2024 Q2 Singles

Quarter 4 judge, Tony Overman of the Olympian

General News

First: Holy cow! What a photo. So much depth and feeling.
Second: Powerful image that takes us right into the heat of the protest
Third: This is a super cute moment and the photographer worked the angles.
HM: Photographer waited for this moment.  Sweet moment to get.

First Place: Cristina Klenz Salvador / Freelance

Every April 8, Romani people around the world celebrate International Romani Day to honor their culture and raise awareness of the issues facing their people.Ron, who is Romani-American and an advocate for his people, is a frequent visitor to the Holocaust Museum Los Angeles, where he and his wife, Sally, have found a safe haven to express her sorrow. Ron and Sally, are ministers and raise awareness to the estimated 1.5 million Roma and Sinti who were targeted by the Third Reich throughout Europe and murdered during the Holocaust.

SECOND PLACE: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

Irvine, CA, Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - Scores of law enforcement personnel from various agencies move hundreds of demonstrating students, faculty and supporters protesting the treatment of Palestinians and the UC system’s investments in Isreali interests.

Third Place: Karen Quincy Loberg, Freelance

Sasha Karapetian, 5, photographs Frankie, 3, a Tom turkey accompanied by Steve Gresham (left) talking with Conejo Valley Parade emcee Pete Turpel along the parade route in Thousand Oaks CA on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

HM: Karen Quincy Loberg, Freelance

Morgan Tait (left) and Eric Kane, both of Austin, TX are passengers in the rumble seat of a 1930 Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe with the Conejo Valley Model A Ford Club rolling down Thousand Oaks Blvd. in the Conejo Valley Parade in Thousand Oaks CA on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

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Feature

First Place: Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

AMBOY, CA - Amboy has long served weary travelers — first as a railroad station, and later as a roadside attraction that’s especially popular with people touring the Mother Road, Route 66. But this slice of Americana has been beset by a series of crises that stretch back more than half a century.Smack in the middle of a windswept corner of the Mojave that looks like Mars, its permanent population is now zero. Its infrastructure: a smattering of vacant houses and empty outbuildings; a shuttered post office, a church with no congregants and a school with no students. Roy’s is the only operational business. And the only operational portion of that is the store, stocked with cold drinks, snacks and souvenirs, and the gas station — three mechanical pumps that require an attendant to dispense fuel, which was recently priced at $6.49 for a gallon of regular. The new owner inherited the town from his father last year and is hoping to fulfill his father’s legacy and turn the place around.Joan and Kirk Bullard sit under the awning of the Roy’s gas station and cafe on May 24, 2024 in Amboy, California.

Second Place: Robert Gauthier, Los Angles Times

Bloomington, CA, Thursday, May 16, 2024 - Felipe Ortiz, a Spanish-speaking resident of unincorporated Bloomington, in San Bernardino County. Ortiz's landlord sold the home he's renting to Howard Industrial Partners, which will demolish the home and more than 100 others in order to build a huge warehouse project. In Bloomington, a majority Latino, rural community, Ortiz has helped organize 'cabalgatas,' or traditional horesback rides that celebrate the charro cowboy lifestyle. His children relax in their backyard. Ulises and sister, Fatima are in the hammock.

Third Place: Michael Nelson, Freelance

A boy plays with a handheld windmill as he rides past the Meishan Sansu Shrine in Meishan, China 20 June 2024.

HM: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

A graduate stands the front doors of the gym before the Cabrillo High School commencement ceremony at the school stadium in Long Beach on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

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Portrait

First Place: Cristina Salvador Klenz, Freelance

A native of Long Beach, California, Albert is a 38-year-old Romani-American man and part of the conservative Machvaya nation whose traditions date back more than a thousand years ago to their native India. The Machvaya spent considerable time enslaved in Romania and as part of the militia in Serbia before immigrating to the United States in the mid-1800s. Albert is a descendant of a proud and upstanding Romani family that is well know in California. Like many American minorities, some Romani families are experiencing severe economic hardship while other individuals struggle with homelessness. Albert has been living on and off the streets since the death of his mother many years ago. He is currently living in his car.

Second Place: Cristina Salvador Klenz, Freelance

A young couple stops to pose for a photo on Pacific Coast Highway near Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach.

Third Place: Cristina Salvador Klenz, Freelance

Romani American sisters Enna and Nova Adams, 10, of Fontana are from the Machvaya nation whose traditions date back more than a thousand years ago to their native India. The Machvaya spent considerable time enslaved in Romania and as part of the militia in Serbia before immigrating to the United States in the mid-1800s.

HM: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA, Thursday, May 9, 2024 - Lauren Lemos poses with an original sandwich creation at Wax Paper in Chinatown. Wax Paper is a sandwich shop that closed in 2023 until its owners, Peter and Lauren Lemos, realized they were so financially under water that it made more financial sense to reopen the restaurant and struggle than to flat-out close it.

