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Photo Contest Winners

2023 Q3 Picture Story

Khai Le

RoSS FRANKLIN, Quarter 3 Judge

First Place: Nice collection of images, some from during the storm and not just the aftermath shows photog in the thick of the storm.

Second Place: Nice collection of images, including drone images.  Press conference image, warning siren image kept this out of the top 

Third Place: Really like images 01, 03 and 05.  Was looking for a stronger ending image to tie it all together.

HM: A nice attempt at something different here, especially with a global soccer (football) star coming to town.  

First Place: GINA FERAZZI, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Second Place: PATRICK FALLON, AFP

Third Place: Ringo chiu, FREELANCE

Meet Our Judge, RoSS FRANKLIN

 
 

PPAGLA Contest Winners, judged by Ronald W. Erdrich, photojournalist for the Abilene Reporter-News/USA Today Network, twice-voted Star Photojournalist of the Year in the statewide Texas Managing Editors Association awards, and a judge in the 2022 Pictures of the Year, International Contest. 

2023 Q3 Photo Essay

Khai Le

RoSS FRANKLIN, Quarter 3 Judge

First Place: Nice drone work and the couple holding hands is such a great image.

Second Place: Again, nice variety of image, including various time of day timeline

Third Place: Variety of images helps this story.  Working and at home access helps this story’s scope.

HM1: Good story-telling images for this quick hit story.  Photog work at getting as much out of this as possible.

HM2: Maybe too many images of Joshua Trees, but there is enough here to warrant an HM.  Joshua Tree 06 is nice with side lighting.  Unsure of ending image of tortoise, especially with vehicle in frame.

First Place: david swanson, Agence France Presse

Second Place: david swanson, Agence France Presse

Third place: GINA FERAZZI, LOS ANGELES TIMES

HM: Brandon Richardson, Long Beach Post

HM: david swanson, Agence France Presse

Meet Our Judge, ROSS FRANKLIN

 
 

Ross Franklin; staff photographer with Associated Press in Arizona

2006-Present: Ross Franklin has worked for the Associated Press as Photojournalist and a Video storyteller for 18 years. Specializing in sports and news providing both stills and videos.  Including pro and college sports and local to national election/political coverage.

1987-2005 He worked at the Washington Times covering politics. 2000-2005 he worked as an adjunct profession for The Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington D.C. 

In 1987, he graduated from Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. BS in photojournalism and a minor in history.  

AWARDS:

2018 Associated Press Photo of the Month---John McCain funeral 

2012-2016   Arizona Photojournalism Awards---Sports and News awards

2002            Pulitzer Prize runner-up as part of the staff of The Washington Times covering the DC Sniper story

1991-2004   White House News Photographers Association Awards---  Sports, News and Features awards

1986-2005 National Press Photographers Association---Sports, News, Feature

2023 Q3 Singles

Khai Le

Quarter 3 judge, RoSS FRANKLIN

General News

First Place: Brandon Richardson, Long Beach Post

Unionized food, beverage and retail workers at Long Beach Airport picket for higher wages and improved benefits from their employer, Paradies Lagardère, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Paradies almost exclusively operates concessions at the airfield.

Second Place: Ringo Chiu, Freelance

A health care worker is arrested during a sit-in protest outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center during a Labor Day march Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 in Los Angeles.

Third Place: Thomas R. Cordova, Long beach post

Angelmarie Taylor, CSU student, leads a group of CSU students in a chant of protest of a 6% increase in tuition fee at California State University Chancellor's office in Long Beach on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023.

Honorable Mention: RINGO CHIU, FREELANCE

Striking writers and actors walk with pickets outside he Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Honorable Mention: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

A migrant woman from Cameroon walts in the area between the primary and secondary fences of the border between Mexico and the United States in San Diego, California, on September 22, 2023.

 

Feature

First Place: Cristina KLENZ / FREELANCE

Gladys Flores is of Romani descent and more specifically from the Xoraxay nation. Like many other Roma from her extended family she suffers from asthma and COPD from a lifetime of smoking. She puts on her mascara before leaving a hospital in Chino, California, after a three-day stay due to her COPD illness.

