2015 ONPA Pictures of the Year

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Coachran / Cincinnati Enquirer

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Onlookers watch as Chelsey Madden and Christian Wright, both of Colerain Twp., Ohio, run to the their wedding ceremony after posing for some photos with their photographer. Gay marriage became legalized a month earlier.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

William Bray, 6, gets a sponge bath from his mother, Michelle, in their living room. William has cerebral palsy, and his mother gives him sponge baths because she can't lift him in and out of the bathtub. William had to wear so much machinery as an infant, having had 100 surgeries before he turned one year old that his family didn't know he had dimples for the first 12 months of his life.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

What Jaimie Green wanted, said Rachel Riffle O'Hara of Erlanger, was the love of the woman now accused of helping to kill her. She also wanted to be a mother to her own children. And she wanted to fix all that was wrong with her short, fraught life.

Rachel Riffle O'Hara helped raise Jamie Green, the 25-year-old who died Sept. 4 in the Kenton County jail, another heroin overdose victim in Northern Kentucky.

Jamie's biological mother is among four accused of providing her the deadly dose. Kimberly Mullins, 44, of Covington, is accused of helping Jamie get heroin while she was jailed in Campbell County before her move to the Kenton jail.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Ethan Bruner of Norwood, 8, is baptized by his dad, Mark, after Vineyard Central's services at the old St. Elizabeth Church in Norwood. The grassroots church is housed in an old Catholic church.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Lindy Reynoso, 12, and her brother Yifry, 10, are photographed on their West Price Hill porch. Lindy and Yifry, who crossed the border in April 2014, found out that their immigration case was closed in the beginning of this year. They are in limbo. Although they were not deported, they did not gain a path to residency or citizenship.Their siblings, all of whom are younger and were born in the U.S., are U.S. citizens.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Yvens Bernard, the father of Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, is photographed near the spot where he landed in a small fishing boat on the Miami River in Miami. He spent several days at sea, fleeing Haiti, not knowing if he would survive.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Venus Williams plays Zarina Diyas in Monday's match at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio. Williams won 7-6(6), 6-4.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

A man walks along the Ohio River at Smale Riverfront Park at sunrise.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

SEPTEMBER, 2014: Joe takes a moment to soak in the sun, charging his glow-in-the-dark shirt. He doesn't stay out long, as the heat tires him quickly. It's been almost two years since he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an incurable brain cancer considered to be the most aggressive. After trying chemotherapy twice, Joe decided that quality of life was better than how long he lived. Joe believed people shouldn't fear death.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

JULY 30, 2014 "I told Laurie I'd give her fifty years when I finally convinced her to marry me – which took some doing, I might tell you. A lot of doing." Joe married Laurie in Dec. 2007, three and a half years after his first wife, Becky, died of breast cancer.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

AUGUST 2014: Laurie, a professional musician, plays The Beatles' "Martha My Dear." "To all the sudden be a mom, stepmom, three kids that were still fairly young, and a husband – the whole thing was such a wild thing for my little rock star to do," Joe said.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 13, 2015: Alex Neyer, Joe's oldest son, sees his father for the first time since Joe was put on continuous Hospice care. Alex had just moved to Florida, where he was staying with his grandparents – Becky's mom and dad. "Obviously when he dies is gonna be a very emotional time for everybody. All of his wisdom leading up to it, I don't think it's for that stretch of time. I think it's for after that, the years after."

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 13, 1015: Laurie breaks down in the kitchen as she hears the sobs of the three sons as they visit with their dad upstairs at his bedside. Aaron had driven down from Cleveland and Alex had just got in on a flight from Florida.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 15, 2015: Joe hadn't eaten in days and is delusional, but asked for ice cream. Laurie feeds him Graeter's black raspberry chocolate chip. It will be the last thing he eats.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 18, 2015: Laurie gives Joe medicine as he is in and out of delusions and consciousness.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 18, 2015: Laurie "You wonder what people wait for, or how timing comes about for each of us. Maybe they’re made to make sure that we’re all going to be okay."

