We were surprised a bit by the small number of entries (across all the categories, not just this one) this month. We realize that the premise of the found, slice-of-life, moment is truly rare, and many great features are more the product of journalistic enterprise, making one’s own luck, as it were. That said, few entries in this category rose much above the bare minimum of the feature today, that of being a candid depiction of daily life. Perhaps the horse has already left the barn on the general news v. feature debate. To pull a “feature” from a general news event, the photo really needs to be out of the ordinary. This applies to other entries clearly derived from planned event coverage. If the object of photojournalism is to communicate new information to our readers/viewers, that includes doing our best to get away from the routine. The judges were hard pressed to pick winners at all and opted for only two. First was chosen because it made all the judges laugh. We appreciated that the photographer went far enough to ID the dogs and their human. Second place was a nice aesthetic.
Judges:
Sean D. Elliot/The Day, Peter Huoppi/The Day, Dana Jensen/The Day, Sarah Gordon/The Day
Judges Comments
We were surprised a bit by the small number of entries (across all the categories, not just this one) this month. We realize that the premise of the found, slice-of-life, moment is truly rare, and many great features are more the product of journalistic enterprise, making one’s own luck, as it were. That said, few entries in this category rose much above the bare minimum of the feature today, that of being a candid depiction of daily life. Perhaps the horse has already left the barn on the general news v. feature debate. To pull a “feature” from a general news event, the photo really needs to be out of the ordinary. This applies to other entries clearly derived from planned event coverage. If the object of photojournalism is to communicate new information to our readers/viewers, that includes doing our best to get away from the routine. The judges were hard pressed to pick winners at all and opted for only two. First was chosen because it made all the judges laugh. We appreciated that the photographer went far enough to ID the dogs and their human. Second place was a nice aesthetic.