Category Archives: Events

2012 Q4 Clip Contest Winners

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Wrapping up a great year, here are the smoking, screaming, shooting results from the 4th quarter contest.

Using the system where each 1st place award receives 3 points, 2nd place receives 2 points and 3rd place receives 1 point, here are the top scorers from 2012 (complete standings below):

  1. Parker Michels-Boyce (24 pts)
  2. Kyle Green (23 pts)
  3. Ross Taylor (12 pts)

Big thanks to our judges this round from the Concord Monitor, photographers John Tully, Andrea Morales and Samantha Goresh.

ILLUSTRATION

  1. Kyle Green/Roanoke Times – The color, the lighting, and the concept was well executed.
  2. Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot - The humor and subtle details were emphasized by the organized and well-lit frame. Organized chaos.
  3. Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot – Nice light and interesting concept that connects back to the story. We understood the hand coming in the frame on the left, but could have done without it.

Comments: Mixed and interesting entries overall. The ones that rose to the top were executed the best. Colors and organization in the frame also helped.

FEATURE

  1. Rebecca Barnett/The Roanoke Times – Uses light really well and conveys a level of intimacy.
  2. Bob Martin/Free Lance-Star - Nice seeing. The lighting, the color, and composition all line up and work together.
  3. Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot – Couldn’t figure out what the dog is doing, but we awarded this because of a level of commitment to the story. We would have liked to a little more of a connection to the people, but the ritual and idea of hunting as a family came across in the photo.

Comments: The category was fairly weak, with the award-winners rising quickly to the top. Most of the images feel like straight-forward event coverage or shoot-and-scoot mentality. We didn’t feel like the photographers brought much to the situations to tell a story.

PORTRAIT

  1. Parker Michels-Boyce/The News & Advance – Works alright with space framing the artist’s head.

Comments:We had a tough time awarding images in the category because the portraits seemed like more fleeting moments that didn’t give enough sense of who the subject was.

SPORTS

  1. Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times – Great moment, nice light, with a clean enough background. Other emotions add to the excitement.
  2. Sam O’Keefe/The News & Advance - This is a common photo we see from cross country meets, but the frame was well-done and unusual. The light was used well and it was a well composed frame.
  3. Sabrina Schaeffer/The Daily Progress – Great moment. The eyes made it.
  4. (HM) Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot – Sweet story but we wished it was composed a little better.

Comments: The category had a lot of nice images to choose from. The feature photos definitely stood out more than the action photos.

NEWS

  1. Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot – Nice composition that draws us in to an emotional moment.
  2. Andrew Shurtleff/Daily Progress - We awarded this because it was an interesting take on a news event. Went beyond the obvious photos we often see from spot-news events.
  3. (tie)P. Kevin Morley/Richmond Times-Dispatch – Pretty funny moment in a sea of chaos from an overly-staged event.
  4. (tie)Ross Taylor/The Virginian-Pilot – Hilarious moment from an annual, often treated mundane, assignment.

Comments: The photos that rose to the top did so because the photographer was able to step away from the obvious, yet still doing justice to the subject.

MULTIPLE

  1. Parker Michels-Boyce/The News & Advance – Found an interesting character and stuck with it to get a little bit beyond the surface. A few nice images with some minor redundancies.
  2. Rebecca Barnett/The Roanoke Times - Nice photos in a tight edit. Follows the process with a few surprises. Really liked the photo of J.D. kissing Jillian while outside.
  3. Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times – Some nice visual photos and details. Strong beginning, but a stronger narrative with a tighter edit would have carried this story in the category.

Comments: We liked a lot of photos throughout the entries, but we like to see more emphasis on telling a story rather than just a collection of images. Some entries would have benefited from a tighter, more thoughtful edits.

