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Photo Contest Winners

2023 Q4 Picture Story

Khai Le

DEAN RUTZ, Quarter 3 Judge

First Place: We’ve seen a lot of approaches to border stories, but this is exceptional in its ability to convey the masses of people on the border, and what it means to be an individual among a collective of misfortune. A series of great images that runs heavy on pattern.

First Place: Robert Gauthier, LOS ANGELES Times

Second Place: Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star Telegram

Third Place: Aude Guemucci, Freelance

HM: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star

Meet Our Judge, RoSS FRANKLIN

 
 

Dean Rutz is a 35-year veteran of The Seattle Times, joining the newspaper in 1988 as Picture Editor. His ability to see the potential of images in print saw his job evolve into page design and headline writing, and during those years The Seattle Times routinely finished among the top three newspapers in NPPA’s Best Use of Pictures contest.

Rutz’s ability to coordinate photographers in the field saw him work increasingly remotely on major sporting events, first building darkrooms, and later organizing on site production in the early days of digital cameras.

From there it was a straight line back into photography with Rutz either editing or shooting nine Olympic Games, and countless sporting championships. Today he is the Times’ lead sports photographer and was recently honored by the Seattle Sports Commission with the Keith Jackson Media Excellence Award, the only photographer to have received that honor.

He lives in Lake Forest Park with his wife, Karen – also a staff photographer at The Seattle Times – and their dogs.

Previously, Rutz was a staff photographer at the Washington (DC) Times, the Palm Beach (FL) Post, and the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer.

2023 Q4 Photo Essay

Khai Le

DEAN RUTZ, Quarter 3 Judge

First Place: What distinguished first was the breadth of coverage that spanned both sides of the issue, but also generated exceptional images from a host of circumstances..

First Place: david swanson, Agence France Presse

Second Place: Eric Thayer, Freelance

Third place: David Swanson, AFP

Meet Our Judge, DEAN RUTZ

 
 

Dean Rutz is a 35-year veteran of The Seattle Times, joining the newspaper in 1988 as Picture Editor. His ability to see the potential of images in print saw his job evolve into page design and headline writing, and during those years The Seattle Times routinely finished among the top three newspapers in NPPA’s Best Use of Pictures contest.

Rutz’s ability to coordinate photographers in the field saw him work increasingly remotely on major sporting events, first building darkrooms, and later organizing on site production in the early days of digital cameras.

From there it was a straight line back into photography with Rutz either editing or shooting nine Olympic Games, and countless sporting championships. Today he is the Times’ lead sports photographer and was recently honored by the Seattle Sports Commission with the Keith Jackson Media Excellence Award, the only photographer to have received that honor.

He lives in Lake Forest Park with his wife, Karen – also a staff photographer at The Seattle Times – and their dogs.

Previously, Rutz was a staff photographer at the Washington (DC) Times, the Palm Beach (FL) Post, and the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer.

2023 Q4 Singles

Khai Le

Quarter 4 judge, DEAN rUTZ

General News

First: Great picture shot under tough lighting that manages to communicate the urgency and desperation in the subject’s gait, preserve a modicum of anonymity, and still set the scene very well.

First Place: Yannick Peterhans, Freelance

Migrants rush to get in line as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents begin to count migrants and bring them to local holding facilities near Jacumba Hot Springs, CA., on Dec. 5, 2023. Migrants seeking asylum in the US gathered in at least three different camps along the US Mexico border near Jacumba Hot Springs, some camps housing as many as 200 people.

Second Place: Gina Ferazzi, LOS ANGELES Times

Lucila Boyles hugs one of her surviving cats near her destroyed home, which was reduced to ashes after the October Highland fire swept through November 22, 2023 in Aguanga, California. She and her husband George have been very appreciative of strangers donations but he fears the all the debris from his burned home will never get removed because the dirt road leading to his property is in very bad shape. They lost two cats in the fire.

Third Place: Paul Rodriguez, Freelance

Friends mourn the death of homicide victim Tatum Lee Goodwin during a candlelight vigil on the San Clemente Pier in San Clemente, California on November 15, 2023. Goodwin was found behind a building in Laguna Beach.

Honorable Mention:Gina Ferazzi, LOS ANGELES Times

With her husband by her side and Feinstein’s daughter Katherine, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hugs the casket of Senator Dianne Feinstein while she lies in state at City Hall on October 4, 2023 in San Francisco, California.

Feature

First: Like all great feature photos, this has a level of immediate gratification for the viewer. Contrast and contradiction, great framing, humor; it works on many levels, and it does so quickly.

