By far the strongest category for this round. There were many top notch action photos, though in the end, we found our top choices pretty quickly. It can be enough to simply capture peak action cleanly and in focus. At least as far as meeting the job expectations. So, when it comes to a pool of entries with lots of peak action, cleanly composed and in focus, the judges start to look for what else catches our eye and makes us look two or three times. We could probably have awarded a half dozen places, for the number of images that caught our eye. First place though, was unanimous as soon as it flashed on the screen. The low angle is daring, it can fail for more than it succeeds, and in this case it succeeds brilliantly. There has to be some luck involved, because once one goes prone to get that angle, there really isn’t any chance to adjust. So if the action comes right at you, all you have to do then is execute the mechanics. This image has so much going on, the running diving into the end zone is the obvious one, but the defender looking on in apparent disbelief, the lineman, just barely visible, blocking, the teammates raised arms signaling the touchdown, all so tightly composed with solid focus and the absolute peak moment. We could see this as a double-truck in the opening pages of SI. There were lots of dunk photos, and we opted for this one as second place because it was different. The choice to go low was rewarded. The fact that the gym has a clean upper tier helps. The action in the background, the teammates faces and body language, the trailing defender’s as well, make this photo about much more than just one player’s physical feat, and looks like the storytelling moment from a blowout win. This place was our favorite of what we called the Tackle-Basketball photos. There were lots of those, and we liked more than a few, but this one has a really nice framing of the contact action by the players surrounding the play.
Judges:
Sean D. Elliot/The Day, Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel, Jim Evans/Retired
Judges Comments
By far the strongest category for this round. There were many top notch action photos, though in the end, we found our top choices pretty quickly. It can be enough to simply capture peak action cleanly and in focus. At least as far as meeting the job expectations. So, when it comes to a pool of entries with lots of peak action, cleanly composed and in focus, the judges start to look for what else catches our eye and makes us look two or three times. We could probably have awarded a half dozen places, for the number of images that caught our eye. First place though, was unanimous as soon as it flashed on the screen. The low angle is daring, it can fail for more than it succeeds, and in this case it succeeds brilliantly. There has to be some luck involved, because once one goes prone to get that angle, there really isn’t any chance to adjust. So if the action comes right at you, all you have to do then is execute the mechanics. This image has so much going on, the running diving into the end zone is the obvious one, but the defender looking on in apparent disbelief, the lineman, just barely visible, blocking, the teammates raised arms signaling the touchdown, all so tightly composed with solid focus and the absolute peak moment. We could see this as a double-truck in the opening pages of SI. There were lots of dunk photos, and we opted for this one as second place because it was different. The choice to go low was rewarded. The fact that the gym has a clean upper tier helps. The action in the background, the teammates faces and body language, the trailing defender’s as well, make this photo about much more than just one player’s physical feat, and looks like the storytelling moment from a blowout win. This place was our favorite of what we called the Tackle-Basketball photos. There were lots of those, and we liked more than a few, but this one has a really nice framing of the contact action by the players surrounding the play.