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 16, 2015: Hospice had been giving around-the-clock care to Joe for several days. This is the first night that he was taken off of 24-7 care, because his pain stabilized. Here, Laurie tries to stay awake so that she can give him his anti-seizure medicine.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 23, 2015: Will Turbyne, Joe's best friend, arrived hours before Joe died. He drove up from Texas in a pick-up truck. "He’s a gabber. God, I love him, I love him dearly," Joe said in August.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 21 2015: Joe's sister, Diane Rose consoles Laurie as the hospice nurse cares for Joe upstairs.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

April 23, 2015: In Joe Neyer's final hours, his wife Laurie sings, "Dirty Knees," a song she wrote about him. Two and a half years earlier, Neyer was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Months after his diagnosis, he decided that he will not get treatment. "By accepting death, you can actually enjoy life," he said.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Noel Mack, 4, who lives across the street from the site where Samuel DuBose was shot and killed, rides her scooter passed the makeshift memorial Wednesday night. Her mother didn't know DuBose, but says she lights the candles of the memorial every night. DuBose was unarmed when he was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop on July 19.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Kimberly Thomas of Clifton holds a photo of Samuel DuBose outside the Hamilton County Courthouse after the arraignment for Ray Tensing, the former University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder for his shooting death. Thomas says that DuBose was her business partner for a catering business. She hopes to open a restaurant in his honor.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Shanicca Solomon of Avondale breaks down as she talks about her friend, Samuel DuBose, and how he hated guns. She was outside the Hamilton County Courthouse after the arraignment for Ray Tensing, the former University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder for DuBose's shooting death.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Damon Lynch IV, the son of Rev. Damon Lynch III, gestures for Cincinnati Police officers to smile moments before he is arrested in near Fountain Square Friday night after a vigil for Samuel DuBose turned into a march through the streets of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Marchers stop at the intersection of Seventh and Vine Streets, saying "hands up, don't shoot." A vigil for Samuel DuBose turned into a march, the through the streets of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Kimberly Thomas of Clifton is arrested in front of Fountain Square Friday night after a vigil for Samuel DuBose, turned into a march through the streets of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati. Six people were arrested during the march, which DuBose's family disowned after a peaceful candlelight vigil. Cincinnati police Captain Doug Wiesman said officers made an initial arrest because an individual threatened a business in Over-the-Rhine. While arresting the first individual, other demonstrators tried to obstruct justice, he said.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Jennifer Rice wipes away tears as Samuel DuBose's family members speak at the place where DuBose was shot and killed by a UC police officer. Rice says that she was friends with Russell Rogers, who died while in the custody of the City of Hamilton Police Department in 1997. "I know what their family is going through," she said.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

A bystander on Vine Street watches marchers head to the spot where Samuel DuBose was shot and killed by a UC police officer in July. A rally with other families who had loved ones also killed by police, including Samantha Ramsey and John Crawford participated in the march.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Simon Bell, who has been friends with Samuel DuBose since high school, grieves outside of the Church of the Living God in Avondale, before DuBose's funeral. DuBose was the unarmed Cincinnati man who was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop on July 19 in Mount Auburn.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

JeRee Wilson of Winton Hills, the cousin of one of Samuel DuBose's daughters, stands outside of the Church of the Living God in Avondale before Samuel DuBose's funeral. DuBose was the unarmed Cincinnati man who was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop on July 19 in Mount Auburn.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

Funeral attendees embrace before the service for Samuel DuBose. DuBose was the unarmed Cincinnati man who was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop on July 19 in Mount Auburn.

First Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Carrie Cochran / Cincinnati Enquirer

After the funeral, Tramell Metz of Avondale has a final moment with Samuel DuBose, who Metz says was like "a big brother." DuBose was the unarmed Cincinnati man who was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop on July 19.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Funeral attendees listen during the memorial service for Holocaust survivor Murray Ebner at the Congregation Torat Emet in Bexley on Nov. 9, 2015. Ebner was the lone member of his family to survive the Holocaust.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

A relative of the victims who declined to give her name cries as she walks near the scene of a shooting on the South Side in which two were killed and a third victim was taken to Grant Medical Center on April 1, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

On their way from the Lucasville Penitentiary to the Statehouse in Columbus, Baptist minister Jeff Hood, 31, from Denton, Texas, left, and Jim Matzorkis, 30, of Cleveland lead a group of approximately 15 people along the side of Rt. 23 north of Circleville, Ohio on Oct. 8, 2015. The group is making the 6-day march in protest of Ohio's death penalty laws. They began their walk on Sunday and will arrive in Columbus on Friday.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

