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2008 Better Newspaper Contest — Feature Photo

contestheader

Division 2 Dailies 7,001 to 99,999
Division 3 Dailies 7,000 or Less
Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More
Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less
Division 6 Large Weeklies
Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies
Division 8 Medium Weeklies
Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies
Division 10 Small Weeklies

Feature Photo

View Winners' Slideshow

Division 2 Large Dailies

1. Herald Banner, Greenville -- by Janelle Stecklein. “Shots” Two dimensional, very nice, capturing what few see. “Haunted house” A show of pure terror, well done.

2. The Beaumont Enterprise -- by Mark. M. Hancock. “Spinning in rain” Great find, good patience. “Fair” Nice capture of night lights, person or people would have helped.

3. Kerrville Daily Times -- by John Schmid. “Patriotism” Cute capture of wonder. “Unconditional support” These aren’t as easy as they look, nicely done.

4. The Facts, Clute -- by Dan Dalstra. “Heifer toss” Good expression, but wonder how she got there. “Adoption day” Nice, showing father’s face would have helped.

Division 3 Small Dailies

1. San Marcos Daily Record -- by Ashley Landis. “Education lubrication” Thoughtful to get low on shot, made great shot from average situation. “This won’t hurt a bit” Made me laugh, excellent.

2. The River Cities Daily Tribune, Marble Falls — by Daniel Clifton. “Young firefighter” Nice promo for fire department, though cropping tighter is highly suggested. (Faces are small.) “Rodeo” Great action, makes reader want to wince hands together, is great break.

3. The Banner-Press, Brenham -- by Melissa McCaghren. “State loss” Good emotion, nice capture. “Pool” Always good idea, might have cropped tighter.

4. Vernon Daily Record -- by Joyce Ann Ashley. “Roping ’em in” Nice idea, but could have gone farther (might shoot through the lasso). “Blur of wheels” Good idea, slightly dangerous.

Division 4 Large Semiweeklies

1. The Graham Leader -- by David Rupkalvis. “Awash in art” What really hit me is the dad seems more than happy to be his daughter’s “boost.” “Flights of fancy” Way to capture a difficult subject.

2. Wise County Messenger -- by Joe Duty. “Soldiers depart” Always a timely subject. I really like all the other troops in various stages of focus, and Duty is in sharp focus. “Fueled by corn” The pilot is looking at the camera. How’d you do that? Good job.

3. El Campo Leader-News -- by Brenda Sommer. “Best friends?” Something about being in the right place at the right time. “Having a blast” Kids are a natural. Looks like he was “having a blast.”

4. The Bastrop Advertiser -- by Terry Hagerty. “Holiday fun” Something innocent about a young girl at Christmas time. “Yesteryear” The girls look like they are having a good time in their outfits.

Division 5 Small Semiweeklies

1. Breckenridge American -- “Karate” by Rob Durham. Attention getter, but sharper, good facial expression. “Flag dress girl” by Don Treul. Nice idea, crop much closer, place looks dead. Girl’s expression good.

2. The Monitor, Mabank -- by Kerry Yancey. “Striking a pose” Marching bands are fun. Little more of faces. “State park pool” Great shot of girl, crop closer.

3. Lampasas Dispatch Record -- by Gabe Wolf. “Ladder” Great idea, fireman next to you looking past would have made better placement. “Band” Good idea, but no focal point. (They’re not even playing.)

4. Copperas Cove Leader Press -- “Animal shelter” by Geoffrey Hill. Elizabeth not looking at the camera makes this better. “Honoring Mr. Dickinson” by Larry Hauk. Looks awkward.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1. Port Aransas South Jetty -- “Low clearance” by Murray Judson. Great how even “up close” on this large mast, the people are still like little dolls. Nice touch showing tip and bridge. “Oom-pah!” by Dan Parker. Great use of color to attract reader’s eye. Even after seeing a lot of band pictures, this is an unusual and interesting composition and is not just a photo but an image.

