2005 Better Newspaper Contest — Sports Photo

Sports Photo

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1. The Facts, Clute - Todd Yates. "Angleton basketball" Sometimes taking it to the hole is tougher than it looks. Well shown. "Little League" Amazing action-reaction shot. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat all in one shot. Bravo!

2. Midland Reporter-Telegram - Kris J. Murante. "Basketball end of the road" Great emotion. "Basketball action" Nice job of literally showing the game get out of reach for Amarillo.

3. The Herald-Coaster, Rosenberg - Gary Martin. "Bullish touch basketball" Great work up at the top of the photo. And 1? "Closed expressions soccer" Another nice shot, well timed and very raw.

4. The Paris News - Sam Craft. "Detroit football" Great showing of action-reaction. "North Lamar basketball" Raw emotion - can't beat it!

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1. Athens Daily Review - Charles Stiff. "Basketball" No comment. "Softball" 'Yer Out!' "Not really" this photo pushed you to the top in this division.

2. Kilgore News Herald - Kathy Bowden. "Bulldogs win the title (football)" Timing is everything. "Playoff perfection (softball)" Nicely cropped.

3. The Huntsville Item - Richard Nira. "Lady Hornets soccer" Goes to show action does not make for a good sports photo. "Eliminated (soccer)" No comment.

4. The Banner-Press, Brenham - Derek Hall. "Cubs clinch basketball" No comment. "Blinn Ladies softball" Very good, well cropped.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1. Wise County Messenger - Joe Duty. "State championship football" What hurts more, getting hit that hard or losing? Good stuff! "Final 'state'ments track" Simply an amazing shot!

2. Round Rock Leader - Kevin M. Cox. "Westwood receiver football" Shows the play up close. Can't beat a shot like that. Good stuff! "McNeil basketball" Needed a little more face time. Good shot, but could have been great.

3. Williamson County Sun - Mark Ashley. "Liberty Hill football" Keep your eyes on the ball! "Lengthening shadows football" Would have been better if lights were lower.

4. El Campo Leader-News - Shawn Price. "Scramble basketball" It says scramble, cut where is everyone else and the sense of urgency? "Sprint relay finish" Good shot. Nice job of showing what it takes with one leg to go.

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1. The Sealy News - "Hey batta, batta" by Joanie Griffin. Perfect! Watch out for Zach as he moves up the ranks. "Basketball bench backing" by Johnny Griffin. This simple shot made better with inclusion of the cheering teammates.

2. Breckenridge American - Rob Durham. "Buckaroo relays" Both shots are simply good pictures played big. Action is simple and facial expressions show great determination. "Softball" Well cropped. Ball could use more space to side but otherwise a really nice pix.

3. The Highlander, Marble Falls - Virgil Belk. "Marble Falls basketball" Tighter crop from bottom and more from above ball (if there was any) would have made for a stronger action shot. "Dogs football" Good photo for action. Again tight crop from top and bottom would bring action closer to viewer.

4. Gonzales Inquirer - Michael McCracken. "Perfect pass" Love the look on the official's face - to say nothing of those on the players! Nice. "Amazing catch football" Amazing also to get a good shot at night and still see the players distinctly, especially difficult in black and white.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1. Rockdale Reporter - "Pole vaulter" by Ken Esten Cooke. Superb framing, cropping at precise moment of peak action. Interesting angle from in front rather than behind the crossbar. "Tiger basketball" by Cliff Dungan. No comment.

2. Park Cities People, Dallas - Jeremy Chesnutt. "Victory howl" That moment of unbridled joy lasts but a fleeting second and Chesnutt caught that second beautifully on the face of Bryan Newman. "Pinned wrestling" Good composition.

3. Pleasanton Express - Daniel Elizondo. "Long jump" Good anticipation by photographer produced the sensation of movement of sand while freezing motion of jumper. Nicely cropped. "Getting a leg up football" No comment.

4. Duncanville Today - David Goodspeed. "Panther guard basketball" Average basketball shot. "Crunch time softball" Great action shot. A slightly better angle would have eliminated the blowing distraction of the official. Difficult situation handled well by Goodspeed.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1. Westlake Picayune - Chris Ditto. "Playoff push basketball" Tightly cropped. Nicely captures ball handler's determination in fast paced game. "Semi-tough tennis" In-your-face shot beautifully cropped. Ball preferred over racket; facial expression preferred over full body. Nicely done.

2. The River Cities Tribune, Marble Falls - Daniel Clifton. "Basketball" Good action, good crop. Nice black and white reproduction. "Volleyball" Same as above.

3. Clay County Leader - Phil Major. "Bearcat relays" Tough shot isolating one hurdler and keeping the fluid elements of hurdling - outstretched arms, beautiful hurdle form, determined expression. "Aerobatics basketball" This is a nice action shot underplayed by photo editor. Should have been much bigger. Well-cropped.

4. Frio Nueces Current, Pearsall - "Going the other way" by Joe McMillian. Slow shutter plus flash freezes action but still allows for some motion. Could use tighter crop on right side to focus right on action. "Running basketball" by Manuel Azocar III. Slow sync flash gives viewer sensation of speed and motion. Nicely done.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1. The Free Press, Diboll - "That's keeping your head basketball" by Anthony Delco. By far best of the division in terms of overall peak of the moment sports action. These are rare, treasured moments. Great job. "Lufkin receiver" by Mike Zimmerman. Wide aperture or long tele-lens blurs background and tight crop brings arms/legs/bodies and "the ball" right to the viewer. And the black and white reproduction is spot-on.

2. Springtown Epigraph - Paula Campbell. "Lady Porcupines basketball" Strong first place contender, but lost out to uniqueness. Still a top winner. "Porcupine fielder" Great action. Nice size and crop. Very nice color.

3. Farmersville Times - Victor Tapia. "Shortshop" Both photos capture wonderful expressions. "Blue Ridge basketball" Ditto. Photographer has great eye but too many expression photos can become cliché. These two are very good and my comment is instructive not critical.

4. Hill Country News Weekender, Cedar Park - "Westwood soccer" by Wes Byrne. This is a first class sports action photo played big as it should. A stronger companion photo in entry of same quality as Westwood would have bucked this entry up 2-3 notches. "Cedar Park basketball" by David Deardorff. No comment.

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1. The McGregor Mirror - Charles Mooney. "Sweet victory football" and "State 2A champs!" Big picture. Good color great placement and winners all-round. This paper left little doubt how it felt about the hometown team.

2. The Pflugerville Pflag - "Second-grader basketball" by Robert Wood. Kids make great photos. Nice angle and tight crop bring viewer into action. "Connally football" by David Deardorff. Tight shot but caption could have been better.

3. The Clarendon Enterprise - Roger Estlack. "Block out basketball" and "Rodeo" Both good studies of different kinds of sports. Intrigued by credit line "digital photo." Why? To ward off any suggestions of manipulation? Who cares how the images are produced? Does this newspaper say "film photo?"

4. Friendswood Reporter News - Nick Adams. "Headed to playoffs soccer" Good action. Never be afraid to play such photos big. "Friendswood basketball" No comment.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1. The Little Elm Journal - Jeannie Millender. "Little Elm basketball" No comment. "History made football" Superb action shot played nicely. Whole body angle gives catch meaning and depth.

2. Joshua Star - Tom Beesley. "Top jumper" Lower angle would have produced a less cluttered shot, but still good. Reproduction is fair to poor for black and white. "Fighting Owls soccer" No comment.

3. Princeton Herald - Victor Tapia. "It takes 3 OTs football" This might have used some tighter cropping for the left but still a good pix. "Reaching basketball" Great timing caught at its peak.

4. The Eldorado Success - "Eagles football" by J.L. Mankin. Viewer can only imagine what the next frame brought for receiver as two opponents close in on him. Ouch! "Eagles basketball" by Kathy Mankin. Stop action nicely timed. Tough photo to crop with some pursuers.