Region 5 – February 2015 – Feature/Multiple

Judges Comments

Several entries would have been better categorized as general news or sports action either as a single photo or gallery. Photos in this category should tell a clear story, not just be a gallery of images. Overall there were several decent entries, and this was probably the most solid category. Entries with a diversity of angles and techniques quickly rose to the surface. Some entries looked as though they were shot over a short period of time and barely varied from the same angle or subject. Even if something is shot in the course of a couple hours, artistry behind the photographs should be varied to make something more interesting. The winners told clear stories and offered interesting visual diversity to propel the story along. Even though the second and third place winners were of the same event, they did not need to be penalized because of that. They were the second and third strongest multiple picture packages entered. Diversity between winners shouldn’t be a determining factor in rankings. That being said, we also felt they would have cleaned up in the general news category because they seemed suited to that category as well. First Place: Clearly first. None of the images feel excessive and all add an element to the story. Good job finding diversity in something that can be repetitive visually. Second Place: This is the first of two stories covering the union protests in Wisconsin. We felt that this package, even though a little repetitive with pictures of guys wearing helmets yelling at things, did a much better job of illustrating the overall story. The coverage in the court/govt floor were interesting, which can be very hard to do. Great job waiting for moments to arise. It is much easier to just photograph the gimme protest, but the photos from executive session were some of our favorites in the package. Third Place: This package would have placed high in the general news category. Although there are some very nice images, there is a little less cohesion between them, which makes us rely more on the captions than the images to tell the story. Despite this, it still was a stronger picture story than most other entries.

Judges: Amanda Morrison/ Watertown Daily Times, Justin Sorensen/ Watertown Daily Times, Stephen Swofford/ Watertown Daily Times