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All scorers from 2012:

  • Parker Michels-Boyce (24 pts)
  • Kyle Green (23 pts)
  • Ross Taylor (12 pts)
  • Sam O’Keefe (8 pts)
  • Rebecca Barnett (8 pts)
  • Andrew Shurtleff (8 pts)
  • Jay Diem (7 pts)
  • Sangjib Min (5 pts)
  • Rob Ostermaier (5 pts)
  • Jill Nance (4 pts)
  • P. Kevin Morley (4 pts)
  • Bob Martin (4 pts)
  • Earl Neikirk (4 pts)
  • Ryan Kelly (3 pts)
  • Jeff Mankie (2 pts)
  • Stephanie Klein-Davis (2 pts)
  • Sabrina Schaeffer (1 pts)

One Year Later

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It was one year ago this week that the idea for this site came to be. I won’t go into page view stats or techy details of what has happened between then and now. But I do want to say that right now I believe the design, functionality and interest are stronger than ever.

VirginiaPhotojournalism.com arose from the belief that Virginia-based photojournalists can benefit from an online forum for sharing photos, ideas and contact information. What good is the work of any journalist if it is not shared? How can we grow in our craft without meaningful critique? And how can these discussions start if we don’t even know who each other are? Combining these three missions is as simple as posting a photo every so often and responding to the work of our peers. I have tried to make the process of joining and participating as simple as possible. If you have any questions there are resources on this site to help and I am always available by email. 

In the last few months I have been talking to the officers of the Virginia News Photographers Association and we have all expressed interest in combining our efforts to bridge the gaps that we feel exist between the talented photojournalists across this state. If it comes to be that they choose to house their organization under this roof, I am optimistic that the pooling of resources will benefit everyone.

However, just like this site, the VNPA is only as useful as the dedication of its members. So please take a minute to sign up, create a profile and start participating in the discussion! 

To all my friends in Roanoke this weekend: I regret not being able to join you but I hope you all keep the momentum going both for this site and the VNPA. There is a lot of potential in this state and I feel very lucky to be working alongside all of you. Congrats to all the contest winners and I look forward to another inspiring year!

Thanks for visiting,
Parker Michels-Boyce

2011 Q4 Clip Contest Winners

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…and last but not least, our winners for quarter four!

Thank you to our judges from the Indianapolis Star (who also gave our entries some wonderful titles!):
Matt Detrich – Staff Photographer
Danese Kenon – Assistant Director of Photography
Robert Scheer – Staff Photographer

FEATURE

  1. “Mariachi Band” – Sam Dean/The Roanoke Times – This photo took first because there weren’t a lot of moments in the category so the cool feeling , composition and light helped this come together.
  2. “Children’s Museum Extravaganza” – Ross Taylor / The Virginian-Pilot – Again no moments but the cool light and composition and timing helped this.
  3. “Meeting Snoopy” – P. Kevin Morley / Richmond Times-Dispatch – This pic had a moment but it was almost there…sweet face on the little girl and way to be ready when it happened.

ILLUSTRATION

  1. “Antsy To Find The Perfect Picnic Spot” – Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot – PERFECT execution and full of fun information and a joy to have in anyone’s portfolio!
  2. “The Rise of Zombie Games” – Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot – Another illustration packed full of cool visuals with a story telling edge!
  3. “Running Back” – Kyle Green / The Roanoke Times – Great portrait but we felt this should have been in the portrait category as we didn’t see any Photoshop manipulation.

NEWS

  1. “Protestor Charged” – Robert A. Martin/Stringer – Super story telling image with great emotion that stood way above the rest!
  2. “Where Are The Jobs Protest” – P. Kevin Morley / Richmond Times-Dispatch – Nice “In Your Face” emotion that takes the reader where they need to be!
  3. “Grieving Father” – Kyle Green / The Roanoke Times – Another great emotion – great face but the photo could use a major crop to help get right into the emotion.

PORTRAIT

  1. “Strong Co-Captain – Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot – Greta portrait approach with all the emotion and sense of place but now as we look closer should this be in the illustration category as it looks enhanced with photoshop.
  2. “Missing Mother” – Sam Dean/The Roanoke Times  - This was a fairly weak category…we felt this could have been lit better as the cross is blown out.
  3. “Track Star” – John Boal(?)/News & Messenger – We thought the lighting was flat and could be a little more dramatic but nice idea.

