JUDGE: Thomas Boyd, Eugene Register-Guard
First Place: – Roy Flood: – Nick Short, Standard-Examiner
What a surreal thing to see. This kid is floating at what looks like second base. The sun is shining and the backstop is perfectly framed. I just couldn’t stop looking at it. Excellent job.
Second Place: – Goodbye Bill-Ding: – Laura Seitz, Deseret News
This was a gift from the photo Gods. I bet a photographer could cover dozens of this story and never have it line up like this. I would have loved to been this shooter walking around the corner and seeing the girl crying on the stairs with that written on the brick wall. The Joy! It’s perfect. The misspelling of the word “building” adds a nice touch of irony as well.
Third Place: – Furry Forman: – Meegan M. Reid, Herald Journal
This is a photo that relies completely on the ingenuity of the photographer. This works because of the way it’s composed. I like details like the way the worker directly under the dog his hanging his head. I like how the dog takes up the entire blank space of the sky. I like the ladder. I like how the guys below are talking to the worker above. I like how the worker on the far right breaks the frame edge and balances the composition. Take away any of those elements and it isn’t as interesting. I would rather this was toned in a way that was more saturated and dense. I’m also not excited about the caption saying the dog “supervises” his owner. I understand it’s meant to be funny but it’s not correct. It’s possible to be funny and correct.
Fourth Place: – Flight: – Chris Detrick
Again, we are seeing a photo that relies on the photographer see something interesting in something that most of us would not. It’s technically flawless. The colors are saturated and dense. I like how the light is hitting the front kids face, but not the rest of his body. I like how the the two kids on top are just about to jump. And, I like how the powered parachute is a perfectly placed in the background. It’s really adds something to the image.