2006 Better Newspaper Contest — Feature Photo

Feature Photo

View Winners' Slideshow

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1. Odessa American - "This is cool" Mark Sterkel and "Chasing Edward" by Paul Zoeller. It's obvious a lot of time was spent getting this photo. Shooter captured a good moment that tells the story through good composition.

2. The Galveston Daily County News - By Kevin Bartram. "Good day" and "Wet heron" Beautiful shot and nice use of people to give the photo perspective.

3. The Eagle, Bryan College Station - By Dave McDermand. "Mudbath" and "English bulldog" Great job capturing the mud splashing. A really cool shot!

4. The Paris News - By Sam Craft. "On Target" and "Let's Rodeo" Excellent moment of children at the pre-K rodeo. The children's reactions help make the moment.

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1. Mineral Wells Index - "Getting his kicks" by Craig Holamon and "Turning up the heat" by David May. The bonfire photo showed good instinct by the photographer to capture a silhouette at a fun event. Nice visual!

2. Alice Echo-News Journal - "Puppy Power" by Pete Garcia and "Thanksgiving meal" by Ofelia Garcia Hunter. Cute photos and great job capturing action with the dog. The photo has personality.

3. Plainview Daily Herald - "Special Veterans Day salute" by Nicki Logan and "Moo-m!" by Hayley Cox. Good moment between the three subjects. Good technically also.

4. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise - By Janet Grafe. "Always remember" and "Hard First Day" Good composition and nice cropping. An adorable photo.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1. Williamson County Sun - By Patric Schneider. "Riding a T-rex" Very humorous shot and great composition. The photo really captures the humor of the moment. "Perfect Pillows" Very unique shot and nice turn of the camera to give the photo an unusual look and feel.

2. Wise County Messenger - By Joe Duty. "Survivor" Good layering of subject and background. "Life's final journey" Picture is powerful because it works at multiple levels. A very sensitive moment.

3. Hood County News - By Mary Vinson. "Blood donor" Great job finding an interesting angle with the camera. Nice composition. "Thanksgiving" Good feature portrait.

4.Wharton Journal-Spectator - "Love's old sweet song" by Benjamin C. Sharp. Wonderful moment of an elderly couple soon-to-be married. "Special Olympics" by Burlon Parsons. A happy moment despite the circumstances. The photographer did a good job paying attention to the event within the event.

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1. The Monitor, Mabank - "Which came first chicken or egg" by Kerry Yancey. We liked how all the children were focused on the chick. "Western Week" by Sam Epps. Use of telephoto lens kept background clean. Good expressions.

2. Andrews County News - By Dave Redwine. "Four of a kind" A good job of the photographer to see the repetition in form during an event. Nice spontaneous moment! "Best of times" The contrast in facial expressions is a good moment. Technically a good photo as well.

3. Lamesa Press-Reporter - "Flying boards and bikes" by Russel Skiles. Great use of light and reflection on the metal surface. Nice composition. "Good Friday" by Thad Miracle. The lines of the cross center the eye on the photograph and nice use of shadow in the background.

4. The Canyon News - By Greg Jaklewicz. "Lasting memory" Great detail and nice crop to add drama. "Aiming to please" Nice close shot and good detail.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1. Park Cities People, Dallas - "The strange boys" by Jeremy Chesnutt. Interesting use of zoom. "Hero worship" by Elizabeth Lavin. A nice use of tight cropping. It gives the photo more dramatic appeal.

2. Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post - "Chef" by Danny Hirt. We liked the expression on the chef. "Kids triathlon" by Cathy Collier. The variety of expressions on the kids made the photo.

3. The Jasper Newsboy - "Moon cat in tree" by Melanie Robb. Very insightful for photographer to capture moon in background of cat stranded in tree. "Rodeo" by Georgia Purdy. Good peak action of horse rider.

4. Jackson County Herald-Tribune - "A Day of Remembrance" by Darlene Tise. Good job capturing the moment. "Just couldn't resist" by Sheila Miller. An adorable photo. Great job with the close-up angle and tight crop.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1. The Progress, Three Rivers - By Scott Reese Willey. "Serenading Sunset" Beautiful use of lighting and interesting angle with the instruments. "Sheep Rider" Humorous shot and great job capturing the action.

2. DeSoto Today - "Making moves in the game of life" by Chris Hudson. Good moment, like focus on the kid's face and not hand to create depth in photo. "Chart-toppers and show-stoppers" by David Goodspeed. Unusual composition that worked.

3. Hill Country News, Cedar Park - By Stephanie Thompson. "Science fun" Great job with the tight angle. "Donkey basketball" Nice facial expressions give the photo a humorous touch.

4. The Community News, Aledo - "Water Balloon" by Thomas Peipert. Wonderful peak moment! "Living tribute" by Steve Ramos. Good community journalism, seeing what the youth are learning.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1. Iowa Park Leader - By Kevin Hamilton. "Youth soccer" Nice moment, clean background, good color. "Trumpet" Nice portrait, personality photo.

2. Lancaster Today - "Goat and cone" by Chris Hudson. Excellent reader interest. Cute. Good moment. Like the rabbit too. "Easter egg hunt" by Nghia Tran. Good angle of view. Clean background.

3. Frisco Enterprise - By Jeannie Millender. "Day of diversity" Captures motion well, nice clean background. "Fantastic Fourth" Captures action, clean background, subject pops out in foreground.

4. Leader News, Lytle - "Kid crafts" by Krystan Bruce. Great expression. Cute. Excellent composition. "Bulldog" by Mat Ringer. Fun, whose dog is it?

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1. The Rowlett Lakeshore Times - By Chris McGathey. "Nativity" Beautiful use of light and interesting composition. "Veterans Day" Great use of focus. Nice job fighting the urge to focus on the woman rather than the photo.

2. Friendswood Reporter-News -- By Nick Adams. "Volleyball" Great lighting and nice composition. "Dancers" Nice use of lens.

3. The Leonard Graphic - "Easter eggs" by Cassie Oden. A fun spontaneous moment from a chaotic event. Nice expressions from the lead-boy running ahead of the pack. "Sparkler" by Betsy Blevins. A very nice pictorial-feature from a Fourth of July event. Great visual!

4. Palacios Beacon - By Nick West. "Curious cow" Good moment between girl and cow. "Leaking hydrant" Photog did a good job catching a moment away from the obvious action of the fire.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1. Crowley Star - By Tom Beesley. "Flag salute" Good composition and good use of lighting. "Easter eggs" Interesting angle and nice use of shadows and light.

2. Alvarado Star - By Michael Rayburn. "Halloween" Good interaction between subject, old and young. Good reader interest. "Unhappy 4th" A wonderful moment many parents can relate to.

3. The Morton Tribune - By Chris Woolam. "Easter" A nice spontaneous moment from the Easter egg hunt. "Dance troupe" Nice use of color and composition.

4. The Clarendon Enterprise - "Angels sing" by Roger Estlack. Lots of cute faces in this photo. "Little cowboy" by Cheryl Johnson. Good composition, nice and tight.