NY/International – January 2020 – Spot News

Judges Comments

Spot news is in many ways much like sports action, except that there seem to be fewer and fewer entries. “f/8 and be there” means a lot in spot news coverage and as long as those two elements are met, choosing a spot news winner comes down to technical execution and maybe a bit of artistic sense. A spot news photo win can come down to a compelling composition or a strong use of the light, or maybe both. The judges were not terribly impressed by the caption writing on many of these entries. It’s one thing to have little information in the heat of the moment, it’s another to not be willing/able to flesh out a caption so the judges can get more background in the contest judging process. Our first place choice to the garage fire was choses for the cleanliness of the composition and the feeling of tension in the moment. The chaotic accident scene edged out the fallen tree, in another Supreme Court-worthy debate, for the dramatic light and overall sense of the scene that tells the story despite not being physically intimate. The facial expression and body language of the car owner in the fallen tree photo lifted it out of the remaining entries.

Judges: Sean D. Elliot/The Day, Peter Huoppi/The Day, Dana Jensen/The Day, Sarah Gordon/The Day