The March edition of Photo of the Month was judged by Durham Region's Ron Pietroniro and staff photographer Sabrina Byrnes. Ron left a very kind note preceding the comments:
Id like to thank fellow award-winning photojournalist Sabrina Byrnes for helping out in the judging process. Here is our assessment of the winning images as well as some judges comments. Thanks for the opportunity to review the future of photojournalism in Canada.
Ron Pietroniro
Managing Editor/Photo Editor
Metroland Durham Region Media Group.
FEATURE
1. FEAMarAPR2
ST. JOHN'S, NFLD. (13/03/18) - A woman looks over St. John's Harbour on top of Signal Hill.
2. FEAMarMJB2
3. FEAMarAXI03
HILLIER, Ont. (03/10/18) — Julianna Tyers, 11, hugs a horse at the Heal With Horses ranch on in Hillier, Ont. March 10, 2018. Tyers is one of many people who attends Heal with Horses, an equine therapy ranch. Tyers comes to the ranch once a week, to ride as a means of therapy. The ranch uses the Horse Boy Method as a means of mental health treatment. The method utilizes six stages: by setting up the right natural and human environments; working with direct sensory issues via body to body contact; riding with the child to create rhythms to aid communication; Perspective-taking and rule-based games; academics on horseback; and, self-advocacy. In Tyers' case, it mainly focuses on riding. Photo by Andrej Ivanov
HM: FEAMARSDS
MONTREAL, QC. (01/03/18) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits Cuisine-Atout, an culinary organization that aims to promote the socio-professional integration of adults with low education to the labor market. During the media event Trudeau shares a genuine moment of levity with a current student of the culinary program.
********HM: FEAMARSDS
MONTREAL, QC. (01/03/18) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits Cuisine-Atout, an culinary organization that aims to promote the socio-professional integration of adults with low education to the labor market. During the media event Trudeau shares a genuine moment of levity with a current student of the culinary program.
Feature Photo
1-APR2 – Just a really nicely thought out and beautifully
lit image. A visually stunning photo all around.
2- MJB2 – Nice leading lines, nice light , nice cropping.
3- AX103 - This was
another unique moment, great angle and lens choice as well as nice cropping.
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HM – SDS – Generally political images seem a bit set up ,
which they are. But this genuine moment deserved some recognition.
1. NEWmarAXI01
MONTREAL, Que. (03/15/18) — A protester holds a smoke bomb during the yearly anti police brutality protest in Montreal, Qc. On March 15, 2018. This year, protesters marched against the alt-right movement and that police defended them. The protesters also denounced some Quebec media for propagating the alt right’s message. The night ended with a few broken windows and arrests. According to police, one person and three officers were injured and at least three people were arrested. Photo by Andrej Ivanov
2. NEWMARSDS1
STIRLING-RAWDON, On. (06/03/18) – Firefighters from three local fire departments work to put out a house fire at 1038 Salem road just southwest of Ivanhoe. The residence were not at home at the time of the fire however the families two pet dogs perished in the flames.
3. NEWmarAXI03
MONTREAL, Que. (03/16/18) — Three elders place a blanket over Anthony and Angela Gouveia and comfort them after they told the story of their deceased mother during the fifth day of the Montreal community witness hearings of the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in Montreal, on Mar. 16, 2018. The Inquiry stopped in Montreal's Bonaventure Hotel and spent the week hearing testimonies from various members of the indigenous communities. Photo by Andrej Ivanov
H.M.: NEWMARSDS2
WASHINTON, DC. (24/03/18) – An estimated 800,000 people took part in the "march for our lives" event in Washington. The event, an attempt to raise awareness on and prevent future gun violence in schools, was organized by students in the wake of a deadly high school shooting in Florida.
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News Photo
1-- AX101—The toughest part of covering these events is to
keep your composure in the middle of a chaotic and sometimes dangerous
situation. Great image from this type of assignment. Well cropped, clean
background. Could be a protest from anywhere in the world.
2 – SDS1 – Great silhouette of this fire, perfect
composition and use of thirds placing the firefighters in the perfect position.
3 – AX103 – A very compelling image, needed to really read
the cutline to understand the context. The photographer captured a very
poignant moment.
HM – SDS2 – Overall there were far too many sign images in
this category. Having said that this was the best of the bunch. Again perfectly
cropped in the right area gave this one some impact over the others.
SPORTS
1. SPTmarAXI01
PORT PERRY, Ont. (03/31/18) — The Port Hope Panthers congratulate each other after they scored the first goal during the game against the Lakefield Chiefs at the at the Jack Burger Sports Complex in Port Hope, Ont. on March 31st. The Panthers went on to win the game 3-2. Photo by Andrej Ivanov
2. SPTMARSDS1
BELLEVILLE, ON. (04/03/18) – Belleville Senators defenceman Ville Pokka knocks the puck off of Toronto Marlies Center Jean Dupuy's stick during the third period of a game at Yardmen Arena. The Marlies went on to win the game 4-1.