After finding out about the death of classmate Wendell Jackson, Meghan Tenorio, 20, places flowers on the Denison University seal in front of Swasey Chapel on the school's campus on Sept. 1, 2015. Tenorio said she didn't know Jackson well, but she saw him almost every day and his smile brought joy to everyone. Jackson's body was found near the campus Tuesday morning.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Kayla Atchison, 24, of Grandview Heights heads into the Ohio Statehouse for a meeting after a pop-up shower passed through downtown Columbus on May 26, 2015. As quickly as the rain came on, the skies cleared and sun came back out. More thunderstorms are expected to pass through Central Ohio the rest of the evening.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Organist Christopher Warner plays the renovated organ inside Livingston United Methodist Church in Columbus on Nov. 4, 2015. The church spent $50,000 to revitalize the instrument that is a hybrid of several different organs, including an 1894 Felgemaker, 1939 Schantz and 1984 Bunn = Minnick.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

A student walks through the Ohio Union on Ohio State's campus on April 27, 2015. Monday was the final day of classes before the start of finals week.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Players clear the balls from the court between turns during the playoffs for the Columbus Italian Club's annual bocce tournament at their headquarters in Grandview Heights on Aug. 19, 2015. The annual tournament has been conducted since the courts were built 26 years ago. Bocce was an ancient Roman sport that dates back to pre-B.C. era and is still popular within the Italian culture.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Brendan Stalf, 11, of Ostrander tries to coerce his goat to walk through the obstacle course in the junior kid competition at the Delaware County Fair on Sept. 22, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Emily Denniston, 19, from Brooklyn fights the wind as she walks north on High Street with her boyfriend Dan McKeon, 20, of Hudson, Ohio after he asked her out to "prom" while on Ohio State's campus on April 27, 2015. Because it is high school prom season, and the couple didn't meet until getting to Ohio State, McKeon decided he would ask his girlfriend of more than one year to get dressed up and go to a pretend prom with him this weekend.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Pedestrians make a chilly walk home during the evening commute through downtown Columbus on Jan, 5, 2015. Temperatures are predicted to fall into the low teens, and snow is expected to accumulate Monday night.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) blocks a shot by Anaheim Ducks right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) in front of center Rickard Rakell (67) and defenseman Fedor Tyutin (51) during the first period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Cornell wrestler Chris Villalonga enters the arena during the final round of the NCAA Div. I wrestling championship at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on March 21, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Michigan State Spartans place kicker Michael Geiger (4) celebrates making a 41-yard field goal as time expired during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 21, 2015. Michigan State won 17-14.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Michael Thomas (3) catches a pass behind Michigan Wolverines cornerback Jourdan Lewis (26) during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Nov. 28, 2015. Ohio State won 42-13.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer hoists the trophy following their 42-20 win over Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 12, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

After completing his morning rounds at 6 a.m., Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen walks between buildings at Adena Health System before starting his operation schedule, which included seven procedures, on June 10, 2015. After sleeping five to six hours a night, Cohen typically begins his work day at 3 a.m. He works out for an hour before commuting 60 miles from his Columbus-area home to Chillicothe. As one of the nation's highest-paid physicians practicing at a nonprofit or public hospital, Cohen cites his skill and robotic-like discipline to justify his lofty paycheck.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen enters the operating room at Adena Health System before a knee surgery in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015. The helmet helps protect from the bone saw.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen performs a reconstructive shoulder surgery on Linda Hall at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen performs a total knee replacement at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015. Surgery can be a very physical task, so Dr. Cohen wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to work out before making the hour commute to work.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

By 10 a.m., orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen has nearly finished his second shoulder surgery of the morning at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

While drinking one of his five daily protein shakes, orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen jokes around with his team of surgical technicians in the staff lounge at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Before she goes into shoulder surgery, orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen checks on Linda Hall at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen looks at an X-ray of a recent shoulder surgery he completed on a 7-year-old girl at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

Orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen prepares the artificial knee while performing a total knee revision at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

On his seventh, and final, surgery of the day, orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen still manages to have a smile on his face while performing a total hip replacement at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Second Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch

After completing seven surgeries for the day, orthopedic surgeon Brian Cohen prepares to change out of his operating scrubs before making his final rounds of the day with about 20 patients at Adena Health System in Chillicothe on June 10, 2015.

Third Place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - /

Award of Excellence, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - /