First Place – Chris Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune
Pepperdine’s Jason Walberg, #12, gouges the eyes of Brigham Young University’s
Jonathan Tavernari, #45, during the first half of the game. No foul was called
on the play. Although Tavernari missed the basket immediately following the
eye gouge, he was not injured. Later in the game, he scored back-to-back
three-pointers, helping BYU win the game 86-67. Tavernari finished the game
with 10 points.

OWWWWWWWW!!  And WOW!!  The hand-downs winner.  What a great
moment.  Tack sharp.  Fantastic photo!!  This is a photo for
your portfolio.

Second Place – Jason Olson/Deseret Morning News
Altamont’s Bryson Foy celebrates after beating Wayne’s Jeffery Stephenson
in the 1A 119-lbs. championship match at the state wrestling tournament
at UVSC Saturday, February 10, 2007. Foy beat Stpehenson to claim the
title.

Fantastic reaction with a great face.  The dramatic lighting helps
the mood of the photo too.  

Third Place – Scott G. Winterton/Deseret Morning News

Ogden Raptors’ #3 Justin Fuller collides with Orem Owlz’ Catcher #10 Anel
De Los Santos at home plate. Santos held on for the out. September 1,
2007.

Really good action photo.  You caught “the moment” with the catcher’s
mask still airborne while the catcher holds onto the ball as and the opposing
players leg.  The catcher had a nice grimace too.  Clean and
a tight .

Honorable Mention – Eli Lucero/Herald Journal
Logan’s Josh Thompson, top, pins Preston’s Tayler Doying in the first round
of their 130 pound match Tuesday January 2, 2007 in Preston Idaho.

Really good wrestling photo.  Nice moment.  Good face.  Liked
the neck muscles and tendons straining.

Honorable Mention – Tom Smart/Deseret Morning News
Sever Talbot, of Ogden, hangs onto a steer during steer wrestling during
the first competition of the high school rodeo championships in Heber
City, Utah June 6, 2007.

1st Place
Jaren Wilkey/BYU

All three winner showed an acute understating of what makes a very good "action" picture.
Peak moment, clean background, composition and use of light or environment
(rain)

2nd Place

Staurt Johnson/Deseret Morning News

3rd Place

Alan Murray/Ogden Standard Examiner

Honorable Mention

Chris Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune

Honorable Mention
Chris Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune

The two honorable mentions are excellent images that have a stronger
graphic component than action. I hope they were entered in the "feature" category.

1st place – Drew Fuller – Grayson West, Park-Record

2nd place – Just out of Reach – Stuart Johnson, Deseret News

3rd Place – Fastball – Chris Detrick, The Salt Lake Tribune

Honorable Mention – World Cup, Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune

1ST PLACE: Jaren Wilkey, BYU – 06-Robison (67.95): BYU’s Nathan Robison runs in the indoor mile at the 2004 MWC Indoor Track and Field Championships

This photo stood out amongst a large group of mainly hard action shots due to the technical fashion in which it was executed. A lot of the other photos this was going against had busy and distracting backgrounds, but by using a flash w/a rear curtain synch, the photographer did a great job getting the subjects sharp, and the background blurred. Great feel to the photo, the photographer took a chance on this one and it paid off.

2nd Place: Robert Johnson, Standard-Examiner – 06-Flying Bull (85.95): Bull rider James White of Houston, Texas gets bucked off Bo-Talkin during the Professional Bull Riders Utah Classic at the Golden Spike Events Center in Ogden 7/09/04.

A peak action photo that captures a great moment during a PBR competition. Keeps me guessing if the guy got crushed in the next frame. This photo would have probably received first place if the entire bull was present in the photo, but it still works without it.

3rd Place: Jason Olson, Deseret News – 06 – Baseball Dive (65.95): Lone Peak outfielder Jaron Gallagher (2) reaches out to try to snag a pop fly as his teammate Pat Bailey comes in to help as Timpanogos faces Lone Peak at Lone Peak High School in Highland Tuesday, March 23, 2004.

Clean photo, good moment, great body position on the diving outfielder. Solid photo.

Honorable Mention: Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News – 06-Hold on (25.95): T.J. Atkin dismounts his horse as he competes in the Calf Roping portion of the Utah State Rodeo Finals in Heber Utah Saturday June 12, 2004.