First Place: Robert Gauthier, LOS ANGELES Times

West Hollywood, CA, Tuesday, October 31, 2023 - Cowboys engage in a long kiss in front of religious protesters near the entrance of the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. After a four-year hiatus, tens of thousands of revelers attended the event.

Second Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, LOS ANGELES Daily News

Laiana Kanoa-Wong gives an offering of ava to the protector Ki’i on the Hokule’a, a traditional double hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe, after the crew sailed into Marina Del Rey on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. The crew is on a four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific.

Third Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, LOS ANGELES Daily News

With a license plate that reads “Couchcar,” Oliver Collin, 60, rides through Sherman Oaks to his Van Nuys home with Meatloaf, his 11-year-old multipoo after shopping for an IPA and bread on Christmas Eve Sunday, December 24, 2023. “I just wish I could find someone dumb enough to buy them,” says Collin who said one of his couch cars was in a music video.

Honorable Mention: Sarah Reingewirtz, LOS ANGELES Daily News

Under the glow of firetrucks people wait to get into the Midnight Mission as Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters from the skid row station respond to a call on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Fentanyl overdose numbers continue to rise in the area and one firefighter says they run out of Narcan.

Portrait

First: The key to any successful portrait is context, and the photographer went to some length to create that for this movie director going so far as to attempt to replicate the franchise’s first poster. Smart and effective.

First Place: Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times

Screenwriter, director and producer Jeffrey Reddick’s horror movie franchise, “Final Destination,” continues to resonate with fans with the first film in the series being screened at the Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on October 8 at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. Reddick was photographed at his home in West Hollywood on October 3, 2023. Image made with a Fractal lens element to try and emulate the original “Final Destination,” movie poster.

Second Place: Genaro Molina, LOS ANGELES Times

Saul, 55, watches news reports on his smart phone while parking his 2004 Toyota Camry in a Safe Parking lot where he spends the night in Hollywood on October 10, 2023. Saul, who only wanted to give his first name, has been living homeless in his car since July 2021. He covers the windows of his car with plastic black trash bags to keep the light out so he can sleep. “You don’t know where it ends,” said Saul about his homeless situation. “I could end up here indefinitely,” he concluded. In the latest census, about 44% of participants of the Safe Parking program were 55 and older, while 21% were 62 and older.

Honorable Mention: Gina Ferazzi, LOS ANGELES Times

Third Place: Gina Ferazzi, LOS ANGELES Times

High school senior Sam Srikanth, 17, has applied to elite east coast schools like Cornell and Duke but feels anxious since the competition to be accepted at these elite colleges has intensified in the aftermath of affirmative action on October 27, 2023 in El Segundo, California.

Bryan Ortega, standout soccer player on the Cal State L.A. men’s soccer team, practices his “bicycle kick” at the Jesse Owens Stadium on campus November 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Pictorial

First Place: Genaro Molina, LOS ANGELES Times

A partial solar eclipse is seen projected through binoculars against a personal photograph of a mural in Los Angeles on October 14, 2024.

Second Place: Patrick Fallon, AFP

The "ring of fire" effect caused by the Moon passing in front of the Sun during the annular solar eclipse over Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 14, 2023. Thousands of spectators attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta to see the eclipse of the sun by the moon. As the moon moved into position blocking the sun, hot air balloon operators created a “ring of fire” with their gondola burners during the annular solar eclipse at the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Editors Note: Image made with an ND solar filter, no digital manipulation

Third Place: ringo chiu, freelance

A partial solar eclipse is seen through a special protective glass at the Griffith Observatory to watch the solar eclipse in Los Angeles Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Richardson, LONG BEACH Post

Two kayakers paddle around Stone Mountain Lake in Stone Mountain Park in Georgia Friday, Oct. 27, 2023.

Honorable Mention: AMY GASKIN, FREELANCE

Horses are on the track for workouts on Breeders’ Cup opening day at Santa Anita Park on Friday, November 3, 2023, in Arcadia, Calif.

 

Spot News

First: Chaos reigns supreme in this protest in downtown LA. And the best way to convey that is the use of a long lens that compresses all the activity into a single frame.

First Place: David Swanson, Agence France Presse

Thousands of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and signs denouncing "Israeli apartheid" march in support of Palestinians in Los Angeles on October 14, 2023. Thousands of Palestinians sought refuge on October 14 after Israel warned them to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip before an expected ground offensive against Hamas, one week on from the deadliest attack in Israeli history.

Second Place: David Swanson, Agence France Presse

Protesters demanding a ceasefire and an end to U.S. support for Israel's attack on Gaza block morning traffic on the 110 Freeway, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 13, 2023.

