…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.