I like the rider’s face and the ropes going between him and the horse, especially the one in his mouth. I’m not bothered that the horse’s head is missing, but this photo may have done better if the horizon was straight. Good moment, sharp, nice light.

Well here are my picks for the sports action category, plus a short explanation as to why I chose them. Thanks for considering me as a judge, and please don’t hesitate to contact me for future contests.

Best Regards,
Donald Miralle
Senior Staff photographer
gettyimages sport

First place – jpg #5 • Trent Nelson •
Trace Wells planting his head in the field to make a catch. It is human nature to enjoy the slight misfortune of another and you can almost feel the impact of this kid’s head on the ground with a team mate flying over. Yes, it is lucky for the shooter that the kid made the catch, but isn’t it funny how the best shooters tend to be the luckiest?

Second place – jpg # 25 • Robert Johnson •
George Spiva tries not to die during a chariot race. Again, lucky for the shooter that this drama happened in front of him/her, unlucky for the rider and horse. Certainly the “Oh No” factor is integral to this shot. It is almost more delicious that you don’t see the result. One can sit back and enjoy the fact that he/she is not in the shot with this happening to them.

Third place – jpg #60 • Eli Lucero •
Oh no again, but this one suffered from a loose crop. I just want to see the expression on the guy’s face as his head nears the bar of that gate. Having the legs of the horse is a bit of a
distraction. Cropping it into a boxy horizontal, just beneath the nose of the horse would heighten its impact.

Fourth place – jpg # 47 • Jaren Wilkey •
A nicely creative look at a long jump that again suffers from a loose crop. The shooter felt compelled to include the foot measurement of the long jump at the base of the frame as well as too much space on the sides and top, reducing the impact of the photo. The picture doesn’t need to be a caption as well. That’s why we have words. Let the image speak for itself. Isolate the jumper and judge. A very good photo even with a loose crop.

Honorable mention – jpg #33 • Scott Winterton •
Another head hits the ground photo with peak action of an important play that could have used a subtle burn on the top half of the frame. There is just a bit too much visual distraction on the periphery of the image to make this one a slam duck. Why keep the toe in at lower left? Why so loose on the right? Yes, I’m nitpicking on a very nice shot.
Albert Dickson
Chief Photographer
Sporting News

2nd Place #36 — Laura Seitz – Timpview’s 5 Mirriam Palkki is surrouned by Mountain View defense (overhead is Mountain View’s Megan Morton) in the girls 4a finals game at
Salt Lake Comm. College on March 2, 2002.

3rd Place #25 — Leah Hogsten – Out in Thin Air- Calgary Cannons outfielder Abraham Nunez clinches the third out midair during the fourth inning.

4th Place #17 — Francisco Kjolseth – Timpview’s Candice Clark, left, plows through Provo’s goalie Staci Grinner and into the net on her way to scoring the game winning goal during
Thursday’s game at Timpview.

Comments:
I judge a fair amount of contests, and I must say that this category (Sports
Action) had the greatest amount of quality images that I’ve seen assembled
in one contest in a long time. At least 20 of the 47 entries survived a
“first cut” and any of them truly could have placed.
Both 1st and 2nd have all the elements of great action photos — peak
action, great emotion, and “the moment”. What helped set them apart are the
relatively clean backgrounds, and the way both find order in the chaos of
the action. 1st is simpler, quick to read, and 2nd almost looks like a
painting with the wonderful composition of the hand, bodies and faces.
3rd is a clean image that truly captures the peak of the action. The
slightly elevated angle provides a clean backdrop for the action.
4th place is an image that also has all the elements of a great sports
action photo — it’s a peak moment, with great faces, and the added element
of the upside-down goalkeeper. That the moment is the game-winning goal is
even better. This picture would have placed higher with a tighter crop that
comes in from the left (eliminating the second ball) and also from the
right. A tighter crop would play up the faces and the body language without
sacrificing the sense of place since the net tells the viewer that the
action is occuring in the goal.

1. Karl Fights for Ball, Chuck Wing, Deseret News
2. Gut Check, Danny La, The Salt Lake Tribune
3. Penetrating Offense, Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune
4. Skeleton, Steve Griffin, The Salt Lake Tribune

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