2001 Better Newspaper Contest — Photography
Division 2, Dailies 7,000 to 99,999
1st. The Galveston County Daily News — Photographer Kevin Bartram. Nice job Kevin. You make it look easy. “Dogged determination” What a fun, simple, clean, well-executed feature photo! “Crash survivors” What a clean, simple, dramatic breaking news photo! Nice light too. “Cinco de Mayo” Very nice execution in simplifying and lighting a fine feature photo. Motion is just right.
2nd. The Paris News — Photographer John Conrad. “Fighting ice” Nice tight, newsy frame. “Making a loop” Nicely framed, well composed, simple graphic. “High clouds” I come from corn country and I’ve never seen such a beautifully portrayed corn tassel before. Nice job.
3rd. The Beaumont Enterprise — “Big bully,” by Scott Eslinger. Great timing. Excellent action shot. “Dodging the storm,” by Pete Churton. Very nice pictorial. “Football player comfort,” by Jennifer Reynolds. Way to look for the reaction and move in. Nice job.
4th. The Facts, Clute — “Fire,” by Todd Yates. Nice use of symmetry and order to simplify photo. Inactivity speaks well to hopelessness of big fire. “Jail,” by Todd Yates. Interesting use of mirror. I wanted to see at least part of the prisoner. Shadow alone didn’t provide enough. Nice package. “Marathon,” by Kim Christensen. Excellent use of reflection to add interest.
Division 3, Dailies Less Than 7,000
1st. Texas City Sun — Photographer Dwight C. Andrews. “Paraglider” Nice composition. Perfect timing. “Memorial Day” Very effective. “Prayer for friends” Tells the story.
2nd. Taylor Daily Press — “Drowning,” by Nancy Royden. Beautiful composition. Great facial expression and tension. Tell ‘em you need color. Color would have gotten you first place. “Rescue,” by Don McAlister. Good composition but hard to tell what’s going on without looking at cutline. “Snake charmer,” by Don McAlister. Eye-catching!
3rd. Bay City Daily Tribune — Photographer Jimmie Bellah. “Swinging” Good one! M.C. Escerish. “Leap of faith” Pretty good composition but needed to be crisper. “Cattle encounters” Interesting.
4th. Athens Daily Review — “Home ablaze,” by Robby Robertson. Typical fire photo. No innovation. “Cooling off,” by Robby Robertson. Nice effect. “Honor guard,” by Toni Garrard Clay. Very nice composition. Even their backs show their feeling of duty.
Division 4, Semiweeklies 4,001 or +
1st. Williamson County Sun — Photographer Mark Ashley. “Rodeo clown” Great shot. I hope this one pays for the motordrive. “Wrestling” Great shot on its own and as illustration for a fascinating story. “Livestock show” Sell this to Hallmark.
2nd. Wise County Messenger — Photographer Scott Mahon. “Summer’s here” GORGEOUS. Best of show. “Disappointing” Great composition. “Mother’s love” Compassionate, but I wish the light were softer.
3rd. Round Rock Leader — Photographer Ray Meese. “Ballpark fare” Cute! “Swimmer” This one could grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. “Army illustration” Classy and creative.
4th. Bastrop Advertiser — “Basketball,” by Michael Amador. Great shot. Crisp, great composition. “Football,” by Michael Amador. A shame it’s so grainy. “Playground,” by Fran Hunter. Appealing use of color.
Division 5, Semiweeklies 4,000 or -
1st. The Angleton Times — Photographer Micheal Boddy. “Homecoming 2000” Captures two images in one shot. “All fouled up” Great timing/anticipation. Makes standard shot a very interesting, eye-catching shot. “Freeway fatality” Tells the story. Doesn’t need cutline to have impact. Clearly the best of entire category!
2nd. The Wimberley View — Photographer Mary Elizabeth Davis. “White Christmas” Unique. Good reproduction to clearly seek ice on needles. “Pumpkin” Good facial expression. Way to get on level where action occurring. “Pet shots” Kids and animals can’t miss. Got it at right moment, making a simple shot a really good shot.
3rd. Lamesa Press-Reporter — Photographer Jeffrey Patterson. “Tuesday melee” Definitely tells the story. Adds impact to story. “Water blast” Shows the action. To see the mist and water all over adds to overall shot. “Winter weather” Perfect for story-telling ability.
4th. The Light & Champion, Center — Photographer Jay Arrington. “What-A-Melon” Tough to make this work without cutline. Tighter cropping on head & shoulders would help. “Chemistry magic” Eye-catching. “Doo-dah dancin’ ” Need some more cutline info to know what dance is about.
