2005 Better Newspaper Contest — Feature Photo

Feature Photo

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1st The Galveston County Daily News - "Haitian burn victim" by Kevin Bartram. Graphic, disturbing, compelling, extremely well composed and excellent reproduction. "White Christmas" by Chad Greene. A wonderful photograph! I love the palm trees and snow. This is a photographer who sees the story in each photo. Great work!

2nd Herald Zeitung, New Braunfels - "A second chance" by Mandy Reary. Three beautiful boys, good expression, lighting, cropping and reproduction. "See Spot win" by David Ingram. What great fun! Caught at the right moment, well cropped, excellent reproduction. A close second.

3rd The Facts, Clute - Todd Yates. "A hot spell" What a wonderful facial expression! Depth of field brings his expression out better. Reproduction could be improved but that's not the photographer's fault. "In their shoes" Nice photo, well cropped.

4th The Paris News -"Rodeo clown" by Bill Ridder. Interesting photo, well cropped, good reproduction. "Owner pet look-a-like" by Sam Craft. Cute photo. I love how the girl and the dog are looking in the same direction! Good reproduction.

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1st Sweetwater Reporter - Tom Turner. "Refreshing day at the pool" Great enterprise shot. Photographer caught the girls in a playful moment despite his presence there. "We are proud of you" Great sports photos and the "other" side of the game - losing. Great composition in the players kneeling, good depth. Two strong entries.

2nd Seguin Gazette-Enterprise - "Best bubble" by Janet Grafe. This entry made me giggle. Photographer stepped back and waited for the right moment. This one propelled this entry to second. "Up in lights" by Bryan Kirk. Nice use of space and composition.

3rd Cleburne Times-Review - Melanie Harrison. "Keeping his roots" Innovative and creative angle perspective on what could be a routine shot. Great color and contrast. "Give a kid a smile" A good moment captured.

4th The Terrell Tribune - Alison Walker. "All-around squad" Good creative take on team portrait. "Honoring a fall soldier" This entry was a close call for fourth. More sense of place here would strengthen the photos - like more of the flag.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1st Round Rock Leader - Pamela Riemenschneider. "Learning a little lesson" and "Pepper eating contest" Photos are well-shot, show emotion and intent. Perfecting timed shots. Great composition. Cutline on (pepper) makes the photo.

2nd El Campo Leader News - Jason Gibbs. "Rain" and "Swordfighting" Photos show action, emotion and interest. Both photos are timed perfectly.

3rd The Bastrop Advertiser - "Watchful eyes" by Dana Lachman and "Fireworks" by Karol Rice. Photos are beautiful, well shot, excellent composition. Wish "watchful eyes" cutline would have included more about video the kids were watching. What was it about? Fireworks photo is beautiful, but a little generic.

4th Williamson County Sun - Mark Ashley. "Reverend" and "Mascot" Mascot photo is excellent. Great timing and point of view. Reverend photo is beautiful but doesn't really "say" anything. Wish cutline included more.

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1st Lamesa Press Reporter - "Taking a break" by Herrel Hallmark. Not all action "or lack of" takes place in the ring. Great catch. "Twilight harvest" by Russel Skiles. Farmers work all night - photographers do also - nice timing.

2nd Quanah Tribune-Chief - "Hey, we've got him surrounded!" by Leora Aaron. Hard to decide. This is a close second! "Snap! Crackle! And Pop!" by LaCresha C. Jackson. Good expression, nice photo size. Good cutlines. Would like to see photographer's name in cut.

3rd Breckenridge American - Carla McKeown. "Combating drug abuse" and "A survivor's story" Nice photos, layout, size. Nice feature photos. Very close second.

4th The Wimberley View - "Easter's on its way" by Mary Elizabeth Davis. Good photos are a result of being made smaller. Great photos are with the space. This is a great photo. "A hazy shade of winter" by Iris Campbell. Frozen in her tracks? (Again refer to #1.)

