fest. Heavy rain and a massive amount of alcohol made the festival a wasteland of mud and intoxicated people.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Orange County Sheriff’s Department diver, Deputy Chris Corn, poses yards from his dry office in Newport Beach Harbor Patrol headquarters, on Aug. 31. “The thing I like best about my job is when we have a successful dive and find a needle in a hay stack from secondhand information,” Corn said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

High school athletes jump over a hurdle during the steeplechase, on April 10, 2009, at a track meet in Costa Mesa, Calif.’s Orange Coast College.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Little Miss Chauncey Dover, Heidi Jo McGrady, 7, of Logan, screams and cries during a portrait session after her favorite horse, Freckles, crewed on her brand-new pink dress, on May 31, 2009. Heidi immediately yelled at her father, “Freckles ate my dress!”

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Crowds of people gather outside the ticket booth to buy admission for the first Dallas show of the Carson & Barnes Circus, on March 24. Carson & Barnes advertise their circus as “clean, affordable and kid safe entertainment.”

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Late for the 3:00 p.m. show, Greg Norton and his son Dave, 11, enter the brand-new and state of the art tent, on Sunday afternoon, March 29. “I have no idea what to think; the tent is enormous,” Norton said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

A dancer and performer her whole life, Lili Acero of Bogota, Columbia, fixes her hat moments before entering the ring, on March 24. Acero’s son, Alex the Clown, is the star of the Carson & Barnes Circus while her husband Alexandro is one of the show’s electricians.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Kevin Zandrac, 15, from Colombia, stretches before a performance on Thursday, March 26. Zandrac has been a contortionist in the Carson & Barnes Circus since he was an infant while his father Julio is the head tent engineer. Doctors have told him to stop contorting his body so extremely because eventually it will lead to long-term joint problems in the future. “I want to be in Cirque Du Soleil so I don’t care what the doctors think,” Zandrac said.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Marquino, a veteran clown from Venezuela, waits outside the tent on Sunday afternoon, March 29, for the part of the show where he sells the official Carson & Barnes Circus coloring book inside center ring. All artists, entertainers, clowns and vendors receive a percentage of the money they make selling circus merchandize and concessions.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Performers in the Carson & Barnes Circus (from left) July Jacquelini Coronel, Ana Claudia Dos Santos, Kevin Zandrac and Carolina Morella, stretch and prepare before an afternoon show in the suburbs of Dallas, on March 26.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

A hired hand, whose primary duty is assembling and disassembling the circus tent, struggles to put on a baggy clown costume moments before the final parade of the night’s show, on Tuesday, March 24. In the chaotic circus life, most participants have multiple jobs and responsibilities; often working from dawn to dusk.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Peruvian trapeze artist, Gabriela Cavallini, flies atop the tent with a fellow performer and member of her extended family, Marco Cavallini, on Saturday, March 28. “I’m not as good as my husband but I feel comfortable in the air,” Cavallini said. Although accidents do happen in the circus, the trapeze act has one of the best safety records of the show.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

From left, artists Ana Claudia Dos Santos and Gabriela Cavallini prepare to open the backstage curtain for the elephants to enter the main ring during the show’s finale, on Thursday afternoon, March 26.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

During a show intermission on Sunday night, March 29, Jessica Roberts, 4, doesn’t know where to look as she reluctantly poses with a large white and yellow python while her father figures out his camera settings.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Just after two a.m. in the suburbs of Dallas, the tent crew, exclusively made up of Latin American immigrants, struggle to disassemble the brand-new Carson & Barnes Circus tent, on Wednesday, March 25. Although the tent crew was able to put away their old tent in a matter of a few short hours, the new more sophisticated one takes them more than six hours and many times the effort.

First Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Diego James Robles / Ohio University

Melvino the Clown gets ready to run into the main ring during the last act of the night, on Tuesday, March 24. One of the youngest clowns with Carson & Barnes, Melvino has been in several circuses in his short yet eventful career.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Gavin Wills, glider pilot and owner of Glide Omarama, soars above the New Zealand Southern Alps during a four-hour adventure flight.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Children ride the scrambler at the Portage County Fair in Randolph.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Friends and family shower Spc. Jessica Czerr with silly string as she arrives the 135th Military Police Company Welcome Home Ceremony & Freedom Salute Sunday afternoon at Kenston High School. Activated Nov. 11, 2008, Czerr's unit spent nearly a year in Iraq.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Kent State senior center Brandon Parks recovers the ball from Bowling Green sophomore forward Scott Thomas during the Flashes’ 76-70 loss to the Falcons.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Kaila Lipstreu, 16 from Burton, waits to get a tattoo at Mike Ink Tattoo Studio in Mantua. Her 5-month-old son, Anthony Zohos, sits on 19-year-old Rachel DeSalvo’s lap waiting for Mike Krestan to tattoo a star and moon on Lipstreu’s back.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Collin Lenhart, 12, crouches in disappointment after watching his ball narrowly avoid the hole while practicing on the putting green during Double Eagle golf camp at the Wapakoneta Country Club.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Hunter Wildermuth, 8, practices fire escape with Wapakoneta Firefighters Doug Hill and Eric Snapp at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA during safety week for the kids summer camp program. Wildermuth steps cautiously as he climbs down a fire escape latter hanging from the balcony down to the gym floor as students watch from below.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

DC, a former professional bull rider, watches a tractor pull during the twentieth annual Buckeye Farm Antiques, Inc. show at the Auglaize County Fairgrounds in Wapakoneta.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Allie Friedrich sits in the pews of First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights after her dance performance at the alter. She has cerebral palsy and is a professional dancer with the Verlezza Dance Company. “Within the studio and within the stage,” she said, “is the only place I’m not disabled. I’m just a dancer.”

