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2004 Better Newspaper Contest — Feature Photo

contestheader

Division 2, Dailies
Division 3, Dailies
Division 4, Semiweeklies
Division 5, Semiweeklies
Division 6, Weeklies
Division 7, Weeklies
Division 8, Weeklies
Division 9, Weeklies
Division 10, Weeklies

Feature Photo

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1st. Port Arthur News, Brian Vincent - "Taking a break" Great shot of Southeast Texas in late August. Excellent reproduction compared to other entries. Very good composition that captured the personality of the situation. "A sticky situation" Captured the emotions of a loving father and the child's pain. Congratulations for running this on page one - a very local newspaper. From these two photos, I gained a personal insight into the diversity and feel of the Port Arthur community. Readers must love this newspaper's visual content.

2nd. Odessa American - "Charros" by Paul Zoeller. Terrific action shot. Unfortunately reproduction (sharpness and color) detracted from the excellent content. "Balloon bash" by Mark Sterkel. Interesting, colorful shot. Nice complement to page.

3rd. The Facts, Clute, Todd Yates - "Just chillin'" Kids are always great subjects and this is a terrific shot. "Toddler in cow pin" Excellent composition, just a bit too dark. Reproduction hurt the excellent quality of this great photo.

4th. Amarillo Globe-News, Michael Schumacher - "Finishing touches" Colorful page 1 shot. Might have been more interesting if it had been displayed larger. "Topping it off" Possibly the best single photo in this competition.

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1st. The Huntsville Item, Richard Nira - "Oyster mushrooms" Great staged photo, very appealing. Cutline makes me hungry. "Friday is for friends" Great subject. The mirror ads a look into the reflection of a friendship and quiet time. Just love this one.

2nd. Athens Daily Review - "Undercover judge" by Jennifer Stone. Still looks hot. "Trumpet voluntary" by Elise Mullinix. Good job centering on director.

3rd. Sweetwater Reporter - "Rattlesnake review" by J. Kyle Martin. Not a picture I would take. Does the general public care if they weren't invited to lunch? "Vegetable stand" by Kyle Davian. Child looks happy to be winking. Catches the spirit of the child.

4th. Texas City Sun, Dwight C. Andrews - "Summer serenade" Great features on both faces. Shows subjects uneasiness of being center of attention. "Picking a great gord" Great. Children always bring interest to a photo.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1st. Uvalde Leader-News - "National Night Out" by Catherine Austin. Great picture. It is wonderful to capture people right in a moment. Great cutline. "Smiling faces" by Wade Carpenter. Adorable, adorable, adorable. I love it! Great cutline and reproduction.

2nd. El Campo Leader-News, Bobby Horecka - "The Strip Club" Nice cutline. Catches your attention. Great picture. "Boogie-woogie" Cute picture.

3rd. Hill Country Recorder, Boerne - "Seeing double" by Russell Hawkins. This is the cutest picture ever. Great cutline. "Fighting fire the hard way" by Kit Brenner. Clear picture. Cutline is good.

4th. Hood County News, Mary Vinson - "Cowboy blues" Great picture, cutline is good. "Attack in the cement pond" Nice picture and cutline. Eye-catching.

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1st. Mansfield News-Mirror - "Yucking it up" by Mario Zavala Jr. Excellent moment. Photographer did a good job capturing the expression on the girl's face and good detail of yuck. However, the caption should have contained better information about the event. "Scouting a win" by Brigitte Cummings. Again, good timing on photographer's part to capture the moment.

2nd. The Canyon News, Greg Jaklewicz - "Food court" Interesting composition and good scene-setting picture. We can see exactly where we are right away. However, perhaps subject could be preparing a drink or serving someone. It looks like a portrait. "See no evil" Very nice, spontaneous moment between the three girls. However, cutline should have contained their names, ages.

3rd. The Leader-Press, Copperas Cove- "Banking for the future" by Kristan Hall. Very nice moment and good composition. Also good cutline information. "What's the buzz?" by Terry Beekman. Cutline info is lacking. Exactly who is this youngster and how old is he/she? Perhaps a more candid moment of baby interacting with parent would have been good too.

