I had to hike a mile down a mountain and along train tracks in the rain to photograph a crew of guys who are taking a batteau 360 miles upriver. It was probably the best day of work I have ever had.
Kevin Ferrel (right) holds onto a guide rope that keeps the specially designed batteau aimed straight as crew members behind him struggle to hold their position against the strong rapids of Balcony Falls on the James River near Glasgow, Va.
Members and friends of the expedition stand on the shore of the James River before setting up camp for the night.
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
Kyle Green, The Roanoke Times
Sam Dean, The Roanoke Times
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
Jill Nance, The News & Advance
Parker Michels-Boyce, The News & Advance
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
Rebecca Barnett, The Roanoke Times
Nikki Fox Daily News-Record
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
Ross Taylor, The Virginian-Pilot
John Boal, News & Messenger
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
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
Apparently someone from the Bedford schools came by the county landfill today just before I arrived for an assignment. They have a pretty good electronics recycling program which is where all the schools’ old monitors, towers, and keyboards end up.
About 7,000 homes in Lynchburg lost power earlier this week as the result of a very severe but very brief storm. This photo didn’t run, since we had already run a photo of the same tree the day before, but I think it shows just how nasty the cleanup job around town was.
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.
Based on the belief that Virginia photojournalists can benefit from an online forum for sharing photos, ideas and contact information, Lynchburg photographers Kim Raff and Parker Michels-Boyce, with the support of the Virginia News Photographers Association, have created VirginiaPhotojournalism.com. This site is dedicated to the flow of ideas and information between professional and aspiring photojournalists across Virginia. Please invite anyone to this site who might both benefit from and contribute to this budding community.
For more information, visit our About page. To join, click Sign Up at the top of your screen and create an account. If you aren’t familiar with blogging on WordPress, visit the Posting Tips page to get started.
