Region 5 – February 2015 – Spot News

Judges Comments

This was by far the weakest category with the fewest number of entries. The quality was so low that it was difficult to pin down more than 2 winners. Some of the photos may have benefitted from backing off from a scene; super close shots of fires or accidents don’t always tell the story best, especially without supporting images. We understand that sometimes you are very limited with access to a scene, but a photographer can work a situation to their advantage. Again, paying attention to cropping and toning would elevate the quality of the entries. First Place: We thought this was a tight little picture package of a large fire. The additional photos help tell the story without being repetitive. We thought that the first image would have ranked first even as a stand alone. It is a good shot, and pulling away from the scene helps to establish the scale. Second Place: Decent photo of an accident scene. It tells the story in a single image and was well executed.

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