Division 6, Weeklies 3,001 or +
1st. DeSoto Today — “Cow patty tossing,” by Matt Slocum. Really a nice photo, good facial expression. Good visual impact. “Bus accident,” by David Goodspeed. Not a bad photo. Would have looked better wide angle and low to the ground. “Glorious finish,” by Matt Slocum. Nice photo, and its size reflects that. Nice moment.
2nd. Frisco Enterprise — Photographer Tom Beesley. “Protected pooch” Photo appears to be out of focus. Good moment. Could be cyan out of registration. Nice mood. “Winter 2000” Really nice pictorial, good photo! “New year, new school” Another nice photo.
3rd. Cameron Herald — Photographer Mike Peck. “Head-on collision” Nice photo, news pictures sell newspapers. Good job. “Wassup” Nice moment, fun picture. “Stretch” Really nice picture, poor reproduction.
4th. Pleasanton Express — “Frozen cactus,” by Christelle Troell. Nice photo. Beautiful pictorial. Nice size. Nice find. Love to see black and white. “Beeville nightmare,” by William Wilkerson. Not bad sports action. “Just clowning around,” by Gerald Black. Poor reproduction, good photo.
Division 7, Weeklies 2,001 to 3,000
1st. The Community News, Aledo — Photographer Christopher Amos. “Whipped cream” Very fun photo. Caption helps nicely. “Spring joy” Another fun kid pic with unusual upside down twist adds interest. “Animal rescue” Nice news moment. Star of the show is a bit had to read. Maybe more fill flash. Maybe better (lower) (closer) angle.
2nd. Duncanville Today — “The big splash,” by Matt Slocum. You took a chance with a radical tilt and it works for me. Nice portrait. Nice innovation. “Bird watching,” by David Goodspeed. Cute. “54-0,” by Randy Cozby. Nice scoring moment. Picture could be strengthened by crop on right.
3rd. Cedar Hill Today — “A nation in its youth,” by David Goodspeed. Kid with flag is nice. Mom in foreground seems not connected to the kid and becomes a distraction. Move for better angle or wait for better moment. “USARA,” by Matt Slocum. Nice pictorial. Repro could use more snap. Well-framed. “Firefighters and EMS,” by David Goodspeed. Intense moment. Photo suffers from lack of focus (focal point). Let me restate that — without the caption I wouldn’t be exactly sure what they were doing, which hurts the photo.
4th. Lancaster Today — Photographer Randy Cozby. “Accident” Nice use of high angle to set the scene. “Butch is back” OK, kind of funny kid photo but also kind of static, centered. Background is distracting. “Quarterback” Very nice t-ball action.
Division 8, Weeklies 1,201 to 2,000
1st. Lexington Leader — Photographer Maggie Beasley. “Fair” Good composition and reproduction. “Haircut” Great composition and reproduction. “Fans” Great composition and reproduction and innovation. Fantastic shot.
2nd. Midlothian Today — “Slick streets,” by David D. Waller. Good composition. Great depth. “All wound up,” by Matt Slocum. Fantastic composition and reproduction. “The last word,” by David Wilfong. Good composition.
3rd. Lake Cities Sun, Lake Dallas — “Stars, stripes, bikes,” by Jason Roberts. Good composition. “Shattered dreams,” by Jeremy Moore. Great composition and reproduction. “Whirly bird,” by Russ Ebsen. Fantastic composition.
4th. Little Elm Journal — Photographer Laura Coomer. “Space days” Good composition. “Basketball” Great composition and reproduction. “Up in flames” Good composition. Nice shot!
Division 9, Weeklies 1,200 or Less
1st. The Princeton Herald — “Football,” by Kelly McCrummen. Good composition. “Graduation,” by Kathleen Noble. Fantastic reproduction and composition. “Wheelin’ through summer,” by Kathleen Noble. Good composition.
2nd. Keene Star — Photographer Paul Gnadt. “Basketball” Fantastic composition and reproduction. “Eight for 12” Good composition and reproduction. “Moustache” Great composition.
3rd. The Eagle Press, Fritch — Photographer Debra Wells. “Fire” Great composition and good reproduction. “Mud bath” Good composition and reproduction. “Indian food” Good composition.
4th. The Eldorado Success — Photographer Kathy Mankin. “Shadows in time” Good composition and reproduction. “Twister” Great innovation and good composition. “Overcome by smoke” Good composition and reproduction.