Second Place: RINGO CHIU, FREELANCE

A person hands a cup of drinks to Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he discusses immigration issues after the premiere of "Midnight at the Border" in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Aug. 3, 2023. "Midnight at the Border" is a documentary about illegal immigration on the Arizona-California border with Mexico, based on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s visit to the area in June.

Third Place: Thomas R. Cordova, LONG BEACH POST

Aztec performer Tania Guevara walks inside the council chambers before performing at the Long Beach Civic Center for National Hispanic Heritage Month in Long Beach, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.

Honorable Mention: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News

A plane flies past the super blue moon in front of Orange Grove Elementary in Whittier on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Honorable Mention: Michael Nelson, Freelance

Honorable Mention: Ringo Chiu, Freelance

A couple celebrates their wedding proposal as the sun sets over the San Bernardino Mountains at the Strawberry Peak Fire Outlook in Twin Peaks, California 30 August 2023.

A woman holds an umbrella flipped in wind at the pier in Manhattan Beach, California, August 20, 2023.

Portrait

First Place: Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times

City Librarian John Szabo stands in the middle of the Lodwrick M. Cook Rotunda at the Los Angeles Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. Szabo oversees the Los Angeles Central Library and its 72 branches spread out over 503 square miles. The library's mission has expanded much since it was founded in 1872 with 500 books for a “bustling pueblo” of 6,000 people. Today, it has more than eight million books and serves the largest and most diverse population of any library in the country.

Second Place: Cristina Klenz, Freelance

Ricky Ziko is a native of Chicago, shares a love for traveling with his wife, Tammy and have been married and exploring the country together for nine years. Their adventures have taken them to locations such as Alaska, Oklahoma, Denver, Minneapolis, Indiana, Chicago, and across the country to Miami. Like many Roma of their generation, neither one has a formal education. Their inability to read has not hampered their zest for travel and adventure. “We don’t plan it. We just pack up the car and go.”

Honorable Mention: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles dAILY nEWS

Third Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles dAILY nEWS

John Waters at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles for the preview of John Waters: Pope of Trash on Thursday, September 14, 2023.

Jacquies Manson, who is a meth user, says he accidentally used fentanyl and overdosed and now is using test strips to check his meth as he visits the skid row area in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. Overdoses in skid row and the surrounding area increased over 1,000% from 2017 to 2022 according to United Coalition East Prevention Project. A coalition of service providers are calling for Naloxone to be in all skid row hotels.

HM: cRISTINA kLENZ, fREELANCE

Rosario Peña is a light-hearted Romani woman who is always in good spirits, laughing and telling jokes. She is from the Kalderash nation, more specifically from the Mihais vitsa. Born in Colombia during the early 1950s, she spent her childhood traveling with her parents and the kumpania and sleeping in tents and feather beds. Perhaps her kind nature can be attributed to her adventure-filled childhood from which she has many happy memories visiting most of the countries in both Central and South America until coming to California in the late 1960s. She currently lives in Eastvale, California.

HM: cRISTINA kLENZ, fREELANCE

Gladys Flores, was born in 1954, the third born to a family of seven children, in a village near Santiago, Chile. She lived in a tent with her family until she was a teenager. Gladys is of Romani descent and more specifically from the Xoraxay nation. Having great pride in her pure Romani heritage, she stresses that her descendants are called “Hungaros” or Roma from Hungary. Like other Roma, the Xoraxay are also of Indian origin but are known for their geographical roots in Turkey, where there is evidence they worked as coppersmiths before making their way into the Balkans. The portrait was taken in Redondo Beach, California, during an outing to the Redondo Beach Pier with her extended family.

Pictorial

First Place: SARAH REINGEWIRTZ, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

A man walks through Caltech in Pasadena on Friday, July 21, 2023.

