Derek, left, and Amanda Wattie, cool down after an ecstatic dance ceremony during a celebration of the afterglow of Samhain at the Dutch Creates creative space in Rochester, N.Y. in November 2021. Ecstatic Dance is a free form movement that interacts with music, which often takes a lot of energy and ends in a cool down. Samhain is a Gaelic festival that celebrates the end of the harvest season and start of winter. Photo by Vincent Alban

NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER | FEB. 15, 2022

NPPA Student Clip contest 2021 POY winners, student chapter announced

Vincent Alban, Rochester Institute of Technology, is Photographer of the Year; RIT is Student Chapter of the Year

Athens, GA. - Congratulations to the student clip contest winners of 2021 and the student chapter of the year. An accumulation of points determined the placement of the awards. Read Q&A’s and see photographs by the top two winners below.

Vincent Alban was named NPPA’s Student Clip Contest POY at the conclusion of the 2021 competition. Alban amassed 450 points with a total of 12 works placed including five first-place finishes. Alban is studying photojournalism at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and will be graduating in 2023.

Shafkat Anowar was named runner-up in the competition, amassing 360 points with a total of 10 works placed including three first-place finishes. Anowar completed his degree at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in 2021 in media communications and business. He is currently a visual journalist at the Dallas Morning News.

Rounding out the top five:
Third place: Chris Day, Ohio University
Fourth place: Sara Nevis, California State University, Sacramento, in fourth place, and
Fifth place: Eakin Howard, Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology claimed the title of Chapter of the Year amassing 720 points.
Runner-up Ohio University received 505 points.

View the final standing for POY and Student Chapters here.

The Student Quarterly Clip Contest will be overhauled for the 2022 competition with a new name and new entry periods. We hope the changes will allow students to submit longer-term stories, more quality entries and allow for more participation. The competition will work hand in hand with the announced Student Video Contest with the goal of creating large and fruitful NPPA student competitions.

The full story is here.

Jamma Balkum, 7, the son of Jamen Balkum, tries on one of the many pairs of shoes that were his father’s, at his aunt’s home in October 2021. The Balkum family plans to keep the shoes for Jamma to wear when he grows older. Balkum was killed in a shooting on Aug. 30, 2021. He was hanging out with a group of friends on Harris St. when he was approached and shot multiple times by at least one person. No suspects have been found in relation to the murder. Photo by Vincent Alban

Vincent Alban

Where are you in school and when do you expect to graduate?
I am currently at RIT. I am set to graduate in May 2023.

What does this recognition mean to you?
This recognition means months and months and even years of hard work paying off. It is great to receive this recognition as it revitalizes my feeling of the importance of the stories I am telling.

Where have you done an internship?
I have worked at the Kingston Wire in Kingston, New York, as a part time intern and I will be working at The Baltimore Sun this summer.

How has the NPPA helped you as a student?
My student chapter of NPPA has helped me a lot in terms connecting with students I might not have met especially when I was a young freshman.

Briefly, any advice for students just getting started?
Always look for stories that you care about as a person beyond just as a photojournalist.

Scroll for more photos by Vincent Alban and Q&A with Shafkat Anowar

Shayquanna Adams, left, and Nhri Wearon,former girlfriends of Jamen Balkum, mourn over his body at the Cathedral of Hope Community Church in Rochester, N.Y., on Sept. 11, 2021. Adams is the mother to Balkum’s son, Jamma, and Nhri is the mother to his son, Jamere. Photo by Vincent Alban

Claudette Gordon, left, Simran Gordon, 4, center, Crystal Noble, opposite, and Gordon’s brother, right, ride in a limousine to Simran Gordon’s funeral at Calvary Spiritual Church in Rochester, N.Y on Oct. 23, 2021. Gordon was killed by two Rochester Police Department officers after an exchange of gunfire at the scene of an alleged armed robbery at the Family Dollar store on West Main Street in which Gordon was the suspect. The RPD alleged that Gordon was the suspect in three homicides that they were investigating. Gordon’s family members maintain Gordon’s innocence in the homicides and question why the RPD did not question Gordon in relation to the homicides earlier on if they suspected him. Photo by Vincent Alban

Bonnie MacDonald poses for a portrait with her children, Andrew, left, and Nikki, right, in their home in Rochester, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2021. MacDonald lost her nephew, Nazir McFadden, on his 21st birthday in 2020, and her niece, Madison Boorom, 20, in 2021, both to shootings. Neither shooting has had any suspects taken into custody. “I’m depressed all the time,” says MacDonald. “It’s too much loss. But I get up and function for the kids. That’s the only thing that keeps me [going].” Photo by Vincent Alban

Zhyon Stewart, a 20-year-old from Rochester, N.Y. poses for a portrait with his 1-year-old son, Zhyon Jr. at their home on Nov. 13, 2021. Zhyon was shot in the chest on June 23, 2021, after he was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. “It was stressful, honestly, because it’s like ‘Why did I get shot? Why me? Why do I have to deal with this pain?’…I couldn’t even hold my son for two months,” said Stewart. No suspects have been put in custody for the incident. Photo by Vincent Alban

Shafkat Samin Anowar

When did you graduate?
I graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall 2021. In January 2022, I joined the Dallas Morning News as a staff visual journalist.

What does this recognition mean to you?
This is the perfect recognition that anyone could hope for to finish their career as a student. Especially transitioning to a full-time staff job, this will help me elevate my work. I don’t think we as photojournalists look for external gratifications. However, at the end of the day we feel appreciated when someone likes our craft. So, I feel appreciated at this moment.

I want to work for the students who are just starting out. I don’t want them to face the issues that I faced. In a way, I want to smoothen their way. So this recognition is a way to showcase myself and put my name out there so people know I am here for them.

Where have you done an internship(s)?
Throughout my senior year, I did two six-month internships. First half, I was a photo/video intern at the Associated Press in Chicago. Second half, I was the photojournalism intern at the Deseret News, the local newspaper in Salt Lake City, Utah.

How has the NPPA helped you as a student?
It has been a great platform to showcase my work and get to know people. NPPA guided me big time when COVID first started. There were live sessions where people were discussing the safety protocols that showed what to do and what not to do. While working as a freelancer, the NPPA ID was a great asset. Even if it doesn’t provide access, it is somewhat an identity. I remember wearing that during the January 6 insurrection for safety purposes. The NPPF scholarship helped me a lot in supporting my college tuition and continuing my education.

Briefly, any advice for students just getting started?
First spend some time, enjoy and decide if you actually want to become a photojournalist, given that the industry is shrinking. If you are adamant about it then keep your head down and be persistent. My key is to remain humble and get my name out there. It doesn’t matter who you know, it matters who knows you. I know it can be hard to introduce yourself to people and break the ice, but do it for the sake of yourself.

There will be days where you won’t be able to make a single good image or might not get the internship you aimed for. So don’t get disheartened if you are struggling. There is always a right time and right place for everything.

Scroll to see photographs by Shafkat Samin Anowar.

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