1st. The Galveston County Daily News — Photographer Kevin Bartram. Nice job Kevin. You make it look easy. “Dogged determination” What a fun, simple, clean, well-executed feature photo! “Crash survivors” What a clean, simple, dramatic breaking news photo! Nice light too. “Cinco de Mayo” Very nice execution in simplifying and lighting a fine feature photo. Motion is just right.
2nd. The Paris News — Photographer John Conrad. “Fighting ice” Nice tight, newsy frame. “Making a loop” Nicely framed, well composed, simple graphic. “High clouds” I come from corn country and I’ve never seen such a beautifully portrayed corn tassel before. Nice job.
3rd. The Beaumont Enterprise — “Big bully,” by Scott Eslinger. Great timing. Excellent action shot. “Dodging the storm,” by Pete Churton. Very nice pictorial. “Football player comfort,” by Jennifer Reynolds. Way to look for the reaction and move in. Nice job.
4th. The Facts, Clute — “Fire,” by Todd Yates. Nice use of symmetry and order to simplify photo. Inactivity speaks well to hopelessness of big fire. “Jail,” by Todd Yates. Interesting use of mirror. I wanted to see at least part of the prisoner. Shadow alone didn’t provide enough. Nice package. “Marathon,” by Kim Christensen. Excellent use of reflection to add interest.
Division 3, Dailies Less Than 7,000
1st. Texas City Sun — Photographer Dwight C. Andrews. “Paraglider” Nice composition. Perfect timing. “Memorial Day” Very effective. “Prayer for friends” Tells the story.
2nd. Taylor Daily Press — “Drowning,” by Nancy Royden. Beautiful composition. Great facial expression and tension. Tell ‘em you need color. Color would have gotten you first place. “Rescue,” by Don McAlister. Good composition but hard to tell what’s going on without looking at cutline. “Snake charmer,” by Don McAlister. Eye-catching!
3rd. Bay City Daily Tribune — Photographer Jimmie Bellah. “Swinging” Good one! M.C. Escerish. “Leap of faith” Pretty good composition but needed to be crisper. “Cattle encounters” Interesting.
4th. Athens Daily Review — “Home ablaze,” by Robby Robertson. Typical fire photo. No innovation. “Cooling off,” by Robby Robertson. Nice effect. “Honor guard,” by Toni Garrard Clay. Very nice composition. Even their backs show their feeling of duty.
Division 4, Semiweeklies 4,001 or +
1st. Williamson County Sun — Photographer Mark Ashley. “Rodeo clown” Great shot. I hope this one pays for the motordrive. “Wrestling” Great shot on its own and as illustration for a fascinating story. “Livestock show” Sell this to Hallmark.
2nd. Wise County Messenger — Photographer Scott Mahon. “Summer’s here” GORGEOUS. Best of show. “Disappointing” Great composition. “Mother’s love” Compassionate, but I wish the light were softer.
3rd. Round Rock Leader — Photographer Ray Meese. “Ballpark fare” Cute! “Swimmer” This one could grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. “Army illustration” Classy and creative.
4th. Bastrop Advertiser — “Basketball,” by Michael Amador. Great shot. Crisp, great composition. “Football,” by Michael Amador. A shame it’s so grainy. “Playground,” by Fran Hunter. Appealing use of color.
Division 5, Semiweeklies 4,000 or -
1st. The Angleton Times — Photographer Micheal Boddy. “Homecoming 2000” Captures two images in one shot. “All fouled up” Great timing/anticipation. Makes standard shot a very interesting, eye-catching shot. “Freeway fatality” Tells the story. Doesn’t need cutline to have impact. Clearly the best of entire category!
2nd. The Wimberley View — Photographer Mary Elizabeth Davis. “White Christmas” Unique. Good reproduction to clearly seek ice on needles. “Pumpkin” Good facial expression. Way to get on level where action occurring. “Pet shots” Kids and animals can’t miss. Got it at right moment, making a simple shot a really good shot.
3rd. Lamesa Press-Reporter — Photographer Jeffrey Patterson. “Tuesday melee” Definitely tells the story. Adds impact to story. “Water blast” Shows the action. To see the mist and water all over adds to overall shot. “Winter weather” Perfect for story-telling ability.
4th. The Light & Champion, Center — Photographer Jay Arrington. “What-A-Melon” Tough to make this work without cutline. Tighter cropping on head & shoulders would help. “Chemistry magic” Eye-catching. “Doo-dah dancin’ ” Need some more cutline info to know what dance is about.