2. Alpine Avalanche -- “Spirit of Christmas” by Cindy Perry. Somewhat average composition, but captures a great variety of expressions to interest the reader. “Bazaar” by Roxanne Chavez. Great color and reader interest, lots of “pop.” Great expression. Good use of slightly off-center framing. Overall clarity.

3. Silsbee Bee -- by Gerry L. Dickert. “MLK Day” Nice capture of light and expression. Is she dreaming? “Water park” Great idea. Framing maybe a little too straightforward. Great reader interest.

4. Pleasanton Express -- by Gerald Black. “Dog in cage” Both photos capture interesting expressions but the moments are kind of clichéd in our lives. Why is the dog there? “Hotdog” Great expression that will capture a lot of reader interest and will be remembered.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1. Clay County Leader -- by Matt Kelton. “Head ’em up” Color, composition really good. Would crop a little tighter on right. “Pirates” Nice color and composition. Blur of football players adds to presentation.

2. The Community News, Aledo -- by Lindsay Marshall. “Peter Pan” Nice display of emotion of actors. Tighter crop (top) would have helped. “Field day” Could draw a little more space on left, getting water steam would have added to photo.

3. Leader News, Lytle -- “Face painting” by Robert Perreault. Could be cropped tighter on right and left, background distracting. “Pilgrim” by Julie Myers. Nice color, composition.

4. The Countywide, Karnes City — by Joe Baker. “Graduation” Good choice for main photo on page. “Ms. Karnes Co.” Color, composition stand out.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1. Cedar Hill Today -- by Chris Hudson. “Pottermania” The picture truly does tell the story. Excellent use of context. “Dog” I laughed. It evoked emotion on first sight and made me look at it repeatedly because it was unusual yet familiar.

2. The Springtown Epigraph -- “Limbo” by Gail Gilmore. Here expression turns an ordinary picture into something out-of-the ordinary. “Lil’ gunslinger” by Carolea Hassard. Color, context, lines create interest and the contrast of a pure and angelic child against a gun is compelling yet not controversial.

3. Hill Country News, Cedar Park — by Fielder Williams Strain. “Bubbles” Excellent use of black and white. “Leaky pipe” Expressions are very real and pure.

4. Farmersville Times -- “Parade” by Wyndi Veigel. It was a completely interesting photo because it had a story the reader had to know. Great job! “Elvis” by Cathy Strong. It was interesting because of the expressions and action and contrast.

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1. The Clarendon Enterprise -- by Anndria Kidd. “Pool jump” Great expression, both faces! Nice. “Peanut thrasher” Kids in foreground make this, cute.

2. Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal — by Seria Dassing. “Face mask” Good idea, woman’s frowning makes photo. (What are you wearing for protection?) “Rappel” Good elevated shot, but smiling faces looking at camera.

3. The Eldorado Success -- by Kathy Mankin. “Captain Tagoo” Wonderful costume, some of the kids’ expression though hard to capture would propel this. “Rainbow warning” Nice rainbow, a little too easy. Could have used a person in shot.

4. The Olney Enterprise -- by Mindi Kimbro. “Veterans Day” Good idea, would like to see her face. “Praise and worship” Good color, frontal shot would prove more interesting.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1. The Rosebud News -- by Brenda Allison. “Little firefighter” A really nice photo with good action. Water coming out of fire hose adds a lot to presentation. “Kindergarten” Good interaction between two kids captured.

2. Alvarado Star --; by Michael Rayburn. “Cowboy” Great photo. Wish rope wasn’t through boy’s face. “Never forget” Nice framing with flag on left.

3. Sachse News --; “Easter” by Patty Montagno. Little girl’s fact is lost. Reproduction muddy. “Rain rain” by Stephanie Cuevas. Nice photo with good action.

4. Thorndale Champion --; by Marie Bakken. “Field day” Nice action. Could crop a bit tighter. “State champs” Good color photo of post game celebration.