New England – September 2017 – General News

Judges Comments

Photographers, don’t be tempted to enter multiple images just because it is an option. Consider your most powerful image to go it alone. For example, we were moved by a photo of a weeping mother holding a picture of the son she lost to an opiate overdose. Alone it might have placed, but the accompanying images weakened the entry and we had to eliminate it. 1st place ­ This image surprised us in many ways. A delightful,spontaneous moment of a politician sitting on the back of a pick­up truck yukking it up. It instantly evoked smiles from the judges, but we were not imagining it as a first­ place winner on first sight. However, in the process of elimination we began to appreciate not only the image but that the photographer ventured beyond the traditional ceremonial coverage of a staged media event, and stuck around, providing us with a real moment. Definitely paid off. The caption, albeit informative,needs some editing, for spelling error and redundancy. 2nd place ­ We liked that the photographer was able to compose theimage to include both the victim and perpetrator in the same frame during the sentencing hearing. 3rd ­ The images certainly capture the joy and silly fun of this cardboard race.

Judges: Anita Baca/Associated Press, Leslie Mazoch/Associated Press, Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press, Dario Lopez­Mills/Associated Press