Feature and Multiple-page entries were judged by Caroline E. Couig, Discovery Channel.com; Katya Heineman, photographer, Aurora Select; Gail Fisher, senior picture editor, National Geographic magazine; Allison Shelly, staff photographer, The Washington Times; and Sarah L. Voisin, staff photographer, The Washington Post.
News, Sports and Picture Page entries were judged at USA Today. News pages were judged by Kate Patterson, News section photo editor, Tim Loehrke, Money section photo editor, Eileen Ryan, Life section photo editor and Jim Sergent, Money section design coordinator. Picture pages were judged by Evan Eile, Jud McCrehin and Robin Smith of the News Photo Desk. Sports pages were judged by Andrew P. Scott, Sean Dougherty, David Cooper and Charlie Borst of the Sports Photo Desk.
1st: The Virginian-Pilot, April 30, 2008
Pg 1 tornado coverage
Team.
Judges’ comments: A 6-column image displayed above the masthead tells the reader immediately what has happened. Using non-traditional design, the page designer and photo editor make a simple, bold statement, this is the news and it is important.
2nd: The Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2008
“When Grief knows no borders”
Michael Robinson Chavez, Rob St. John and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: This page was an example of great photo editing and layout. Each photo captures a moment of the unfolding story connected by the muted color palate. The photographer lens choices and perspective add to the reader engagement.3rd: The New York Times, May 2, 2008
“Make Me a Star, Give Me a Break”
Beatrice de Géa, Kim Moy and Becky Lebowitz Hanger.
Judges’ comments: This layout is a winner because of the crops, editing and simple smart design. The composition lines within the images, enhanced by cropping, create movement between the pictures even though they are all exactly the same size. Studying the images makes it seem that the photographer was coached to look for the unusual and quirky. The photo editor was, in kind, true to the photographer's vision.
Honorable mentions:
The Virginian-Pilot, May 1, 2008
“Return stirs shock, grief”
Team.The Gazette (Cedar Rapids), June 22, 2008
“Cleansing and healing”
Rollin Banderob, David Lee and Jonathan D. Woods.The Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2008
“Thousands still buried in China”
Colin Crawford, Steve Stroud, Mary Cooney and Kelli Sullivan with wire photos.The Commercial Appeal, April 4, 2008
“Moving Mountains”
Jeff McAdory and Lindsey Turner with photos by Flip Schulke and Richard L. Copley.The New York Times, June 19, 2008
“After a Little Boy’s Death, Grief and Regret at Missed Clues”
Ruth Fremson, Librado Romero, Kim Moy and Becky Lebowitz Hanger.
1st: The Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2008
“L.A. posses at an Iowa college”
Rob St. John, Liz O. Baylen and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: Each image has nice human emotion. It’s nicely designed and hangs well together as a package.2nd: The Oregonian, May 13, 2008
“Pale Beauties”
Jamie Francis, Martha Holmberg, Vicki Nesbit and Mike Davis.
Judges’ comments: Lead image is a gorgeous with a dream-like quality. It’s nice to see something other than the “usual” image used as the dominant photo. The detail conveys necessary information to the reader.3rd: The Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2008
“Relying on a dwindling resource”
Michael Robinson Chavez, Mary Vignoles and Kelli Sullivan.
Judges’ comments: Quality of the photography was top-notch with each image bringing different information. The well-designed package draws the reader in.
Honorable mentions:
The Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2008
“Bust a Move”
Mary Cooney, Christina Pompa and Liz O. Baylen.
Judges’ comments: The tab-size calendar was executed well, incorporating type with the photo.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 28, 2008
“In a Word”
Rob Sumner, John Dickson, and Veronica Velasco with staff photos.
Judges’ comments: Judges liked the single word theme and talked at length about the pages in the series, but the photography didn’t hang together as a package. Nor was it at the same level as other entries. One suggestion was to have a single photographer shoot the specific theme.
1st: The Oregonian, April 27, 2008
“Behold The Stump”
Jamie Francis, Molly Swisher, Patty Reksten and Joany Carlin.
Judges’ comments: This page was beautifully photographed and reproduced. Though there are few faces, the feet and hands on the stump keep it from being a static nature study. This enterprise piece was accessible to locals but compelling and interesting to people on the other side of the country. The main image resembles the surface of the moon at first glance....stunning. The paper devoted a lot a space to the story. It felt like every photo worked on its own as well as hung together as a cohesive set of images.2nd: The Virginian-Pilot, April 5, 2008
“The Talisman of War”
Team.