Third Place: David Swanson, Agence France Presse

Two men scuffle after an American-Israel flag was grabbed as pro-Palestinian supporters disrupt shoppers during Black Friday sales at The Grove, a high end shopping center, in Los Angeles, on November 24, 2023. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians in southern Israel, and saw about 240 people taken hostage. Hamas on November 24 freed a first batch of hostages seized in the deadliest attack in Israel's history under a deal that saw a temporary truce take hold in war-ravaged Gaza

 

Entertainment

First: There a lot of things happening here all at the same time, and the photographer did a great job of putting themselves into a position to be able to both line up all the different elements, but also capture the scene at its peak. That requires anticipation that, really, no other photograph in this category holds in quite the same way.

First Place: Robert Gauthier, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Nili Salem, right, and Chloe Pourmorady lead spectators in song at a concert to support Israel at Sinai Temple.

Second Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angleles Daily News

India Townsend, 15, of San Pedro High School, plays the trombone as she practices with LAUSD’s All-District Honor Marching Band as they prepare for their New Year’s Day performance in the 5.5-mile Rose Parade on Thursday, December 21, 2023 in Los Angeles.

Third Place: Mindy Schauer, ORANGE COUNTY Register

Artist Jennifer Guidi’s colorful art is photographed by a visitor to the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa on Sunday, October 8, 2023.

honorable mention: Cristina Klenz, FREELANCE

Portuguese popular music and fado singer, Maria do Carmo Carvalho Rebelo de Andrade, known as "Carminho" received a warm reception from the audience during her performance at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles in October 2023.

Sports Features

First: The light and the background work perfectly together to give this image impact and power. Everything lines up just the way you would hope it would.

First Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star

Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates after riding White Abarrio and winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1) during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

Second Place: Katharine Lotze, Getty

Phoebe McClernon #21 is comforted by Nikki Stanton #7 of OL Reign after losing 2-1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC during the 2023 NWSL Championship at Snapdragon Stadium on November 11, 2023 in San Diego, California.

Third Place: Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star

HONORABLE MENTION: Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

Quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans with running back Austin Jones #6 after the Utah Utes defeated the USC Trojans 34-32 to win a NCAA football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

USC captains offensive lineman Justin Dedich (57), linebacker Shane Lee (53), offensive lineman Jonah Monheim (79) and linebacker Mason Cobb (13) emerge from the tunnel to take the field before the game against Arizona at the LA Memorial Coliseum on October 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Sports Action

First: A great sports picture speaks for itself. But on those occasions when the eyes of the subject conveys something beyond simple action you have an image that resonates with readers. Caleb Williams eyeing the pylon he won’t reach, in a game the Trojans would lose, is a great image conveying disappointment alongside peak action.

First Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star

Quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans dives close to the goal line against cornerback Miles Battle #1 of the Utah Utes in the first half of a NCAA football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

Second Place: Katharine Lotze, Getty

Bella Bixby #1 of the Portland Thorns dives but doesn't block a goal by Angel City FC in the first half of a game at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Third Place: Robert Gauthier, LOS ANGELES Times

Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (12) misses a clear touchdown pass late in the first half against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

honorable mention: Katharine Lotze, Getty

Frida Esparza of the UCLA Bruins competes on uneven bars during the Meet The Bruins intrasquad gymnastics meet at Pauley Pavilion on December 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

FIRE

First: There’s urgency in this frame, and the photographer puts you right in the middle of it with proximity, faces, and animation.

FIRST PLACE: Miles Madison, County News Service

SECOND PLACE: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

A firefighter watches as the Highland Fire burns over 2,200 acres in Aguana, California, Saturday October 31, 2023

THIRD PLACE: DAVID SWANSON, AFP

A firefighter walks toward flames as the Highland Fire burns over 2,200 acres in Aguana, California, Saturday October 31, 2023

 

Meet our judge, DEAN RUTZ

 
 

Dean Rutz is a 35-year veteran of The Seattle Times, joining the newspaper in 1988 as Picture Editor. His ability to see the potential of images in print saw his job evolve into page design and headline writing, and during those years The Seattle Times routinely finished among the top three newspapers in NPPA’s Best Use of Pictures contest.

Rutz’s ability to coordinate photographers in the field saw him work increasingly remotely on major sporting events, first building darkrooms, and later organizing on site production in the early days of digital cameras.

From there it was a straight line back into photography with Rutz either editing or shooting nine Olympic Games, and countless sporting championships. Today he is the Times’ lead sports photographer and was recently honored by the Seattle Sports Commission with the Keith Jackson Media Excellence Award, the only photographer to have received that honor.

He lives in Lake Forest Park with his wife, Karen – also a staff photographer at The Seattle Times – and their dogs.

Previously, Rutz was a staff photographer at the Washington (DC) Times, the Palm Beach (FL) Post, and the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer.