2008 FEBRUARY NJPPA CLIP RESULTS

2008 FEBRUARY NJPPA CLIP RESULTS

This Contest was judged by: Fresno Bee staff photographers: Craig Kohlruss, Mark Crosse, Darrell Wong, Kurt Hegre and Heidi Huber; assistant director of photography Renee Fernandes and Associated Press freelance photographer and photojournalism professor Gary Kazanjian.

News
1st Reena Rose Sibayan, The Jersey Journal, Knee in the groin
2nd Saed Hindash, The Star-Ledger, Comforting daughter during fire
3rd (Tie)John O'Boyle, The Star-Ledger, Speaking for her daughter
3rd (Tie) Ed Murray, The Star-Ledger, Fire station burns

Comments: The judges were impressed with many of the images in the news category, particularly the spot news situations. The restraining of the distraught brother of a murder victim was especially evoking. A number of images from this photographer would have worked well in a series, but we settled on the first-place winner. Third place was a tough decision so we finally decided on a tie (hope that’s ok).

Feature Single
1st Jeff Granit, Greater Media, Young dancer
2nd Michael Karas, Herald News, Palm burning
3rd Sarah Simonis, Freelance, Nurse Listening to Breath

Comments: The judges had a lot of disagreement in this category. There were few strong images that rose to the top, making arguments for finding the top three difficult. We finally decided on the young dancer as the first place because it had some style and beauty in a simple image. Second place, while interesting and technically well done, didn’t do much for some of the judges because it was so straight-forward. Third place was an interesting moment in an interesting story, but was a tough read as a single image. It might have been more successful in a multiple package. Some of the other images would have done better had they been more technically on the mark.

Sports
1st Chris Faytok, The Star-Ledger, Super catch
2nd Tony Kurdzuk, The Star-Ledger, Wrestling jubilation
3rd Peter Monsees, The Record, Inverted wrestlers

Comments: This category created quite a discussion among the judges, especially with the Super Bowl catch photo. First place rose to the top in many ways, but because this moment was “the moment” in the game, some judges moved it to the top – while others considered whether or not the photo could stand on it’s own, without regard to its significance. We finally agreed the outcome of the play in the story has to have some weight. The other photos stood out because they captured special moments in sporting that went beyond the usual action.

Portrait
1st Patti Sapone, The Star-Ledger, Basketball player
2nd Peter Monsees, The Record, Lady and her dog
3rd Greg Pallante, Record Sports Magazine, Wrestling portrait

Comments: Good portraits are technically perfect, show great composition, and capture the spirit or personalities of their subjects. It was hard to find all three in this category. Our top choice was the basketball player because it was the most successful portrait. Several photos used lighting well, but relied only on that fact and not enough was to capture the subject’s character. The second place picture had more of a moment to bring interest to it.

Multimedia
1st John O’Boyle, The Star-Ledger, Wrestling feature
2nd Ed Murray, The Star-Ledger, Reflections on racism
3rd Ed Murray, The Star-Ledger, Cancer patient

Comments: Unfortunately the judges were not very moved by the multimedia packages. While the subject matter was interesting on many, they generally they went on far too long or used too much video interview alone and not enough b-roll. The wrestling feature did the best job of using audio interviews with compelling imagery. Much the way good photography brings a reader into the story, good video should be used throughout a multimedia piece with informative audio to add impact. Most of these would have been better if they were more carefully edited and made a little shorter. We awarded second and third for their efforts to move beyond the ordinary.

Hope these comments aren’t too tough. They are meant to be constructive and helpful. We want to see good work as much as anybody. Thank you for the opportunity to judge your contest. Good luck!