HM: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

David Duarte is set for the 41st Annual Long Beach Pride Parade in Long Beach, Sunday, May 19, 2024.

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Pictorial

First: First is just graphically pleasing. Clean, repetitive and well balanced.
Second: This is a pretty image, but the clean silhouettes combined with the great body language on the boy in the middle make it a winner.
Third: This is a wonderful moment, framed nicely.

First Place: Michael Nelson, Freelance

A janitor passes a huge wall of sayings and place names at the high speed train terminal in Zigong, China 22 June 2024.

Second Place: Brandon Richardson, Long Beach Watchdog

Kids play in water fountains at Indian Creek Plaza in Caldewell, ID Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

Third Place: Karen Quincy Loberg, Freelance

Visitors watch the afterglow at Folsom Lake State Recreational Park on March 30, 2024 after a spike of unusually hot weather neared 100 degrees during the day in nearby Sacramento, Calif.

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Spot News

This was the fewest entries.  Not that impressed with them.  I was expecting more from the west coast.
First:  This is part of a bigger project I can tell.  This was by far the best one for this category.
Second: I like this shot but I feel the pet is lost and hard to see.  Good on the photographer for looking for this moment though
Third: This is a nice shot but it needs to be cropped on the right hand side.  I feel like I have to hunt to see what’s going on with this photo and the second place photo.

First Place: Cristina Salvador Klenz, Freelance

Around 3:35 pm Long Beach Fire Department is dispatched to 2001 Pacific Avenue in Long Beach where they encountered a deceased man who are lifting to put on a stretcher. According to the Long Beach Post, 111 homeless individuals died on the streets of the city in 2023. Although Long Beach has experienced a decrease in homelessness since 2023, there are 3,376 unhoused individuals living in the city; 49 percent of them are chronically homeless. Nationwide, drug and alcohol overdoses are the primary causes of death in the homeless population.

Second Place: Brandon Richardson, Long Beach Watchdog

Mike Finney, 71, cradles his 1-year-old shiweenie puppy Brea, which died in a house fire in East Long Beach Thursday, April 18, 2024.

Third Place: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

A Long Beach SWAT officers takes up a position behind. bearcat during an hours-long search of a man who ran from the police in Long Beach, Thursday, April 25, 2024.

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Entertainment

First:   Loved this photo for its simplicity and blue warm tone.
Second: Great moment on this.  And the with the girl in the background.
Third: The lighting on this makes this and the black and white.

First Place: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

Rome Lopez, 18, sings the 1978 hit I Will Survive during the Renaissance High School's celebration of its 20th anniversary with an open house in Long Beach, Friday, April 12, 2024.

Second Place: Brandon Richardson, Long Beach Watchdog

Drag queen Megami performs at Hamburger Mary's in Downtown Long Beach Wednesday, May 16, 2024.

Third Place: Scott Mitchell, Freelance

ANDY GARCIA and The CINESON All STARS with Arturo Sandoval, The City National Grove Anaheim, CA, USA, June 14, 2024.

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Sports Features

First:  This is a nice “thrill of victory, agony of defeat” photo. Says it all in one super-clean photo.
Second: Bizarre moment that makes you laugh and say “what the heck?”
Third: Creative way to do a feature for a game that may or may not have been interesting
HM: I love how this is framed. You can’t even see his face.

First Place: Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY17, 2024: Dodgers Jason Heyward runs the bases in front of Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) after hitting a 2-run homer in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on May 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Second Place: Robert Gauthier, Log Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA, Monday, May 6, 2024 - Los Angeles Dodgers first base Freddie Freeman (5) receives a fateful of sunflower seeds from teammate Teoscar Hernandez after hitting a first inning homer against Miami Marlins pitcher Roddery Muñoz (71) at Dodger Stadium.

Third Place: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA, Monday, May 6, 2024 - An in camera multiple exposure of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia (51) pitching the 9th inning against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium.

HM: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

First-place winner Scott Dixon gets a face full of champagne from third-place winner Alex Palou at the winnerÕs circle after the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday, April 21, 2024.

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Sports Action

First:  First is one of those magic “Matrix” moments in still photography. You can’t help but marvel at the athleticism. Love how his look brings you to the ball.
Second: The background is nice on this. Maybe a tighter crop would help this.
Third: Third is nice use of motion blur to capture the speed of racing. The car framed between the two trees helped push this photo onto the podium.

First Place: Scott Mitchell, Freelance

MLS -Major League Soccer - FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes along with the LAFC fans have their eyes on the ball as it heads toward the back of the net as LAFC defeated FC Dallas 1 to 0, BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, USA, June 1, 2024.

Second Place: Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY18, 2024: Dodgers left fielder Miguel Vargas (27) collides with Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) forcing Pages to drop the ball on a triple hit by Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley (27) in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on May 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Third Place: Thomas Cordova, Long Beach Post

Marcus Ericsson, #28, makes his way across the backstretch at the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, Sunday, April 21, 2024.

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