Today we announce the winners of NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism contest. Congratulations to all of you. Stay tuned early next week for our expansive display of all of the winning entries on bop.nppa.org.

If the events of 2020 confirmed anything with more certainty, it’s that visual storytelling is a necessary lynchpin of impactful journalism. The sights, sounds, and emotions of what we collectively experienced last year largely brought our society together – but in other ways it widened social chasms. You captured it all – the good and the bad, the triumphs and the defeats. The special moments that matter. We thank you.

This competition is supported through a partnership with the University of Georgia’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication and presented by Sony as its primary sponsor.

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STILL PHOTOJOURNALISM DIVISION

Photojournalist of the Year (Large Market)  

• First Place -  Jacob Ehrbahn,  Politiken
• Second Place -  Felipe Dana,  Associated Press
• Third Place -  Mads Nissen,   Politiken/ Panos Pictures
• Honorable Mention -  Richard Tsong-Taatarii,  Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Honorable Mention -  Rodrigo Abd,  Associated Press
• Honorable Mention -  Gabrielle Lurie,  San Francisco Chronicle

Photojournalist of the Year (Small Market) 

• First Place -  Jake May,  The Flint Journal
• Second Place -  Michael G. Seamans,  Morning Sentinel
• Third Place -  Kent Porter,  Santa Rosa Press Democrat
• Honorable Mention -  Keith Birmingham,  Pasadena Star-News
• Honorable Mention -  Ronald Erdrich,  Abilene Reporter-News
• Honorable Mention -  Andrew Whitaker,  The Post and Courier

Magazine Photojournalist of the Year

• First Place -  Lynsey Addario,  Freelance

Emerging Vision

• First Place -  Alex Kormann,  Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Second Place -  Josie Norris,  San Antonio Express-News
• Third Place -  Alexander Lourie,  Independent
• Honorable Mention -  Isaac Ritchey,  Central Michigan Life

Sports Photojournalist of the Year

• First Place -  Robert Gauthier,  Los Angeles Times
• Second Place -  Cooper Neill
• Third Place -  Dustin Satloff,  Freelance
• Honorable Mention -  Vegard Wivestad Grott,  Bildbyran

Cliff Edom New America Award      

• First Place - Mckenzie - Christina House,  Los Angeles Times
• Second Place - Standing Rock Fights Back - Richard Tsong-Taatarii,  Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Third Place - Theo: Homeless at age 7 - Gabrielle Lurie,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Honorable Mention - In the Refinery Shadows - Loren Elliott,  Reuters
• Honorable Mention - Basketball Queens - Madeline Gray,  Independent

Breaking News

• First Place - Burning Racial Fire Julio Cortez,  Associated Press
• Second Place - Evacuation Hassan Ammar,  Associated Press
• Third Place - Heated Confrontation Leads to Deadly Consequences Helen Richardson,  The Denver Post
• Honorable Mention - George Floyd Minneapolis John Minchillo,  Associated Press
• Honorable Mention - Skyhawk Engulfed Kent Nishimura,  Los Angeles Times
• Honorable Mention - Fleeing Fire Petros Giannakouris,  Associated Press

Breaking News Story

• First Place - The First Responders John Moore,  Getty Images
• Second Place - Minneapolis Unrest: George Floyd John Minchillo,  Associated Press
• Third Place - Taal Volcano Eruption 2020 Ezra Acayan,  Getty Images
• Honorable Mention - Explosion Chaos in Beirut Hassan Ammar,  Associated Press

General News

• First Place - Remote Learning Frustrations Sharon Cantillon,  The Buffalo News
• Second Place - The Human Cost of COVID-19 Joshua Irwandi,  Independent
• Third Place - Murder By Suicide Paul Hanse,  Dagens Nyheter
• Honorable Mention - Burial in Peru Angela Ponce,  Bloomberg
• Honorable Mention - The End of Moria Camp Alkis Konstantinidis,  Reuters
• Honorable Mention - Lunch with a Kick Kelly Wilkinson,  Indianapolis Star

General News Story 

• First Place - Country Doctor Gabriele Micalizzi,  Cesura
• Second Place - The Epicenter Victor Blue,  Independent
• Third Place - Fleeing War Nariman El-Mofty,  Associated Press

Politics

• First Place - Final Bloody Sunday Speech Joshua Lott,  Independent
• Second Place - SCOTUS Erin Schaff,  The New York Times
• Third Place - Torn Jonathan Ernst,  Reuters
• Honorable Mention - Rudy Melts on Live TV Rod Lamkey Jr.,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Your Turn Ryan Garza,  Detroit Free Press
• Honorable Mention - John Lewis Funeral Alyssa Pointer,  Atlanta Journal Constitution

Politics Story

• First Place - Buttigieg - Matt McClain, The Washington Post

Environment

• First Place - Locust Invasion in East Africa Luis Tato,  Independent
• Second Place - Pyrocumulus Air Drop Josh Edelson,  Independent
• Third Place - Flight of the Night Hunter Neil Aldridge,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Lightning and Rainbow Pete Caster,  Lewiston Tribune
• Honorable Mention - Industrial Water Jorge Saenz,  Associated Press
• Honorable Mention - FIRE Terry Pierson,  The Press-Enterprise

Environment Story

• First Place - Agroclimatic Grand Tour Alessandro Gandolfi,  Parallelozero Agency
• Second Place - Illegal Logging and Trafficking in the Solomon Islands Monique Jaques,  National Geographic
• Third Place - California Still Burning Gabrielle Lurie,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Honorable Mention - Locust Invasion in East Africa Luis Tato,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - A Crisis Right Now: Manila Faces Rising Sea Chang W. Lee,  The New York Times

