2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Jasmine Wooten sits with her two children Arius Wooten, 8, (left) and Naomi Wooten, 11, on her bed in their home on the East Side of Columbus. Jasmine is an artist, her work hangs on the wall behind her. Emergency SNAP benefits helped to feed her family during the Covid-19 Epidemic. She is a single mom who recently earned her Masters Degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Alexis Nicole Nelson, also known as Black Forager, stands for a portrait while foraging in an urban area at Jeffrey Park in Bexley, Ohio on July 21, 2023. Nelson has millions of followers on TikTok, she teaches how to find and prepare common plants in unexpected ways. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Ohio Governor Mike DeWine speaks with the press during a delayed start before a meeting of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The meeting was quickly rescheduled for the following week after more than an hour of delays, the group was created to redraw legislative districts in the State of Ohio to reflect a more accurate reflection of the States voting body. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Bill and Debbie Goode sit for a portrait in their home. Debbie was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease six years ago, Bill is her primary caretaker. Debbie takes painting classes through the Alzheimer's Association and collects pennies and other coins. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Shawna Brady (center) mother of slain 15-year-old TréVon Dickson, becomes emotional Thursday while her victim impact testimony is read before the sentencing of Nasir Ndiaye in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Division. Ndiaye, now 17, was 15 when he fatally shot Dickson in 2021 in an exchange of gunfire that also wounded Ndiaye. Brady is holding up a photo of her son for Ndiaye to see. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Pickerington Central cheerleaders cheer while Westerville South’s Jujuan Ray looks for a pass around Pickerington Central’s Gavin Headings during their Division I boys basketball regional semifinal game at Ohio Dominican - Alumni Hall. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Corey Neal, Knya Wilson and Jon Hughes play around during practice outside of the Linden-McKinley STEM Academy. They practice in the parking lot five days a week in the hottest month of the summer. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Karaline Mishne, 11, pats her ram Rodney while her mother Amanda Mishne braids her hair at the Franklin County Fair. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Chef and Instructor Justin Thatcher rolls fresh pasta dough as students watch during a cooking class through Sinclair Community College at the Marysville Women’s Reformatory. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Sara Rannebarger, 6, wears her “Miss Sassy Pants” shirt and cries as she is walked into school by Avondale Principal April Knight during a “Clap In” that features mascots from the Columbus Crew and the Columbus Blue Jackets at Avondale Elementary School. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Chris Wheeler proposes to Holly Dailello while Wheelers pumpkins are weighed in during the Circleville Pumpkin Show. Dailello said yes. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Drew Dilcher, graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting, holds an umbrella while walking to the French Field House in the rain before Spring Commencement ceremonies at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on May 7, 2023. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market LaTonya Nichols holds a photo of her children Nofeir Cannon and A’Tayia Nichols who were both killed by gun violence. Nichols will be staying in a hotel room over the holiday weekend to avoid the sounds of fireworks in her neighborhood, which remind her of when she witnessed the murder of her daughter in 2022. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market The summer months are often Columbus' deadliest in terms of gun violence and to highlight its devastating effects, The Dispatch launched an initiative to chronicle its pain and impact in real time.The news organization deployed 28 journalists to capture gun violence and its lingering effects in real time over an 80-hour period from the early morning hours of Thursday, July 20 until the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23. The following are the images I made in that time period, numbered in chronological order. Vince Ford speaks with Linden resident Marvin Williams during his walk with the Linden Anti-Violence Team outreach group from Columbus Public Health on 25th Street in the Linden Community. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Coach Drake Jones helps adjust helmets during football practice with Columbus ICE (Inspiring Children to Excellence) at Helsel Park on the East Side of Columbus. ICE offers direct outreach to kids who are living in areas of Columbus that experience the highest rates of gun violence. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Morgan Wade, 10, dances with the Cheer Team with Columbus ICE (Inspiring Children to Excellence) at Helsel Park. The Cheer Team offers girls an opportunity to make connections within their own communities through music and dance. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Cheer Director Ebony Moody hugs team members at the end of practice when she sings a song with the girls that they have memorized. The Words are “God bless the ICE, in all that we do, stand beside us and guide us, let your light shine through. Help our coaches teach us, and bless our parents too.” (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Girls from the ICE program dance as the sun sets behind the park. Powerful storms rolled into the Columbus area Thursday evening ending activities and sending people indoors. It was considered a blessing by police because bad weather typically helps slow gun violence. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Former South High School student Trevell Adams dunks in the Driving Park Community Recreation Center Gymnasium on the Near East Side. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Former South High School student Trevell Adams stands in the Driving Park Community Recreation Center Gymnasium. Adams was shot in the leg while on his way to play in a summer league, he will start playing for Ashland University in the fall despite having a bullet still lodged in his leg. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Jay Fisher, 10, rubs his eyes while playing football in a field near a crime scene that was being investigated on Nationwide Boulevard on the West Side of Columbus (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Daliyah Brown shows a part of her arm during an interview that is scarred from surgeries. She was shot in 2022 but the physical, emotional and mental toll lingers for the 19-year-old. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market In her 24-hour shifts as a trauma surgeon at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Dr. Candice Rich Carrle treats more patients than she can remember. “Gunshot wounds are not something I want to be good at, but I need to be good at," she says. "I hope one day that’s something I don’t have to say.” (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Trauma Nurse Brittany Parker stands on the Helipad for Grant Hospital. She has been a nurse in the Emergency Department for five years, the Grant Trauma Center is a Level One trauma care facility and receives many transport patients who are injured from gun violence. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
2nd - Photographer of the Year - Large Market Kelly Sandberg, a forensic investigator at the Franklin County Coroner's Office, goes over the death cases from the night before during the morning meeting at the Franklin County Forensic Science Center. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