Judges’ comments: The main image was perfect, drawing the reader below. The layout was clean, simple and dramatic. The photographer had a plan going into the assignment. It's as if she said, "Show me the thing that means the most to you." Each photo was shot with care and beautiful light and the page feels faithful to what the photographer was aiming for.3rd: The Oregonian, June 8, 2008
“Go after your dreams”
Thomas Boyd, Jenny Kane, Ross William Hamilton, Benjamin Brink, Motoya Nakamura, Ian Malkasian, Patty Reksten and Wesley Uno.
Judges’ comments: Nice images, layout and space. Staffers covered an annual event that could have become routine, in a way that makes the reader want to look and read about it. The photographer found a great moment with the little girl bored by all the pomp and pageantry. Photographers shot from lots of different angles. These are the straight on images of parade participants with a long lens.
Honorable mentions:
The Virginian-Pilot, May 17, 2008
“Earthquake in China”
Team.The Record Searchlight, June 29, 2008
“A Fire”
Andreas Fuhrman, Meagan Vonhoff, Jakob Schiller and Nathan Morgan.The Virginian-Pilot, May 19, 2008
“What remains”
Team.The Palm Beach Post, May 18, 2008
“Nature’s fury”
Mark Edelson with Lou Ann Frala and Associated Press photos.The Gazette (Cedar Rapids), June 13, 2008
“Rising Devastation”
Rollin Banderob, Paul Jensen, Jim Riley, Jonathan D. Woods, Cliff Jette and Jeff Raasch.
1st: The Commercial Appeal, April 8, 2008
“Dream to Nightmare”
John Sale, Mark Crum, Kim Coleman and Mike Brown.
Judges’ comments: First was a well executed page on deadline, with the photo, headline, and design working in concert. The photo was very telling, the headline worked well, and the page integrated stories and refers with no unnecessary graphic elements.2nd: The Oregonian, May 29, 2008
“Snapshot from the Trials”
Bruce Ely, Mike Zacchino, Patty Reksten and Steve Zimmerman.
Judges’ comments: Second used a standing page format devoted to exclusively to the staff's photography. While there were several entries of this type, this one stood out due to the excellence of the layered image that meshed well with the very clean design.3rd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, April 4, 2008
“Los Ultimos Cuatro”
Mark Edelson with photos by The Associated Press and Getty Images.
Judges’ comments: Third used the most innovative design of the entries, recapping the telling moments for the four regions of the Final Four. Solid picture editing of wire images took the reader back through the key plays and emotions of the tournament.
Honorable mentions:
The Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2008
“Kobe's rallying points”
Joel Huerto, George Wilhelm, Robert Gauthier and Bernat Armangue (A.P.).The Los Angeles Times, June 18, 2008
“Buried in the Garden”
George Wilhelm, Vic Seper, Wally Skalij and Robert Gauthier.The Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2008
“A victory full of value”
George Wilhelm, Vic Seper, Wally Skalij and Gary Friedman.The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, June 6, 2008
“Algo Hermoso”
Mark Edelson with photos by Getty Images and The Associated Press.The Oregonian, May 18, 2008
“Traffic jam”
Thomas Boyd, Mike Zacchino, Patty Reksten and Steve Zimmerman.
Judges’ overall comments: The judges were concerned to see so much highly-coveted space dedicated to insignificant stories with weak photography. There was little classic documentary storytelling.
1st: The Oregonian, April - June, 2008
“Photo of the week”
Thomas Boyd, Bruce Ely, Brent Wojahn, Randy L. Rasmussen, Doug Beghtel, Mike Zacchino, Patty Reksten and Steve Zimmerman.
Judges’ comments: Sports series was tightly edited deserved first due to concise layout and high quality photography.
2nd: The Virginian-Pilot, April 29 – May 4, 2008
“The Suffolk tornado”
Team.3rd: The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, April - June, 2008
“A traves del lente”
Mark Edelson with the staff of La Palma and wire and staff photos.Judges’ comments: It was tight between the two entries and judges did a page by page comparison. The sports package had strong pages but the tornado package had more of a story thread, with nice moments showing human emotion after a natural disaster that was unusual for that area of Virginia.
Honorable Mentions:
Naples Daily News, May 11, 2008
“Forever Mom”
Judy Lutz, Erik Keller, Eric Strachan and Greg Kahn.
Judges’ comments: The photos had nice emotion but needed tighter editing.
Comments? Corrections? More information? Next quarter's deadline? Contact BUP contest chair Mark Edelson at medelson@pbpost.com.
