Mid-Atlantic – 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. And then there was this field of entries, where little of note was presented. Three entries were included in the field, and only one image was even close to our standards. The upset neighbor to a shooting scene could have used a better crop, tighter to the subject. The other two entries left us flat. A fire aftermath photo in which the photographer was clearly out of position and missed the moment and a three-photo fire package in which only one photo was particularly well composed and exposed but could never have lifted the other two images into placement.

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