Judges Comments

Each of the winners in General News captured moments that elicit a response from the viewer. There were a number of solid Memorial Day and graduation day entries, but the judges ultimately settled on three that they thought most prompted emotional engagement. First place award goes to the graduation flyover. We've seen other renditions of this image previously, but we all agreed that this one captured the tradition pretty flawlessly. The framing of the planes helped elevate the entry to the top of the category. Second place - We went back and forth among several Memorial Day-related entries, but kept coming back to the mother and child - especially the placement of the boy's hand - and were won over by the tenderness of the image. Third place - The reaction of opponents of a data center project was captured at just the right moment, and each of the participant's faces adds value to the frame.