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1st Cedar Hill Today - "Snow!!!" by Kirk Dickey. This picture even impressed this North East judge. Should have run larger on page 1. "Mud" by David Goodspeed. Good crop, great reproduction.

2nd The Jasper Newsboy - "Bourbon Street YMCA" by Kari Ellis and "Jasper in finals" by Georgia Purdy. Well cropped, great position on page 1.

3rd Wylie News - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" by Ada Mooney and "Under the parachute" by Stephanie Cuevas. Great expression on face, good composition.

4th Jackson County Herald-Tribune - Sheila Miller. "Christmas winter wonderland" and "Hunting and fishing guide" Nice shot for outlook section.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1st The Community News, Aledo - Thomas Peipert. "Drilling for a living" A great photo, good cropping, good reproduction. Excellent. "Christmas tyme" A good photo considering the lighting; good reproduction. The entire photo story is well done.

2nd The River Cities Tribune, Marble Falls - Daniel Clifton. "Youth basketball" Wonderful photo caught at the right moment. Great depth of field. "Young roper" A fun photo. This is a very close second.

3rd Colorado County Citizen - "A wet win" by James Jennings. Great motion, good photo. Good with composition being excellent. "Cuttin' a rug" by Tana Ross. Good facial shot. Goof reproduction.

4th Tyler County Booster - Jim Powers. "Parade and Lions rodeo" The featured photo is great. She looks like she could ride the world. "Behold the Bay Jesus" Good reader interest.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1st The Springtown Epigraph - "Bricklayer" by Vanessa Pham. Powerful, great clarity. I loved the look of concentration and absolute confidence! "Halloween" by Andy Pham. Great look of anticipation.

2nd Hill Country News Weekender, Cedar Park - Stephanie Thompson. "A 'splashing' good time" Great color!! Loved it and it captured that fun feeling! "Raising clock tower" Excellent angle shot. Loved the entire piece!

3rd The Smithville Times - "Excalibur" by Fran Hunter. Sharp, clean, fun - child's face captured the innocence! "Christmas here we come" by Mark Gwin. Any mother with a child can relate to the moment - frozen in time!

4th The Free Press, Diboll - Gary Willmon. "Peaceful pond" and "Keeping watch" Great job! Both photos represent serenity - so calm and soothing. Beautifully done. Love the reflections in #1. Love the egret in #2.

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1st The Citizen, Clear Lake - "High Flight" by Kar Hlava. I could almost "feel" the speed of these planes. Photographer's timing was spot on! "Santa Paws" by Laura Moran. Corny picture but I liked the expression on the dog's faces. Color was great too.

2nd The Leonard Graphic - "Lessons from Mother Russia" by Bethany Russell. Great picture of a train in the metro in Russia. "Fashion plates" by Beth Anderson. Bright colors, photographer captures wonderful expressions on subjects' faces.

3rd Friendswood Reporter-News - Nick Adams. "A white Christmas" Great expression on child's face. Certainly a picture for a scrapbook. "A spring in their step" This is a beautiful picture. The timing was prefect. This would have won first place if the other entry was stronger.

4th Lake Country Sun, Graford - "Flu shot" by Mark Engebretson. What a face! Photographer caught subject at the perfect time. Definitely a picture worth "a thousand words." "Bathing suit beauty" by Michael Matthews. Cute picture, great reproduction and composition.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1st The Little Elm Journal - Jeannie Millender. "Pinning our freedom" Great! "Love generations" Very nice. The father's love for his baby is written on his face.

2nd Keene Star - Paul Gnadt. "Fond memories" Good. Too bad that the viewer can't see at least part of his facial expression. "Amazing adventure" Cute.

3rd The Morton Tribune - "Santa baby" by Whitney Wiseley. Cute but a little corny. "Sticky situation" by Chris Woolam. Great shot mid-bite!

4th Normangee Star - Hank Hargrave. "All I want for Christmas" Cute. "Army veterans" I like this.