2019 ONPA Pictures of the Year

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Eva Mazzola goes to the Netherlands every few years to visit her mother's family in Zaanse Schans. She's pictured here at her second cousin's house on July 18, 2018.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Sarah Moustafa, 5, attends the Friday service at the Islamic Center of the Triad with her grandmother, Um Abdullah, on March 16, 2018, in Greensboro, North Carolina.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

"I was kidnapped inside my own home," Yulier Rodriguez, 30, of Havana, Cuba, said. He is a visual artist, a quite prolific one, in fact. Before 2017, Yulier's politically-motivated street paintings were estimated to have covered over 200 walls in Havana. Now, Yulier calculates, there are only about 20 full paintings left. Most have been covertly destroyed by the government at night. The morning after, the murals look like they’ve succumbed to the natural decay that affects Havana’s buildings.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

The Cuban government forced Yulier to sign a document saying he would no longer paint on the street walls, so Yulier has started a new project called "El Regalo" (The Gift). He paints on rubble or scraps found on the street and puts them back as a gift to the Cuban people -- it's another public way for him to share his message, he says. After getting off of his bike, he bends down to pick up one of his gifts to share with the neighborhood.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier places one of his "gifts" on a pile of rubble on the side of a busy street in Centro Habana.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier pauses for a moment in his new studio to think about his painting. Yulier sells his art privately. He used to own a gallery, but the government forced his landlord to kick him out. Now, Yulier sells his art under the table. His new studio is at a private location in Havana -- only his family and close friends know where it is. He plans to move into the back of his studio once his fiancee gives birth to their child.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier paints the bottom of his canvas around a worm. The worms represent the powerless feeling Cuban people have against the government, he said.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier talks on the phone after dinner, while his fiancee Igmay sits at the table. Yulier's mother (far right), watches TV in their living room. Yulier, Igmay, and Yulier's mother all live together. Yulier was very concerned when the government threatened his mother. But if they do threaten him, Yulier said, it would look very bad for the government, because it would get a lot of international attention. Yulier is represented by Amnesty International now, so the government is a little more cautious before threatening him or his family, he says. Still, Yulier lives cautiously.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier and Igmay enjoy a sunset on the Malecon. They plan to get married soon and will have a child together next February.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Yulier's paintings used to be on hundreds of walls in Havana, but now, very few exist. Slowly but surely, the government has been taking them down overnight. Many passerby associate the destroyed paintings with the decayed buildings, so most people don't even realize they're slowly being dismantled. Half of this painting in Centro Habana disappeared overnight in May 2019.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Lucy Beauchamp in Oakley, Cincinnati, in April 2019.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Sabina rests in the bath in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 21, 2019.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Baylee Lantass, 13, poses for a portrait on Vine Street at the Cincinnati Pride Parade on Saturday, June 22, 2019. Lantass said it took hours to dye her hair that morning. "It was definitely worth it," she said.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Ostriches Rose (left) and Pam (right) get a bath by their keeper, Dan Turoczi at the Cincinnati Zoo on July 31, 2019.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Heroin overdoses kept a consistent grip in several neighborhoods, and certain areas in and around Cincinnati were hit harder than others. This photo essay, published by The Cincinnati Enquirer, examines the communities and people in Cincinnati whose lives have been permanently altered by this epidemic. Two women sit on a stoop on East McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine, smoking crack cocaine, on July 11, 2019. One says she plans to inject heroin later. She's been using the drug for 20 years.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

The Cincinnati area had 24 overdose calls and seven hospitalizations in 24 hours on July 26, 2019. The volume of 911 dispatches for overdoses increased monthly since the beginning of the year. In July, there were 430 dispatches, according to a recent report from the health department and the heroin coalition. Overdose hospital visits in Hamilton County followed the same pattern, though July experienced a slight drop.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

Kristie Combs strokes her daughter's hair as she sits on the porch of a home in Norwood on June 19, 2019. Combs is a resident of Bellevue, Kentucky, but she babysits in Norwood, a neighborhood consistently hit with overdoses this summer. She said she has lost probably five members to heroin addiction, and that it often leaves grandparents raising their grandchildren when parents have drug-related issues or lose custody.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

A woman who wishes to remain anonymous pours crack from a small pipe onto her hand on East McMicken Street in Over The Rhine before she smokes it. She says she used heroin a couple years ago, but no longer uses. Instead, she smokes crack.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

A boy rides his tricycle in Norwood on June 19, 2019. Norwood is a neighborhood hard-hit by overdoses this summer, according to daily overdose reports from Hamilton County Public Health and the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition. Kristie Combs, who babysits the boy, said she has lost family and friends to heroin overdose.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

A mural depicts an angel on East McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine on July 11, 2019.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

An evening pick-up game on the court between Lamparilla and Amargura on May 12, 2018, in Habana Vieja, Havana, Cuba.

First Place, Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Madeleine Hordinski / Ohio University

The veiling ceremony evoked introspection at Woman Camp in Neville, Ohio, on October 14, 2017. One of the most moving events at this camp is the unveiling ceremony; during this time, each woman is given a veil. The veil serves as a metaphor for obstacles that discourage one’s individuality. After each individual decides to eliminate an obstacle, the veil is destroyed.