Ariel Tung | Oct. 13, 2008
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| Photo by James Brosher |
| Photographers Matt Detrich, left, of the Indianapolis Star, and Denny Simmons, center, of the Evansville Courier and Press, spoke with IDS photographer Matt Beuoy after a presentation last week. |
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The two judges went through 358 photos in seven categories: news, feature, sports, portrait, illustration, pictorial and photo story. Three winners were awarded in each category. Up to three honorable mentions were also awarded in some of the categories.
Although the judging process took more than two hours, Simmons said it is important to look at every single photo instead of “flying through them.” He also said that captions are an important consideration of the judging process and that caption reporting is really what separates photographers from photojournalists.
“A basic caption has to answer all the important question like who, what, where, when and why,” Simmons said. “However, if you want a good or great caption, you need to add information that perhaps adds context."
For example, one caption simply may state the obvious, such as "Jimmy Jones hammers a nail into a fence Tuesday afternoon." A better caption, Simmons said, would be "Jimmy Jones continues to pound nails into fences for Habitat for Humanity even after he completed his sweat equity commitment five years ago. ‘I can’t explain why I do it,’ Jones said. ‘I just feel the need to keep contributing to my community.’"
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| Photo by Matt Detrich |
| Matt Detrich covered the Beijing Olympics for the Indianapolis Star. Here, a Chinese Army guard stands at the perimeter of the National Stadium during closing ceremonies. |
That evening, Simmons and Detrich showcased their own work later in the Ernie Pyle Auditorium. Simmons, who works for the Evansville Courier and Press and is National Press Photographer Association Photographer of the Year, presented what he called “slices of life” to the audience.
“That’s what I do – taking photos of everyday life,” Simmons said. “I look for similarities in people, capturing human qualities which we can all relate to.”
Matt Beuoy, a photojournalism student, asked Simmons how he picks his subjects and whether he talks to them before taking their pictures. Simmons said that he likes to be spontaneous and finds his subjects wherever he goes.
Simmons said that although he tries to make himself “invisible” while taking photos so as to convey the reality of the situation, he would never hide behind trees or cars. He always asks for permission to publish the photos. Simmons said that it is important to gain trust from people, and he credits his success to his reputation.
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| Photo by Denny Simmons |
| Evansville Courier and Press photographer Denny Simmons says he takes pictures of everyday life. Here, an entrant at the Posey County 4-H Demo Derby tries to restart his car in time for the race. |
After showing his shots of events at the Olympics, Detrich showed photos of some unusual food items sold along the streets of Beijing – raw squid, seahorse and silk worms on sticks, to name a few. To the audience’s amusement, Detrich said that he tried some silk worms, and that they actually tasted not much different from chicken.
Here are the first place winners the judges chose:
News: C. Aluka Berry, The State
Feature: Jeff Blake, The State
Sports: Joshua Buck, The Daily-Call
Portrait/Personality: Liz Martin, The Gazette
Pictorial: Liz Martin, The Gazette
Illustrative: Robb Long, Downtown Journal
Picture Stories and Essays: Gerry Melendez,The State
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