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March 2002
1st Place
Escapee Hits Ceiling
Bryan Tuck
The Advocate
Baton Rouge, LA
Caption:
Lafayette Parish Jail Escapee Ollie Sam is carried out of the Lafayette Parish Courthouse by, left, to right, Dep. Scotty Carrier, Sgt. Mike Andrus, Dep. Mike Hiatt and Lt. Marty Miller. After being unhandcuffed and allowed to use the restroom alone, Sam escaped into the dropped ceiling of the courthouse and eluded Sheriff's deputies for several hours. Sam was eventually discovered hiding in a small space in one of the courthouse's walls.
Judges' Comments: Bryan Tuck's photo of a man being led out of a courthouse stood out above the others because all of the faces were unobstructed and the one man pointing, showed how tense the situation was.
2nd Place
Deadly Robbery
Billy Calzada
San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio, TX
Caption:
Family and friends of victims killed and wounded in the Sam Won Garden Restaurant weep as they watch police survey the scene on Friday, March 1, 2002.
Judges' Comments: We loved the emotion of the three women in front, but were a bit uncomfortable with the other women in tthe background being blocked. It still was a very strong photo that battled for a moment for the first spot.
3rd Place
Marijuana Arrest
Vladimir Chaloupka
Las Cruces Sun-News
Las Cruces, NM
Caption:
Judges' Comments: Vladimir did a nice job of making a clean, well composed image of an arrest in a tough situation. The officer's head popping around the side of the suspect added a great deal to the picture.
1st Place
Rural Health Care
Steven Line
Amarillo Globe-News Times
Amarillo, TX
Caption: Brenda Rodriquez kisses her daughter Adrian, 9, insidetheir room at the Ronald McDonald House.
I was assigned to photograph Brenda and her daughter, Adrian, living in the local Ronald McDonald House. As it turned out Adrian had been at the hospital earlier and could not be awakened from her drug induced sleep. I decided to take a portrait of them in their room near a window when the kiss happened.
Judges' Comments: First place grabbed us because the moment was quiet, tender and the light was right on. A wonderful moment.
2nd Place
Surrounding Yates
James Nielsen
Freelance / Agence France-Presse
Arlington, TX
Caption:
Russell Yates (left) speaks to the media outside the Harris CountyCourthouse after the punishment phase of his wife Andrea Pia Yates iscapital muder trial in which the jury gave her life in prison in Houston,Texas 15 March 2002.
Made a few pictures of Yates with long zoom, looked around and saw the amount of media covering this case and thought this would be a good closing photo to show the enormity of the case.
Judges' Comments: We loved the thought that went into producing this image, one that probably didn't leave much time to put all the elements together. It fit perfectly with the caption.
3rd Place
Crawfish
Richard Alan Hannon
The Advocate
Baton Rouge, LA
Caption:
Acadiana Fisherman's Co-op employee Calvin Francis of Cillis, right, takes a fresh batch of crawfish out of a boiler to the waiting arms of a peeler, left, at the cooperative in Henderson on Tuesday.
I remember that it was incredibly hot inside this boiler room, and cold outside. So I wasn't able to leave knowing that my cameras would have fogged up instantly. So while the employees left the room temporarily, I watched poor little crawfish scamper away from the boiling water the best they could, only to be caught again and cooked. They do taste good though!
Judges' Comments: We all loved the mood of the third place winner. Richard Alan Hannon took some chances with making this picture and came up with a multi-layered picture that brings the reader right into the room.
1st Place
Bloody Basketball Player
Michael J. Gallegos
The Albuquerque Tribune
Albuquerque, NM
Caption:
As the acton continues down court, La Cueva High School's Beky Preston suddenly reacts after seeing the blood on her hand moments after scrambling for a loose ball early in the first quarter against Hobbs High School in the semi-final game of the New Mexico State High School Tournment Wednesday, March 6, 2002 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Preston was injured by a head-butt to the forhead but returned to score a team-high of 20 points. La Cueva lost to Hobbs and Preston later received sixteen stitches to her forehead. Preston, a senior, will attend the University of Oaklahoma next year on a full-ride basketball scholorship.
I shot this frame with a Nikkon DX1, 300 mm lens, and remote strobs from the opposite end of the court. As the accident started to unfold I kept my eye on the player and noticed the blood before she did. I remember looking around me, wondering why the other five photographers there weren't shooting it too. This frame is way under-exposed because I shot too fast and didn't let the strobs fully recharge, but It may have helped the image because I really had to pump up the saturation and color balance in photoshop. I was lucky that day because that morning the maintance people in the arena removed five of the bottom rows of bleachers (bright red!) to get ready for the next day's NCAA game, and it really cleaned up the background for me.