Second Place: ringo chiu, freelance

A cyclist rides past as an almost full moon rises above the sky in Los Angeles, Thursday, September 28, 2023. The full harvest moon will shine in the early morning hours of September 29, also marking the fourth and final supermoon of 2023.

Third Place: Thomas R. Cordova, Long beach post

People gather on top of Hilltop Park as the sunsets on a hot summer day in Signal Hill, Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Honorable Mention: Genaro Molina, LOS ANGELES TIMES

A truck fights to get through a flooded section of Venice Blvd. during Tropical Storm Hilary in Culver City on August 20, 2023.

Honorable Mention: AMY GASKIN, FREELANCE

Canadian geese walk after a rain on Belle Isle Park on Sunday, July 23, 2023 in Detroit, MI.

 

Spot News

First Place: David Swanson, Agence France Presse

Cathedral City Fire Department rescues residents in a bulldozer following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary in Cathedral City, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning.

Second Place: David Swanson, Agence France Presse

An aerial image shows no traffic on Ramon Rd. due to flooding and mud crossing the highway following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary, in Rancho Mirage, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning.

Third Place: Ringo chiu, freelance

A Los Angeles police officer arrests a supporter of LGBTQ+ youth nearby to a rally in support of parental rights and notification policies in schools in downtown Los Angeles, August 22, 2023.

Honorable Mention: RINGO CHIU, FREELANCE

A Los Angeles police officer arrests a supporter of LGBTQ+ youth nearby to a rally in support of parental rights and notification policies in schools in downtown Los Angeles, August 22, 2023.

Entertainment

First Place: Genaro Molina, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Mandolinist Chris Thile makes a grand entrance on stage clicking his heels before performing with the L.A. Phil who smile with approval at the Hollywood Bowl on August 22, 2023. Thile was performing his original piece titled, “ATTENTION!,” with the LA Phil.

Second Place: SCOTT MITCHELL, FREELANCE

The unmabed lead guitar player for the Jager Henry Band, live at the Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA, USA, September 23, 2023.

Third Place: SCOTT MITCHELL, FREELANCE

Musician -Dorian Heartsong, bassist for Jason Bonham and the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience 2023, live at the Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA., USA, September 23, 2023

honorable mention: ringo chiu, FREELANCE

James Hetfield of Metallica performs at the Metallica - M72 World Tour at SoFi Stadium on August 25, 2023 in Inglewood, California.

honorable mention: ringo chiu, FREELANCE

A concert goer takes a video with a mobile phone at the Luis Miguel Tour 2023 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on September 20, 2023.

 

Sports Features

First Place: GENARO MOLINA, LOS ANGELES TIMES

As dusk settles over Los Angeles members of The Boyle Heights Bridge Runners make their way across the Sixth Street Viaduct in Los Angeles on August 2, 2023. The team starts at the Mariachi Plaza, makes their way down S. Boyle Avenue, halfway across the Sixth Street Viaduct and return to Mariachi Plaza. They make the run every Wednesday evening. The Boyle Heights Bridge Runners is a community based running group that was founded in 2013.

Second Place: KEITH BIRMINGHAM, PASADENA STAR-NEWS

Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout against the San Diego Padres in the seventh inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.

Third Place: KATHARINE LOTZE, GETTY

HONORABLE MENTION: pATRICK FALLON, AFP

Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty reacts to a call during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on August 01, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Panama's midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla (R) celebrates with Panama's goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera after scoring the winning penalty kick during the Concacaf 2023 Gold Cup semifinal football match between Panama and USA at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California on July 12, 2023.

HONORABLE MENTION: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

Elizabeth French (L), 25, and Rebekah Abern, 41, surf with Chupacabrah the goat, Surfing Goats owner Dana McGregor, and Eddie King, while taking a lesson in Pismo Beach, California, on August 29, 2023. For more than ten years, McGregor has built his reputation by throwing his goats into the water. The crazy idea came to him in 2011, after acquiring a goat to get rid of poison ivy and weeds that invaded his mother's house. Once the pasture was cleaned, the animal was initially to end up on a barbecue. But the surfer "got attached" to it, until he got her on his board on her birthday. Armed with a paddle, he propelled the goat into a wave, a challenge she met brilliantly. Now, in the ocean, the eccentricity of the animals helps apprentice surfers overcome their apprehension.