SPORTS

  1. “Celebrate and Complain” – Andrew Shurtleff / The Daily Progress – Great reaction photo of one girl celebrating while the other disputes the call. Fantastic job of capturing it all in one frame!
  2. “Exhausted Runner” – Kyle Green / The Roanoke Times – Another great shot that is helped by light and composition…great execution!
  3. “Celebrate Winning Goal” –  Jill Nance/The News & Advance – Super face anchoring the photo but a tighter crop would give it more impact.

FEATURE MULTIPLE

  1. “Bass Elementary School” – Jill Nance/The News & Advance – Great in-depth story that is well-rounded and really shows the life and celebrations of the students and faculty!
  2. “Toys “R” Us” – Sam Dean/The Roanoke Times – Another well told story from a daily event. All bases were covered showing the craziness of the event!
  3. “Fox Hunt” – Andrew Shurtleff / The Daily Progress – VERY well shot story but started well and kind of fell off at the end. The three starting photos were awesome but the style fell off at the end where we though  there might have been more.

2011 Q3 Clip Contest Winners

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First of all, I want to apologize for the delay in getting these results up. After losing Kim Raff to the Salt Lake Tribune it was a bit of a scramble to pick up the reigns and steer this clip contest in the right direction. Second, I have also been working a lot recently on updating this website. Some changes are already in place and there are more to come. If you have any suggestions, now is the perfect time to submit them!

Congrats to all the winners from quarter three!

Extra special thanks to our thoughtful judges at the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune:
Parker Eshelman
August Kryger
Ryan Henriksen

News

  1. Kyle Green, The Roanoke Times
  2. Sam Dean, The Roanoke Times
  3. Andrew Shurtleff, The Daily Progress

Comments: solid find from a news event for first place, well composed graphic image for second, and nice moment for third.

Feature

  1. Jill Nance, The News & Advance
  2. Parker Michels-Boyce, The News & Advance
  3. P. Kevin Morley Richmond Times-Dispatch

Comments: Judges liked the mood of the first place photo, the fun scene and complete framing of second place, and nice face reaction of third place.

Sports

  1. Rebecca Barnett, The Roanoke Times
  2. Nikki Fox Daily News-Record
  3. Ryan Kelly, Christopher Newport University

Comments: Judges were really looking for peak moments or sports features they hadn’t seen before. Lots of generic action submitted. We liked the found moment of the first place feature, the jube of the second place, and the graphic quality of third.

Portrait

  1. Ross Taylor, The Virginian-Pilot
  2. John Boal, News & Messenger
  3. Kim Raff, The News & Advance

Comments: Judges really liked the mood and feel of first place and second place, and elegance of third place.

Multiple

  1. Sam Dean, Roanoke Times

Comments: Although all the entries in this category needed extreme amounts of editing, judges felt it necessary to recognize the work and effort put forth in the soldier

New “Photo Night” Event!

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Pat Jarrett (of The News Leader) and Norm Shafer are starting up a Photo Night in the name of encouraging photo camaraderie, sharing of photographic work, and consumption of good food and drink.

When: 4 p.m. Sunday Dec. 4

Where: Norm Shafer and Sharon Zoumbaris’ fledgling farm (Geezer Farm) outside of Staunton.

What: Please bring a dish or snack to share, along with your favorite beverage. We’ll socialize from 4-5:30, and then start looking at work. We’d like anyone interested to bring a thumb drive with either a recent photo project, or examples of your work that you’d like to share. Depending how many people want to present we’ll allot around 10-15 minutes per person. We’ll try to conclude around 8 or 9 pm, with stragglers welcome to stay around the fire pit. Please feel free to forward the invitation to any photographers you’d like to come, or whom I may have overlooked.

Please RSVP to Norm by Nov. 30, and let us know if you want to show work, so we can plan the time and send you directions! Email normshafer -at- comcast -dot- net.

Thanks and we hope you can attend!

photo from rachel a.k.'s photo stream on flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimonomania/

2010 VNPA Annual Contest Winners

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We finally had some time to sit down and put all these images together in a slideshow. Judges’ comments are available for download via the link below. Also below is a list of the winning multimedia story entries – hopefully we’ll get links up to those projects soon. Congrats to all the winning photographers, especially Leo Kim, 2010 best in show winner!

note: The judges opted to combine the Audio Slideshow and Video categories in the News categories due to a limited number of entries.