Talking to the player a few days laters, she said she liked the photo and remembers thinking to herself "Who in the heck is bleeding?" She said her mother was shocked to see the photo, but she loved it and said her dad cried when he saw it.
Judges' Comments: Michael Gallegos made a memorable image of a female basketball player looking at the blood on her hands after sustaining a large gash during a game. This photo had so much going on, including the cheerleader in the background which framed the picture just right. We all wished that we had made this picture.
2nd Place
Oklahoma Flip
Louis DeLuca
Dallas Morning News
Dallas, TX
Caption:
Oklahoma's Hollis Price (10) drives the lane and collides with UIC's Kyle Kickert (cq) in the second half of the Sooners' 71-63 win over the University of Illinois-Chicago Friday morning at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Judges' Comments: Second Place was a great moment where opposing basketball players collided and sent one player through the air. The facial expression clinched it for this one.
3rd Place
Girls Console
Mark Saltz
The Advocate
Baton Rouge, LA
Caption:
Anacoco's Katie Antony (left) and Sarah Beaird (right) hug as LHSAA officials announce the LHSAA Class B MVP. Antony won the honors.
Judges' Comments: The disappointment in the faces of the two girls from the Christian Life basketball team was captured nicely in this tight, clean image.
1st Place
Strings With Zing
Kathy Anderson
The Times-Picayune
New Orleans, LA
Caption:
Judges' Comments: First was a simple picture but we all loved it. The (photo of the) girl's face while playing the violin was priceless and jumped to the top of the group and stayed there.
2nd Place
Suds Appeal
Tom Fox
The Dallas Morning News
Dallas, TX
Caption: An avalanche of foam cascades over dancers on the floor of the Have a Nice Day Cafe Thursday evening. Every 10-15 minutes the foam machine spews a mountain of foam out into the crowd. The night club is located on N. Lamar in the West End.
This was one of few assignments I've shot on film since converting to digital, mainly because of all the foam. What I missed the most was the image preview on the back of the camera. It was literally a shot in the dark trying to fill flash with ambient. I've gotten so used to 'chimping' on the dit cam, I forgot what it was like to just trust your instincts. All in all it was a fun assignment. One benefit, I didn't have to pre-treat my clothes when I threw them in the laundry.
Judges' Comments: Tom Fox's vision paid off in the 'suds' picture, where the moment, light and angle all worked together to make a great image.
3rd Place
Chris Granger
The Times-Picayune
New Orleans, LA
Caption:
Wind and rain combined for a messy afternoon as D'Avonni Weatherspoon, left, laughs at her friend, Ashley Williams, who was trying to keep her umbrella from flipping inside out. Having just left school the two were waiting for a city bus near the intersection of Claiborne and Carrollton Avenue.
Judges' Comments: Third was the best of the rain pictures. It came together nicely with the girls' faces and the umbrella being flipped.
1st Place
Broncs and the Big House
Damon Winter
Dallas Morning News
Dallas, TX
Caption:
Judges' Comments: Damon Winter's story about the prison rodeo was a strong set of images that showed a style and vision that was lacking in many of the other entries. The photos really worked well together and kept us interested. The entry was submitted in prints after being taken off the internet and we wondered how the pictures were actually run in the paper.
2nd Place
Witness to History
Edward A. Orneales
San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio, TX
Caption:
Judges' Comments: Witness to History, a story from Afghanistan, was very well done with a collection of great images but would have benefitted from a tighter edit. A nice job working with such a volitile situation.
3rd Place
Spring's Disclosure
Kim Ritzenthaler
Dallas Morning News
Dallas, TX
Judges' Comments: Spring's Disclosure was a well done piece with a variety of nice close-up flower pictures.
1st Place
A Wrinkle in Time
Jim Hudelson
The Times
Shreveport, LA
Caption:
Photo Illustration for story about the elusive search for the Fountain of Youth and other efforts to prevent or slow down the aging process, especially wrinkles.
Judges' Comments: We've seen the first place picture before but it was still done well and was the best of the group.
2nd Place
Crisp Whites
John Davenport
San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio, TX
Caption:
Fashion illustration about white clothing this spring.
Judges' Comments: Second place made us want to head to Mexico. We weren't sure if the type helped or hurt the photo.
3rd Place
Spring Sensation
Arthur D. Lauck
The Advocate
Baton Rouge, LA
Caption:
Louisiana strawberries for out of season food series.
Judges' Comments: Third place was clean and simple. It seemed to work together.
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