HONORABLE MENTION: YANNICK PETERHANDS, FREELANCE

Members of the Newport Mesa Guppies train as part of the Ultimate Torpedo League at the Orange Coast College pool on July 3 2023, Costa Mesa, CA., USA.

Sports Action

First Place: CRISTINA KLENZ, FREELANCE

Forcados Amadores De Turlock entertained the audience with their bravery during the bloodless bullfights for the Festival of the Divine Holy Spirit held at the Portuguese Divino Espirito Santo (DES) hall in Artesia, California.

Second Place: RINGO CHUI, FREELANCE

Barcelona's Ronald Araujo (L) and Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus (R) in actions during a Soccer Champions Tour match between the Arsenal F.C. and the FC Barcelona in Inglewood, Calif. July 26, 2023.

Third Place: RINGO CHUI, FREELANCE

Betsi Flint dives for the ball against Hailey Harward and Kelley Kolinske during the Women's Championship Final of the AVP Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open in Manhattan Beach, California, August 20, 2023.

honorable mention: GINA FERRAZZI, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Brandon Drury (23) is tagged out at home plate by Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) in the fourth inning at Angel Stadium on June 20, 2023 in Anaheim, California.

honorable mention: KATHARINE LOTZE, GETTY IMAGES

Savannah McCaskill #9 of Angel City FC controls the ball during the first half of a game against the NC Courage at BMO Stadium on July 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

 

FIRE

FIRST PLACE: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

Crane Valley Hotshots set a back Fire as the York Fire has burns over 70,000 acres, including Joshua trees and yucca in the Mojave National Preserve, and crossingh into Nevada July 30, 2023

SECOND PLACE: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

Firefighters work a fireline as the Agua Fire burns in Soledad Canyon, near Agua Dulce, Californiana. A heat wave in the high nineties as taxed Californiana first responders July 25, 2023 /

HM: PATRICK FALLON, AFP

THIRD PLACE: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

Fireman monitor the Rabbit Fire as it burns over 3,500 acres in Moreno Valley in Riverside County, California July 14, 2023

An aerial image shows a red roofed house that survived the fires surrounded by destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in the historic Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 10, 2023. Embattled officials in Hawaii who have been criticized for the lack of warnings as a deadly wildfire ripped through a town insisted on August 16 that sounding emergency sirens would not have saved lives. At least 97 people died when the inferno leveled Lahaina on the island of Maui, with some residents not aware their town was at risk until they saw flames for themselves.

HM: PATRICK FALLON, AFP

 

Judge’s Notes & Bio

FEATURE

Solid category!  Some excellent images.

First place: So nice.  Sweet moment.  Patient in hospital but still putting on makeup.

Second place: A nice moment not many photogs are ready for. 

Third Place: Vivid color and reflection makes this a winner.

HM1: Hard to get image perfectly framed.

HM2: Great time of day feature with a nice, quiet moment.  Would have liked a tighter crop.

HM3: Nice clean background weather feature.


PORTRAIT

By far the toughest category to judge.  So many excellent portraits!

First place: Nice, classic portrait.  Great angle and nice exposure to show off the interior/background.

Second Place: In the classic style of the old Life Magazine portraits of the 1930’s and 1940’s this is a beautiful image.

Third Place: Simple use of light and contrast.  The subtle hands in pockets and foot up and smile of John Waters makes this a winner.

HM1: This photo continues to bring out the personalities of the subject.  This image shows a power and determination in the subject.  Bravo!

HM2: The soft light and the yellow and gold makes this work so well.  

HM3: Nice light and contrast creating a noire-like mood.

