Bill Skura, owner of Springville True Value hardware looks out his storefront window in between repairs on April 16, 2020. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

REGIONAL CLIP CONTEST | POY 2020

Congratulations to the 2020 Regional Clip Contest winners

April 13, 2021 - It's been a helluva year. So we asked the nine regional clip contest winners to summarize their year of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest to accompany a selection of their pictures. We asked them: What was the most memorable story they covered in 2020 and why? What keeps them going as a photojournalist and what advice would they give to newcomers in our profession? Their reflections are revealing and made me feel hopeful. Thanks for reading.

- Sue Morrow, Editor, News Photographer Magazine

New York/International Region
Harry Scull Jr.
The Buffalo News

What was the most memorable story you covered in 2020 and why?
2020 brought a lot of challenges as a photojournalist. My main beat at the Buffalo News is covering sports. With the COVID-19 pandemic, sports was stopped, altered and changed. With little to no sports, I was put in a position to go find pictures and stories that told how COVID affected Buffalo, NY, and the Western New York region. I did a portrait series on people who lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as a portrait series on senior athletes who lost out on their senior athletic season, along with covering one of the first COVID funerals.

What keeps you going as a photojournalist?
The joy of being a photojournalist is that no two days are the same, and the chance to be in the public Interacting with people is a blessing. My goal on the sports beat is to treat a high school assignment no different than I would treat a professional game. I like taking readers behind the scenes, to where they cannot go, to tell a story.

What advice would you give to newcomers in our profession?
To the newcomers getting in the business, be humble and want to listen and learn. Be a sponge, so as much up as possible – even if it is a ride-along to observe, listen and learn. Be the best backpack photojournalist you can be, have writing skills, photography and video skills, be able to do it all! I have been a staff photographer for the Buffalo News for 25 years, previously I was a stringer for the Associated Press, AllSport and Getty Images.

Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News
[email protected]
NPPA member since 2016

Protesters lay hands in prayer on the vehicle of Great Grandma Jean Davis on June 8, 2020, prior to a march from City Hall to the Erie County Holding Center demanding the release of Deyanna Davis, her granddaughter, who is incarcerated after running over two law enforcement officers during a protest in Buffalo, New York, on June 1. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

Reverend Darius Pridgen, a COVID-19 survivor, presides over the funeral of Joseph Pitts at True Bethel Baptist Church on May 2, 2020. Pitts, 34, died from coronavirus after spending 17 days in Buffalo General Hospital. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

Law enforcement officers look out of the Federal building etched with all 4,536 words of the United States Constitution as demonstrators are pushed out of Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York, on May 31, 2020, as they protest the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed while police custody on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

Myles Carter stands with his hands in the air at the location where he was tackled and arrested while doing a TV interview during a June 1, 2020, protest on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

A burst of lightning streaks through the sky during a rain delay of a game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the fourth inning at Sahlen Field on Aug. 15, 202O. Cardboard cutouts replaced spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News

Mid-Atlantic Region
Steph Chambers
Getty Images

What was the most memorable story you covered in 2020 and why?
The most memorable story I covered in 2020 was the memorial service for Kim McCoy-Warford. McCoy-Warford was one of the residents who died of COVID-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, which is under a federal investigation. Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 368 residents at the nursing home tested positive for COVID-19 and 76 have died.

I cried watching McCoy-Warford's family celebrate her life despite this horrific situation. The family was suing the nursing home for negligence and wrongful death of Kim, and this funeral was held the same week George Floyd was killed under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis. It was evident there were many layers of pain as tears welled over the 15-or-so attendees’ masks as they filled the nearly empty church with songs of redemption and prayer.

What keeps you going as a photojournalist?
What I love about photojournalism is the power that visual storytelling has to evoke empathy, challenge authority and teach us something new of our shared humanity. It's a universal language that pulls at our emotions to love one another more deeply, to provoke change or to simply delight in the beauty of a broken world. Photojournalism teaches me to listen and observe. Undoubtedly, I have become a more sensitive person because of other people's bravery to share their stories.

What advice would you give to newcomers in our profession?
My advice to newcomers in our profession is to treat everyone with respect and to never devalue an assignment. Excel with what you're given and where you are in your career. You don't need to cover professional sports to make a compelling image nor do you need to be assigned the most glamorous story to truly touch someone's life. Open yourself up to the community, and don't be shy.

Steph Chambers is a newly hired staff sports photographer with Getty Images based in Seattle, Washington. Previously, she held staff positions in her hometown with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review for three-and-a-half years at each publication. Steph has been an NPPA member since 2010. Website: stephchambersphoto.com

Vincentian head coach Tim Tyree Jr. is doused with water in the locker room after beating Cornell 63-51 during the WPIAL 1A championship on Feb. 27, 2020, at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A cyclist rides past a cherry blossom tree on March 26, 2020, outside of Jim Ludwig's Blumengarten Florist along Penn Avenue in the Strip District. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cousins Jazmier Moss, 13, of Allentown, and Chalise Ramey, 10, of Mt. Washington, shoot hoops on Sept. 4, 2020, at Warrington Recreation Center in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As the sun sets, California quarterback Damani Stafford, second from right, looks to pass the football during practice on July 14, 2020, at California Area High School. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Reflected in PPG Place, Duquesne University students Katie Drennen and Jonny Geisler ice skate on Jan. 8, 2020, at MassMutual Pittsburgh Ice Rink, downtown. The couple has been dating for eight months. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Serra Catholic's Daiquan Chatfield lifts a weight during football practice on July 21, 2020, at Serra Catholic High School. Photo by Steph Chambers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

New England Region
Michael G. Seamans
The Morning Sentinel

What was the most memorable story you covered in 2020 and why?
There isn’t one story that sticks out but rather one issue that touched every story.

The coronavirus became THE story in every city, municipality and county in the country. Rural Maine was no different. It was a unifying experience felt by all in one way or another. The year 2020 is a chapter in a history book and that was how I approached its coverage.

Access to hospitals in Maine was non-existent. My focus quickly turned to the paramedic response in rural areas. Delta Ambulance, the second largest EMS provider in the state, allowed me incredible access to paramedic crews to tell this unique story of the rural response. I spent nine months riding with the paramedics through the rural wilds of Maine on calls that ranged the gamut. COVID-19 was just part of the call volume. It was a front-row seat to Maine’s response that I am still processing.

The other most memorable story of 2020 was comet NEOWISE. The benefit of living in Maine is the access to wilderness and unpolluted night skies. Ten days of photographing the comet was a welcome break from the confines of the back of an ambulance in a Tyvek suit, N95 mask and goggles. Big, deep breaths of fresh air under a cloudless sky void even of air traffic was a bit surreal. It was quite a show from the heavens.

What keeps me going as a photojournalist?
There’s a never-ending waterfall of stories that need to be reported in this state. Climate change, renewable and green energy, environmental stewardship, rural poverty and COVID-19 are all of interest here with real tangible impacts. That is what keeps me going.

What advice would you give to newcomers in our profession?
Stay focused. Don’t take any story for granted. Don’t listen to the noise. Have confidence in what you’re doing. Take ownership of every single picture you make. Be open to being open.

I have worked at the Morning Sentinel since August 2010. I have been an NPPA member since 2005. Instagram: @michaelgseamans and Twitter @MGSphotojournal

Karl Michelin, of Rigolet, takes a break from dressing a jar seal he hunted in Lake Melville near Big Island on No