I enjoyed looking at your pictures. One thing’s for certain, the light
out there is great – cleaner, brighter yet more saturated and full of
fun and touching moments. Okay, so maybe it’s not the light and it’s
just your fine shooters. Regardless, here are the winners.

First Place – Mario Ruiz/Provo Daily Herald
Troop 1768 from St. George helps one of their scouts climb up a wall at the
C.O.PE course (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) at Maple Dell Boy
Scout Camp in Payson Canyon Thursday, July 12, 2007.

This is a radical departure from the first place winner in that the picture
is ALL about composition and the only emotion is that which can be inferred
by the scout’s legs dangling against the wall before the final pull to the
top. Fun seeing, daring Iwo Jima-like construction.

Second Place – Colin Braley/Ogden Standard Examiner
A coyote pounces on lunch along the Antelope Island causeway, January 15,
2007. The winter months brings many of the canines on the island out
into the open as they look for mice.

Are there Kangaroo Coyotes out there in Utah? The only thing keeping this
animal in the canine family is the fact that we can’t see a pouch. Funny
natural history photo shot at the perfect moment.

Third Place – Ashley Franscell/Provo Daily Herald

As" Pomp and Circumstance" plays in the background teacher Emily
Orme leads her kindergarten class into the gym for their graduation.

Sure, we’ve all seen this and done this a thousand times, but the look
of sheer determination on the lead girl’s face makes this an HM. The lighting
that is so close to being horrible would give the photo desk and toning
department fits. But it works because it’s on the edge.

Honorable Mention – Beth Schlanker/Ogden Standard Examiner
(From left) Gentrie Maag, 16, Adam West, 16, Johnny Giles, 16, and Taylor
Cox, 16, take advantage of days of rain as they surf down the bank of a
soccer field overflowing with water at Davis Applied Technology College
Park in Kaysville, Utah on Wednesday, June 6, 2007.

This just wins honors because it’s so darn unusual to equate a soccer
field and surfing in the same picture. Did the photog get soaked? Why did
they all show up with their wet suits? This is insane.

1st Place
Ashley Fransell/Provo Daily Herald

This was a clear winner for me…I love how the photog saw this detail
in what I’m sure what was a chaotic scene.  It reduces the photo
to the essential elements – color, moment, and a bit of humor.  It
would incredible impact on a page.  Beautiful.

2nd Place

Chris Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune

This image has strong composition, absolutely stunning tones in that
redish/orange stain.  Those two elements combined with the relaxed
body language of the girl in the tub, really set it off.

3rd Place

Leah Hogsten/Salt Lake Tribune

The chaos of this drew me in, but everytime I look at it, I see a new
element or expression that brings it all together.  This mist
of the snow adds another layer of energy.

Honorable Mention
Beth Schlanker/Ogden Standard Examiner

This is such a great, touching find…the only thing that made it an
honorable mention instead of placing is the composition.  I might
have waited and followed her for a little bit more until there was a
better background or lighting situation to take it to another level visually.

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.

1): Trent Nelson, Salt Lake Tribune – leaping shadow–a beautiful job of seeing that invokes the feel of lazy, carefree day of play–you can almost feel the warmth of the sunshine and hear the sounds of the outdoors.

2): Trent Nelson, Salt Lake Tribune – silent prayer–compositionally interesting, with plenty to look at—you can spend some time in this photo, with all the interesting lines and angles–It is Escher-like

3): Scott Winterton, Deseret News – sled dog–hilarious fun and a great moment–stood out from among a lot of nice peak action sledding/skateboarding/snowboarding moments because of the angle of the sled and, of course, it’s canine passenger

As a whole there were many very nice “slice of life” moments that I am sure your publications were happy to have as possible “lede art” on a daily basis…Be encouraged that you all are doing a fine job visually, and I hope you continue to work as hard on these “daily” features as you would on something of a more national or international nature…These type of photos probably mean more to your local readers than anything taken out of the country–It is our duty to make these type of photos as excellent as possible, to reflect and report the daily life that we all experience…Keep up the good work!

God bless

Louis DeLuca
Senior Staff Photographer
Dallas Morning News

Capitol Commissioners: First Place • Brian Nicholson •
First place was a visual pun of sorts and the more I looked at it, the more fun it was. There are a lot of distractions that can undermine the aesthetics of a moment like this, but none that are found here. Everything works quite cleverly

Fiddle Lesson: Second Place • Grayson West •
This image had the feel of a truly found moment; a quiet instance where the photographer was unobtrusive, stayed out of the moment and simply let the activity speak for itself. The framing accentuated that. A true slice of life.

Fishing Reflection: Third Place • Ravell Call •
A fine job of seeing. Third and Fourth place could have gone either way for me. Both had the same timeless quality and captured a feeling rather than simply recording fact.

Parachute Play: Fourth Place • Brian Nicholson •
This has been done many times but a few things came into play that made it rise above the ordinary. The body language compliments the billowing fabric wonderfully and the monochromatic colors make it a study in form.

2nd # 31 Jason Olson – The circus picture is well done for two reasons. First it’s sometimes better to just stand back and take in a scene. Second the scene is combined with a
moment. The black and white effect works well.

3rd # 20 Alan Murray – The determination of the boy and his play horse play off each other very well. It’s a picture for moments sake and that’s good too.

4th # 22 Brent Stevens – A good angle and good timing make this picture work well.

1. Crossing Guard, Paul Fraughton, The Salt Lake Tribune
2. Mass Wedding, Laura Seitz, Deseret News
3. Dancers, Brent Stevens, Logan Herald-Journal
4. Tree, Brian Nicholson, Ogden Standard-Examiner

[/kml_flashembed]