Sports Action

• First Place - Face to Faces Scott Strazzante,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Second Place - Face Plant Scott Strazzante,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Third Place - Final Preparations Vegard Wivestad Grott   Bildbyran

Sports Feature

• First Place - Fans Watch the World Series in their Cars Ringo Chiu ,  Independent
• Second Place - Dust Trail Bernat Armangue,  Associated Press
• Third Place - Archery Luis Tato,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Pandemic Workout Al Bello,  Getty Images
• Honorable Mention - December 25th 2020. A football game in Yemen. Giles Clarke,  Independent

Feature

• First Place - Braving a Snowy Table Hiroko Masuike,  The New York Times
• Second Place - Blessing Lyudmila Alexander Zemlianichenko,  Associated Press
• Third Place - Caught in a Highly Political Power Game Between Turkey and the EU Jacob Ehrbahn,  Politiken
• Honorable Mention - Homeless Struggle Renée Byer,  The Sacramento Bee
• Honorable Mention - COVID Playdate Benjamin Norman,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Reunited Ryan Garza,  Detroit Free Press

Feature Story

• First Place - The Body Collectors Rodrigo Abd,  Associated Press
• Second Place - Theo: Homeless at Age 7 Gabrielle Lurie,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Third Place - COVID Burials in Peru Rodrigo Abd,  Associated Press
• Honorable Mention - Serenity Jonathan Levinson,  Oregon Public Broadasting/Guns & America
• Honorable Mention - Drive-In Nation Laura Morton,  Independent

Portrait/Personality

• First Place - Betty Wetter Erika Schultz,  The Seattle Times
• Second Place - Joseph R. Biden Jr. Damon Winter,  The New York Times
• Third Place - Pandemic Prom Portrait 1 Tyrone Turner,  WAMU/NPR
• Honorable Mention - Bernabe Ivan Kashinsky,  Independent

Portrait Series

• First Place - Essential Workers Gabrielle Lurie,  San Francisco Chronicle
• Second Place - Freedom Fighters Kerem Yucel,  AFP
• Third Place - Game Changers: A Celebration of Women in Sports Christina House,  Los Angeles Times
• Honorable Mention - Legacies of Lives Lost David Goldman,  Associated Press

Presidential

• First Place - Biden's Bid Jessica Rinaldi,  The Boston Globe
• Second Place - Buttigieg Event Matt McClain,  The Washington Post
• Third Place - Joe Biden Erin Schaff,  The New York Times
• Honorable Mention - Trump Arrives Evan Vucci,  Associated Press
• Honorable Mention - Lining Up to See Trump Damon Winter,  The New York Times
• Honorable Mention - Nominees Andrew Harnik,  Associated Press

Presidential Story

• First Place - Warren is Loved, but She Still Lost Melina Mara,  The Washington Post
• Second Place - Bernie 2020 Salwan Georges,  The Washington Post
• Honorable Mention - Re-Election Carlos Barria,  Reuters

Contemporary Issues

• First Place - COVID Evictions John Moore,  Getty Images
• Second Place - Untitled Jonah Haviland-Markowitz,  Independent
• Third Place - Birthday Brais Lorenzo,  Efe Agency
• Honorable Mention - Pandemic Revolt Joshua Bickel,  The Columbus Dispatch
• Honorable Mention - Untitled Jonah Haviland-Markowitz,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Pregnant with COVID Rodrigo Abd,  Associated Press

Contemporary Issues Story

• First Place - COVID-19's Toll on the Latino Community Mario Tama ,  Getty Images
• Second Place - The Danger in Our Salad Bowl Suzanne Kreiter ,  The Boston Globe
• Third Place - Small AG during COVID: Independent farmers and Labor Left to Cope in a Pandemic Melina Mara ,  The Washington Post
• Honorable Mention - Life Is Now Alessandro Gandolfi ,  Parallelozero Agency
• Honorable Mention - Beyond 'Stay Safe': COVID-19 and Inequality in Kenya Luis Tato ,  Independent
• Honorable Mention - Covid Evictions John Moore ,  Getty Images

Sports Picture Story

• First Place - A Season Without Fans Kevin Dietsch,  United Press International
• Second Place - The 'i' in Team Robert Gauthier,  Los Angeles Times
• Third Place - Till L Freezes Over Jessica Rinaldi,  The Boston Globe

PICTURE EDITING DIVISION

Magazine Cover      

• First Place - Stopping Pandemics Todd James National Geographic
• Second Place - You'll Miss Them When They're Gone Alexa Keefe National Geographic
• Honorable Mention - Silence Alessandro Gandolfi National Geographic
• Honorable Mention - End of Policing As We Know It Mark Murrmann Mother Jones

     
Magazine General News Story      

• First Place - A World Gone Viral: Belgium James Wellford National Geographic
• Second Place - The End of Trash James Wellford National Geographic
• Third Place - The Black Hill Are Not for Sale Mark Murrmann Mother Jones
• Honorable Mention - Anti-System Virus?  Robert Csere, Creative Director and Visual Editor; Vladimira Pcolova, Picture Editor .tyzden
• Honorable Mention - Erdogan's Human Shields  Robert Csere, Creative Director and Visual Editor; Vladimira Pcolova, Picture Editor .tyzden
• Honorable Mention - Floyd's America  Robert Csere, Creative Director and Visual Editor; Vladimira Pcolova, Picture Editor .tyzden

     
Magazine Contemporary Issues Story     

• First Place - A World Gone Viral: Belgium James Wellford National Geographic
• Second Place - Our Country is full Mark Murrmann Mother Jones
• Honorable Mention - The Last Reponder Mark Murrmann Mother Jones

     
Magazine Feature Story     

• First Place - Arctic Dreaming Kurt Mutchler N