Judges – Pete Cross, Becky Lebowitz, Loren Hosack/Editors, Palm Beach Post
This was a tough category for a number of reasons. While there were several good portfolios, none of them stood out as the clear winner — that said, 2 out of 3 judges did agree independently on first place portfolio. Also, much of the photos in the portfolios were from the winter games, and while that was understandable, it seemed a little too easy to rely in the Olympics as the source of good photojournalism. And while some portfolios had wonderful singles, their stories or essays weren’t of the same caliber and therefore brought the work, as a whole, down.
Second place: #5 – Brian Nicholson
Very close behind the winner was this portfolio which had, by far, the best number of single images. Very clean and well composed photos including a very strong spot news image. The picture story, however, was not nearly as well executed as the singles and therefore brought the
body of work down a notch. The story lacked any emotional or intimate moments. That said, this photographer has a wonderful eye for composition and keen ability to make good photos. A good story would have placed this one at the top.