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jennifer Allie Friedrich lives two separate and completely different lives. She also has cerebral palsy. She visits Cleveland, Ohio several times a year to dance with Verlezza Dance Company. While in Ohio, she is known as Allie, an outgoing professional dancer. “Within the studio and within the stage is the only place I’m not disabled,” Allie said. “I’m just a dancer.” At home in St. Mary, Mo., everyone knows her as Jen, a more conservative farm girl. Jen lives with her boyfriend of ten years, Tom Ritter.

Regardless of her name or residence, Jennifer Allie does not allow her physical disability stand in the way of her dreams.

This is still Jen's favorite doll. Even as a child, she quickly adapted to her surroundings by finding a doll with stuffed arms and legs; she is unable to hold the stiff plastic-bodied dolls.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Allie sits in the pews of First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights as she watches fellow dancers perform in the windows for a Verlezza Dance Company concert.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

A fellow dancer helps Allie get dressed backstage before a concert at the Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland. Although Allie is very independent, she needs assistance with quick costume changes between performances.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

After her performance, Allie walks in from backstage to watch the rest of the performances.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Sabatino Verlezza and Allie perform their duet at the Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland for “That All May Worship,” an event dedicated to the inclusion of all persons.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Allie takes a moment’s rest between performances at the “Fern Jennings & Friends” concert.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jen and Tom spend quality time with their two dogs Andrew and Suzy before heading to bed in their trailer in Missouri.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jen and Tom go through their daily morning routine of drinking wheat grass and washing the dishes. Jen places her cup in the sink drain for support and sips from a straw. She said she learned this trick after cleaning up hundreds of spilled drinks.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jen walks around the farmhouse in search of barn cats to play with while she waits for Tom to pull the tractor out.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jen helps feed the cows from the back of the four-wheeler she and Tom ride to complete the daily farm chores.

Second Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Tessa Bargainnier / Kent State University

Jen and Tom enjoy their hilltop “spiritual place” on the farm. They come here every day to simply enjoy the serenity.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

A photographer captures a focus on peace at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, where the world’s top 20 leaders met in September to discuss the global economy. The Summit lasted two days, resulted in 190 arrests and cost the city an estimated $35 million.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Evening at the Hoogly River finds locals having their daily “shower.”

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Nine-year-old Adam Scott decided to grow his hair long after the success of Stratford Ontario's hometown popstar Justin Bieber.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Mithun, 19, of the Sudder Street Football Club, checks the ball from his opponent in game one of tournament play. The Sudder Street club is a group of homeless “slumdogs” from India’s Sudder Street who compete in a local league of barefoot mud football.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

A bride takes a moment with her maid of honor and bridesmaids before marrying her high school sweetheart.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Leah Sherry, a high school teacher from Toronto, Canada, walks the streets of Kolkata as a woman takes a mid-afternoon rest on the sidewalk.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Cleveland math metal trio Dissolute takes a break between sets in the alley behind the building where the band practices. Dissolute is known for its unique style of metal riffs played in jazz-time signatures.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Twins Orna and Raina, nine months old, sleep peacefully in their room in Kolkata, India.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Atije Booth rests in bed early in her labor.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Atije's midwife arrives and checks Atije's labor progress with a fetoscope, a tool similar to a stethoscope commonly used by midwives.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Father-to-be Brian Booth applies counter pressure to his wife's lower back as she labors with the couple’s second child in their Akron living room.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Early in her labor, Atije displays one side of enduring the sensation of her uterine contractions.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Doula Monica Honeycutt provides a calm support and understanding for Atije as the mother’s contractions intensify into the night.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Husband Brian Booth waits patiently poolside for his second son Jonah to be born in a birthing tub set up in the baby's room.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Atije takes a moment to endure a contraction.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Jonah is born following 12 hours of labor in the comfort of the Booth family home.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

The birth team of mom, midwife, midwife's apprentice, doula, father, and big brother look on during Jonah's first moments.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Shortly after delivering her second son, Atije dials her mother to announce the birth of a new grandson, Jonah.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Two-year-old Beckett peeks at his long-awaited baby brother.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

In the comfort of her own bed with newborn son Jonah, Atije enjoys the first bonding moments.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Nurse Midwife Sue Hudson faces the end of maternity care at Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital October 31, 2009. Summa Health System’s financial decision to close the labor and delivery ward left 33 people unemployed.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Devona, a client of Hudson's, shows her support for the ward at Wednesday night's impromtu rally where 80 families gathered to urge Summa Health System not to close its Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital labor and delivery ward.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Sylvia Reed requested an induced labor so she could deliver on the ward where she worked. Her daughter Venice became the last child born at Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital since Summa Health System’s decision to close the unit.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Signs of the October 31 closing were apparent while the ward remained open for business during the last week of October.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Labor and delivery nurses and Midwife Sue Hudson share a laugh with Sylvia between pushes as husband Ivan Reed looks on.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Staff spend their emotional last hours on the ward reflecting on the community that will be gone come the end of the workday. Some of the 33 who lost their jobs had been on the ward at WRH for more than 20 years.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Father Ivan Reed cries out after catching his first glimpse of his daughter Venice.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Sylvia Reed walks her newborn through the empty halls among boxes she and her coworkers had packed over the previous few weeks.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Midwife Sue Hudson takes a moment with new father Ivan Reed, to celebrate the last child born at WRH and the mom, one of their own nurses.

Third Place, Student Photographer of the Year - Laura Torchia / Kent State University

Father Ivan Reed cries out after catching his first glimpse of his daughter Venice.