News Multimedia

  1. Leo Kim, Virginian-Pilot, “Our Longest War-Afghanistan”
  2. Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch, “Tent City-Haiti”
  3. John Boal, The News & Messenger, “Iwo Jima Vets”

Feature Video

  1. Kyle Green, Roanoke Times, “Bound by Love”
  2. Sam Dean, Roanoke Times, “Service”
  3. Kyle Green, Roanoke Times, “Fair”
  4. HM-Jeanna Duerscherl, Roanoke Times, “Autism”
  5. HM-Jeanna Duerscherl, Roanoke Times, “Laughter

Feature Sound Slide Show

  1. Bob Brown, Richmond Times-Dispatch, “Friday Night in Floyd”
  2. Jill Nance, Lynchburg News & Advance, “Loretta; I Believe”
  3. Jill Nance, Lynchburg News & Advance, “Special Needs, Special Driver”

Portfolio

  1. Amanda Lucier, Virginian-Pilot
  2. Ross Taylor, Virginian-Pilot
  3. Sam Dean, Roanoke Times
  4. HM-Leo Kim, Virginian-Pilot

LOOK3 is upon us!

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For those of you whole will be attending LOOK3 is Cville this weekend the Late Night Final Party on Saturday, June 11th which will be held after the WORKS show at about 11:00 pm – 1:00 am in the Downtown Arena (formerly the Charlottesville Ice Park) will be showing a bunch of work on a projection screen. One of the things they will be showing will be the winners of the VNPA annual contest. Check it out!

Faaaat Albert!

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Sunday at the Lynchburg Airshow some VIP guests and media got to ride in the US Navy Blue Angels C-130 bomber “Fat Albert.” During the 8-min thrill ride I exchanged more than a few nervous glances with Dan McDermott from The Lynchburg Times as our stomachs bounced around near our throats.


above: New Era Progress reporter Scott Marshall and Lynchburg Times photo/video man Dan McDermott regain their bearings after landing.

I’ve got my ticket… Do You?

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Hey Folks!

Here is an email I recieved today from Andrew Owen to all VNPA members….This came at a perfect time since I was getting ready to plug LOOK3 today. I’ve been to LOOK3 and it really is a great photo festival.
Go to http://look3.org/ to buy a ticket. I would buy them sooner rather then later since they can sell out.

Dear VNPA members,

As the Managing Director, I want to personally invite you to LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph this year in Charlottesville. We have a superb lineup of presenting photographers and exhibitions to share with you. But more importantly, it’s the engagement of the attendees that give character to this festival. This festival is for you, and for working photographers around the country. You work tirelessly and you help shape our national discourse with your pictures. June 9,10,11 will be the chance to recharge, connect with friends, and take in inspiring work from your colleagues. LOOK3 is about community I just wanted to make sure you know that you’re invited and encouraged to be here. I’ve included more details about our program below.

With respect and friendship,

Andrew Owen

Here is more about LOOK3 2011:

The LOOK3 Festival is 3 days of on-stage presentations with world-renowned photographers, gallery exhibitions, and nightly projection events. Photographers, editors, curators, and media professionals from all over the world will gather in Charlottesville to share ideas, images, and inspiration.

This year LOOK3 will celebrate legendary photographers Nan Goldin, Massimo Vitali, and Antonin Kratochvi with solo gallery exhibits and on-stage interviews at the Paramount Theater. Featured speakers at LOOK3 also include George Steinmetz, Steve McCurry, Christopher Anderson, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Ashley Gilbertson, and David Liittschwager. In addition, more than 40 artists from around the world will produce visual essays and multimedia projects that will be projected each evening at the Pavilion. See the full schedule of presentations and exhibitions at www.look3.org

LOOK3 will host several special exhibitions including, the North American premiere of World Press Photo 2011 with winning images from the world’s best photojournalists, BD’s Hope for a Healthy World global health exhibit, and Pictures of the Year International.

LOOK3 also hosts workshops the week prior to the Festival. This year they will be taught by will be taught by Mary Ellen Mark, Christopher Anderson, Alex and Rebecca Webb, Brian Storm (MediaStorm), and David Alan Harvey.