4th. Lamesa Press-Reporter, Russel Skiles - "Bubbles in the air" Cute moment of boy blowing bubbles. Learning from the caption, however, I was surprised to learn there were more kids doing this. Perhaps a shot of several kids in the background could have shown the story better. "Preparing for students" Nice job of creating a scene-setting picture.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1st. The Cameron Herald, Mike Peck - "Youth fair" Been there, photo. I could relate to both as a parent and memories of childhood. "Some like it cold" Ah, refreshing. I want to be there.

2nd. Hondo Anvil Herald, Frances Guinn - "Overwhelmed" What parent can't relate to this photo. Cutline tells it all. "Droplets of Claudette" Beautiful picture.

3rd. Duncanville Today, Chris Hudson - "Ice dreams" Peaceful look. She truly likes what she is doing. Cutline is right in touch with photo. "Sports fest" Beautiful photo. Captures the spirit of the day. Cutline was hard to find at the end.

4th. The Wylie News - "I think I can!" by Stephanie Cuevas. Look at that determination. Everything flows. "Mulch ado about..." by Ada Mooney. Ha, ha. Not as cute as it should have been. First photo carried entry.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1st. Westlake Picayune, Austin - "Summer snow" by Ed Allen. Great shot. Clear and the color line up is great. "Spring blossoms" by Dane Anderson. Another great shot. Good job!

2nd. Rockwall County News, Michael Gresham - "A seasonal change" Great closeup shot of kids. "Piecing together" Clear photo and close enough to see what was going on in the photo.

3rd. DeSoto Today, Chris Hudson - "Air Duncan" Great action shot, no blurriness. "Three times a lady" Great still shot.

4th. Mount Vernon Optic-Herald - "A name game" by Marie Dacus. The cutline goes great with the photo. The photo is very clear, nice color. "A little bit of snow" by Lillie Bush-Reves. Nice photo. You can see the snow just a little bit on the plants. Great.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1st. The Community News, Aledo - "Keeping us on track" by Christopher Amos. Great angle! Makes you want to read more. Wonderful reproduction. Good color. "H2Oh!" by Jonathan Sampson. Good action, captures the moment very well. Very good amusing shot.

2nd. The Smithville Times - "Dream of equality lives on" by Fran McDonald. The somber look on the child's face is captured beautifully. Great composition. "It's a bird..." by Sarah K. Winn. Good shot, captures the children giving it their all. Reproduced very well.

3rd. Pilot Point Post-Signal, Richard Greene - "Oh say can you see" Nice patriotism. Captures the children's interest in the flag very, very well. "Remembering 9-11" Very patriotic, nice angle. Could have used a bit more color correction.

4th. Leader News, Lytle - "Benton school clean-up" by Julie Myers. Interesting photo. Makes the reader want to see what it's about. Interesting angle. "Gunning for fun" by Greg McReynolds. Nice action, very attention getting.

Division 9 Medium Large Weeklies

1st. The Winters Enterprise, Jean Boles - "Covering all the bases" Loved it. We can all relate. Wasn't sure if I needed to read cutlines in order, but this is entertaining. "Blizzard marching band" Great cutline.

2nd. The Ozona Stockman, Scotty Moore - "Ridin' shotgun" Grabs reader attention. "O-o-o-o-h" It's a hoot. Enjoyed seeing it.

3rd. The Albany News - "A perfect little angel" by Donnie Lucas. No comments. "First day fears" by Melinda Lucas. I loved the real life. We can all relate and it makes me care about this little kid.

4th. The Portland News, Scott Reese Willey - "Marching band" This captures her effort. Liked it a lot. "Winterfest 2003" Too bad you don't use color.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1st. Thorndale Champion - "The revue" by Rachel Hairston. Wow! I loved this photo! What a wide range of emotions on one photo. "Are you seeing this mom?" by Mike Peck. Thank you for blowing up the photo! Good composition.

2nd. The Overton Press, Charlotte Heldenbrand - "Enjoying Easter" Excellent framing, nice composition. "Getting with the program" Good photo. Loved the different angles on a simple scene. Tough category, tough decisions!

3rd. The Eldorado Success - "Are you sure..." by Kathy Mankin. Good photo. Blow it up! "Am I really supposed to eat this?" by Staci Key. Great composition. Again, blow it up!

4th. The Morton Tribune, Chris Woolam - "Sunflower saviors" Great color reproduction! "Cowboy" Good photo. A little bit out of focus!