2022 Qtr. 2 Photo Essay

Doug Pizac, Quarter 2 Judge

First place

The somber mood of the photographs match the somberness of a young woman taking medication to abort her pregnancy, and her reaction afterwards. Very touching.

Second place

Again, somber reality sets in with the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade. The isolation of the situation is strongly shown in the photographs.

The other entries lacked the complex layers and issues that the category is defined as.

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First Place: Gina Ferrazi, Los Angeles Times

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 28, 2022: Krystal, 26, closes her eyes the moment after taking medication to abort her 6-week pregnancy at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 28, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that may end entirely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Roe was overturned on June 24.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 27, 2022: Krystal, 26, gets an ultrasound from Dr. Blair Cushing to confirm her 6-week pregnancy at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 27, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Krystal took the abortion pill the next day to end her pregnancy. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that may soon end entirely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Roe was overturned on June 24.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 27, 2022: Krystal, 26, gets an ultrasound from Dr. Blair Cushing, back, to confirm her 6-week pregnancy at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 27, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Krystal took the abortion pill the next day to end her pregnancy. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that may soon end entirely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Roe was overturned on June 24.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 27, 2022: Dr. Blair Cushing discusses options to Krystal, 26, after an ultrasound confirmed her 6-week pregnancy at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 27, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Krystal was administered the abortion pill the next day to end her pregnancy. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that may soon end entirely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 28, 2022: Dr. Blair Cushing fills in patients charts after administering medication abortions at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 28, 2022 in McAllen, Texas.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 28, 2022: Dr. Blair Cushing gives Krystal, 26, medication to abort her 6-week 8, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that may soon end entirely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Roe was overturned on June 24.

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MCALLEN, TX - APRIL 29, 2022: Krystal, 26, stands on the street corner outside the clinic after taking medication to abort her 6-week pregnancy at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic on April 29, 2022 in McAllen, Texas. Texas law allows abortions up to 6-weeks, but that need on June 24 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

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Second Place: Gina Ferrazi, Los Angeles Times

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: Dr Alan Braid sits in his office in disbelief after just being informed at 9:13am that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: A staff member reacts after just hearing the news that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: Dr Alan Braid, right, informs patients inside the waiting room that he can no longer provide abortion services since the Supreme Court had just overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: Sitting in the waiting room, a patient who wished to be known only by her first name, Liz, contemplates her abortion choices after just being told that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion series at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services where she had an appointment on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: Anti-abortion protesters pray in a circle moments after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade outside Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down and stop providing abortion services.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: A teary staff member hugs a patient after informing her the clinic could no longer provide abortion services after juts moments earlier the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: A patient is brought to tears as a staff member informs her that the clinic can no longer provide services after moments earlier the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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SAN ANTONIO, TX- JUNE 24, 2022: The waiting room at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services is empty as just an hour prior the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade shutting down abortion services at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services on June 24, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic had to turn patients away once the ruling came down.

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Meet Our Judge, Doug Pizac

Doug Pizac began his career with four summer internships at National Geographic working his way up from the b/w and color labs through photography to becoming a picture editor and doing magazine layouts. He became the team photographer for the California Angels the day after graduating from Cal State Fullerton. This introduced him to AP and UPI where he worked for both of them as a freelancer, including a temp full-time job as an AP staffer.

After working a year at a paper in Owensboro, Kentucky shooting and doing layouts, he worked two years at the Tampa Tribune/Times doing the same before being recalled to Los Angeles for a 30+ year career at AP -- half in Los Angeles and half in Salt Lake City where his territory was from the Arizona border to Canada. While in Los Angeles he was given an outstanding dedication award by The Greater Los Angeles Press Club for his work during the 1992 riots.

Following AP he turned his attention to creating his own photography business and teaching college photo courses in SLC, and is now teaching communication classes part-time at the Vancouver campus of Washington State University. When not teaching or helping up and coming photographers, he has been judging AP-related state photo contests in the east for the past several years and spends his free time doing woodturning and woodworking projects in his Vancouver home workshop.

His wife is Betty Pizac who was a freelancer for AP and UPI in Seattle, and an AP-L.A. photo editor. They have two children.