Division 6, Weeklies 3,001 or +
1st. DeSoto Today — “Cow patty tossing,” by Matt Slocum. Really a nice photo, good facial expression. Good visual impact. “Bus accident,” by David Goodspeed. Not a bad photo. Would have looked better wide angle and low to the ground. “Glorious finish,” by Matt Slocum. Nice photo, and its size reflects that. Nice moment.
2nd. Frisco Enterprise — Photographer Tom Beesley. “Protected pooch” Photo appears to be out of focus. Good moment. Could be cyan out of registration. Nice mood. “Winter 2000” Really nice pictorial, good photo! “New year, new school” Another nice photo.
3rd. Cameron Herald — Photographer Mike Peck. “Head-on collision” Nice photo, news pictures sell newspapers. Good job. “Wassup” Nice moment, fun picture. “Stretch” Really nice picture, poor reproduction.
4th. Pleasanton Express — “Frozen cactus,” by Christelle Troell. Nice photo. Beautiful pictorial. Nice size. Nice find. Love to see black and white. “Beeville nightmare,” by William Wilkerson. Not bad sports action. “Just clowning around,” by Gerald Black. Poor reproduction, good photo.
Division 7, Weeklies 2,001 to 3,000
1st. The Community News, Aledo — Photographer Christopher Amos. “Whipped cream” Very fun photo. Caption helps nicely. “Spring joy” Another fun kid pic with unusual upside down twist adds interest. “Animal rescue” Nice news moment. Star of the show is a bit had to read. Maybe more fill flash. Maybe better (lower) (closer) angle.
2nd. Duncanville Today — “The big splash,” by Matt Slocum. You took a chance with a radical tilt and it works for me. Nice portrait. Nice innovation. “Bird watching,” by David Goodspeed. Cute. “54-0,” by Randy Cozby. Nice scoring moment. Picture could be strengthened by crop on right.
3rd. Cedar Hill Today — “A nation in its youth,” by David Goodspeed. Kid with flag is nice. Mom in foreground seems not connected to the kid and becomes a distraction. Move for better angle or wait for better moment. “USARA,” by Matt Slocum. Nice pictorial. Repro could use more snap. Well-framed. “Firefighters and EMS,” by David Goodspeed. Intense moment. Photo suffers from lack of focus (focal point). Let me restate that — without the caption I wouldn’t be exactly sure what they were doing, which hurts the photo.
4th. Lancaster Today — Photographer Randy Cozby. “Accident” Nice use of high angle to set the scene. “Butch is back” OK, kind of funny kid photo but also kind of static, centered. Background is distracting. “Quarterback” Very nice t-ball action.
Division 8, Weeklies 1,201 to 2,000
1st. Lexington Leader — Photographer Maggie Beasley. “Fair” Good composition and reproduction. “Haircut” Great composition and reproduction. “Fans” Great composition and reproduction and innovation. Fantastic shot.
2nd. Midlothian Today — “Slick streets,” by David D. Waller. Good composition. Great depth. “All wound up,” by Matt Slocum. Fantastic composition and reproduction. “The last word,” by David Wilfong. Good composition.
3rd. Lake Cities Sun, Lake Dallas — “Stars, stripes, bikes,” by Jason Roberts. Good composition. “Shattered dreams,” by Jeremy Moore. Great composition and reproduction. “Whirly bird,” by Russ Ebsen. Fantastic composition.
4th. Little Elm Journal — Photographer Laura Coomer. “Space days” Good composition. “Basketball” Great composition and reproduction. “Up in flames” Good composition. Nice shot!
Division 9, Weeklies 1,200 or Less
1st. The Princeton Herald — “Football,” by Kelly McCrummen. Good composition. “Graduation,” by Kathleen Noble. Fantastic reproduction and composition. “Wheelin’ through summer,” by Kathleen Noble. Good composition.
2nd. Keene Star — Photographer Paul Gnadt. “Basketball” Fantastic composition and reproduction. “Eight for 12” Good composition and reproduction. “Moustache” Great composition.
3rd. The Eagle Press, Fritch — Photographer Debra Wells. “Fire” Great composition and good reproduction. “Mud bath” Good composition and reproduction. “Indian food” Good composition.
4th. The Eldorado Success — Photographer Kathy Mankin. “Shadows in time” Good composition and reproduction. “Twister” Great innovation and good composition. “Overcome by smoke” Good composition and reproduction.
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