3. SPTMARSDS3
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1. SPTmarAXI01
2. SPTMARSDS1
3. SPTMARSDS3
BELLEVILLE, ON. (04/03/18) – Toronto Marlies defenceman Justin Holl charges the net, slamming into, and knocking the helmet off of Belleville Senators goaltender Danny Taylor. The Marlies went on to win the game 4-1. Photo by Sasha Sefter
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Sports
1 – AX101- Great sports feature image. Always nice to see a
photographer that uses different areas of the rink to try and capture a unique
moment in the game. The best images are not necessarily shot at ice level or through the corner glass
hole.
2 – SDS1 –Clean , sharp action photo.
3 – SDS3 – The best action shot of the bunch, but the focus
was off and an image like this needs to
be tack sharp.
Again overall a little bit disappointing in terms of submissions
probably due to my own love of sports photography . Though I’d see more variety
and quantity in these submissions.
PORTRAIT
1. PRTMarRMG1
BELLEVILLE, Ont. (03/28/18) — Rev. Kate Ann Follwell, a deacon at the Anglican Christ Church in downtown Belleville, wants to help individuals in the community suffering from loneliness. This spring, she is starting a meet-up group called the Contact Club where people will get together once a week to socialize, have a meal and hopefully feel less lonely. Photo by Robin Grant.
2. PRTmarAXI02
BELLEVILLE, Ont. (03/22/18) — Zubin Gillespie, 65, poses for a portrait on his couch in the midst of his rug and antiques collection in his apartment in Belleville, Ont. on Mar. 22, 2018. The couch he is sitting on is made of Afghan saddlebags and camel riding equipment. The rug at his feet was found hanging on a wall in India and dates back to the 1920s. The table at his side is a refurbished Tibetan fire pit, that people used to cook meals. Gillespie used to travel around India and Afghanistan, collecting antiques, refurbishing them and selling them. He explained that to find 100 rugs, he would have to go through at least 100,000. He added that he must have gone through 2 million rugs in his lifetime. His apartment is full of refurbished antiques, including a bookshelf from an Indian hospital, colonnades from temples, rugs, wall art, pieces of windows, textiles and many other things. Some objects date back as far as 300 years and are scattered throughout his apartment. Gillespie is now the owner of two buildings in Belleville, Ont. that he is refurbishing. He lives in one of those buildings and explained that his apartment took him seven years to fully finish. Photo by Andrej Ivanov
3. PRTMarRMG3
TORONTO, Ont. (03/16/18) — Costume designer Joanna Jacobsen who owns Apollonie, a specialty clothing design and manufacturing studio, was one of 300 vendors who set up shop at Toronto ComiCon on Friday. Jacobsen featured the Marvel-themed corsets she designs. Photo by Robin Grant.
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1 – RMG1— Clean image, good lines and cropping and
importantly good exposure control.
2 – AX102 – Nice light , background was a little busy but
overall it deserved second place.
3 – RMG3 – Again just a little too busy for a portrait ,
should have been more of a feature photo or part of a photo layout.
Overall this was the poorest category in terms of submissions. A person at a podium
is not a portrait. Again the photographer must keep in mind backgrounds, thing
poking out of people’s heads, tops of heads cut off. Also basic camera controls
, depth of field , leading lines, cropping , most of these basic photographic
issues were totally ignored in this category.
MULTIPIX
1. MPXMarAPR
2. MPXMarAXI
Multi Picture
1-APR1a – Very nice picture story, good choice of black and
white images.
2 -AX101a – Another well thought out picture story , there
was very little difference between first and second.
Both of these Picture Stories had a couple of good anchor pics, but perhaps a little too
many filler photos thrown in.
It would be nice to see these images on a page layed out .
This would force the photographer to be a little more selective with their
images and present only the best ones that truly tell the story.
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Points
Andrej Ivanov +350
Andrew Ryan +200
Sasha Sefter +170
Robin Grant +125
Matthew Botha +50
Total:
Andrew Ryan
- 2210
Andrej Ivanov - 1165
Sasha Sefter - 630
Andrej Ivanov - 1165
Sasha Sefter - 630
Yader Guzman
- 460
Vanessa
Tignanelli - 350
Amy Walton
- 200
Robin Grant
- 150
Matthew Botha - 50
Mari Huramoto - 50
Mari Huramoto - 50
Natasha
MacDonald - 50
Tyson Dusselier - 50
Tyson Dusselier - 50
Points
Points are awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honourable Mentions.
1st place - 100
2nd place - 50
3d place - 25
HM - 10