ENTERTAINMENT

First place: Like the jump kick, and an odd reaction/peak action at a classical venue

Second place: Nice light and interaction of artist w/guitar.  Would have liked a tighter horizontal crop.

Third place: Nice action/reaction of bass player.

Honorable Mention1: Nice red light separation from crowd to stage.  Better tighter crop would have made better impact.

HM2: Nice detail.  Interesting.


GENERAL NEWS

First Place: This image jumped out quickly.  Shadows jumped off the clean concrete background.

Second Place: Showing an impactful but lighter side of an arrest on a big story.

Third Place: Nice image, with depth of field separating the main subject nicely at peak moment.

Honorable Mention_1: Nice juxtaposed image with picket line below the Hollywood billboard.

Honorable Mention_2: Nice image, hard to get at the border showing impact like this.

PICTORIAL

First Place: First image in the category that jumped out.  The lines are arches frame nicely.

Second Place: Blue background, bike and moon.  All three elements come together nicely.

Third Place: Nice sunet image with silhouettes all doing something different.

HM1: Nice sunet image with silhouettes all doing something different.
HM2: This is a cute shot and the photographer was looking out for it I can tell. Wish the background was a bit less distracting.

SPORTS ACTION

First place: Peak action at an unusual event separates this image into a winning combination.  Time of day light and nice clean background also helps.  The best of the bull fighting images.

Second place: Nice clean peak action with nice expression bringing the eye right into the heart of the image.

Third place:Beach volleyball dive in the rain with sand flying.  So many good things going on in this frame.

HM1: Beach volleyball dive in the rain with sand flying.  So many good things going on in this frame.

HM2: Nice peak action in excellent time-of-day lighting.

SPORTS FEATURE

First place: Nice, different, and beautiful use of light.

Second place: Mookie in the agony of defeat.  Nice solitary moment. Nice reaction shot but I would have cropped out the ref.

Third place: Nice reaction shot but I would have cropped out the ref.

HM1: Nice jubilation reaction image.

HM2: Nice jubilation reaction image.
HM3: Nice under water image with nice lines of arms and legs.

SPOT NEWS

First Place: Was hoping to see this in the singles category!  Yes, clear winner when viewed in the Photo Essay category.  Wonderful moment.

Second Place: Nice drone angle.  All the elements create a great image. A lot of emotion in this arrest photo.  Nice job getting in there. 

Third Place: A lot of emotion in this arrest photo.  Nice job getting in there. 

HM: Another arrest photo but this one had less emotion but the photographer came in closer.

FIRE

First Place: Great flames with uncluttered background.  Silver cross is subtle but noticeable.

Second Place: Lots going on here and it’s all good.  Helicopter in background, each hotshot doing something different in a pleasing-to-the-eye element on the diagonal hill.

Third Place: Impactful image at night showing the rage of the fire with hotshot looking at the overwhelming scene.

HM1: Excellent image showing devastation and one home perfectly intact.  Seeing this is hard enough.  Getting it right in an aerial shot another difficult task.

HM2: Nice image.  Tighter crop would have made the guy on the street with his blue chair pop better.

Meet our judge, RoSS FRANKLIN

 
 

Ross Franklin; staff photographer with Associated Press in Arizona

2006-Present: Ross Franklin has worked for the Associated Press as Photojournalist and a Video storyteller for 18 years. Specializing in sports and news providing both stills and videos.  Including pro and college sports and local to national election/political coverage.

1987-2005 He worked at the Washington Times covering politics. 2000-2005 he worked as an adjunct profession for The Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington D.C. 

In 1987, he graduated from Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. BS in photojournalism and a minor in history.  

AWARDS:

2018 Associated Press Photo of the Month---John McCain funeral 

2012-2016   Arizona Photojournalism Awards---Sports and News awards

2002            Pulitzer Prize runner-up as part of the staff of The Washington Times covering the DC Sniper story

1991-2004   White House News Photographers Association Awards---  Sports, News and Features awards

1986-2005 National Press Photographers Association---Sports, News, Feature