Pictures of the year

Here are the winners of the National Pictures Of The Year Awards by the News Photographers Association of Canada, a volunteer-run,non-profit association of professional and student photojournalists. The association says it’s dedicated to “quality and ethical photography in journalism,” and the awards aim to recognize excellence in Canadian photojournalism.

From the press release:

These images are recognized for blending the best of traditional photographicskills with the imagination and expertise of the photographer, who demonstrates an ability to capture a dramatic quality, theatrical grace, or poetry of motion in a single image. This is the essence of classicjournalistic tradition.

The following were chosen as winners from more than 2,200 images from across Canada entered this year.

(Kudo: the names and qualifications of the judges were provided, rendering the awards much more legitimate in my opinion.)

SPOT NEWS
1st – Conrad Black gives the finger/David Chidley – Canadian Press
2nd – Cop hit by protestor’s sign/John Lehmann – The Globe and Mail
3rd – Water rescue/Sandi Krasowski – The Chronicle Journal (Thunder Bay)
Honourable Mention – Afghanistan war action/Louie Palu – ZUMA Press
Honourable Mention – Rescue from crushed car/Stuart Gradon – Calgary Herald

GENERAL NEWS
1st – Free-trade protest arrest/Ryan Taplin – The Halifax Daily News
2nd – Father crying on coffin/Carlos Osorio – The Toronto Star
3rd – Condoleeza Rice faces bloody protestor/Louie Palu – ZUMA Press
Honourable Mention – Mike Huckabee gets a shave/Andy Clark – Reuters
Honourable Mention – Highway of Heroes/Frank Gunn – Canadian Press

FEATURE/ENTERPRISE
1st – Swinging soldier/Jason Franson – The Edmonton Sun
2nd – Trees and skaters /Darryl Dyck – The Edmonton Sun
3rd – Horse through a fence/John Lucas – The Edmonton Journal
Honourable Mention – Swimmer/Tim Smith – The Edmonton Sun
Honourable Mention – Rainy cityscape/Tyler Anderson – The National Post

PORTRAIT/PERSONALITY
1st – Top hat in arch/ Bernard Brault – La Presse (Montreal)
2nd – Tattooed gang member smoking/John Lehmann – The Globe and Mail
3rd – Royal couple/Darren Calabrese – The Guelph Mercury
Honourable Mention – Boy in a field/Leah Hennel – The Calgary Herald
Honourable Mention – Kid in a hall/Christopher Pike – The Brandon Sun

SPORTS ACTION
1st – Injury on ice/Ryan Pfeiffer – Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
2nd – Grey Cup touchdown/Tony Bock – The Toronto Star
3rd – Formula 1 race crash/Jacques Boissinot – Canadian Press
Honourable Mention – Boxing punch/Larry Wong – The Edmonton Journal
Honourable Mention – Rodeo fall/Darryl Dyck – The Edmonton Sun

SPORTS FEATURE
1st – High jumper/Jason Kryk – The Windsor Star
2nd – Referee dumped/Richard Lam – Canadian Press
3rd – Rainy cricket/Andy Clark – Reuters
Honourable Mention – Missing head/Brent Foster – The National Post
Honourable Mention – Smiling hat/Bernard Brault – La Presse (Montreal)

PICTORIAL
1st – Lightning and silo/Phil Hossack – The Winnipeg Free Press
2nd – Foggy city/J.P. Moczulski – The Globe & Mail
3rd – Reflection in puddle/Jason Kryk – The Windsor Star       
Honourable Mention – Water drop/Derek Ruttan – The London Free Press
Honourable Mention – US flag & umbrella/Bernard Brault – La Presse (Montreal)

PICTURE STORY
1st – Tatiana and Krista – Conjoined Twins/John Lehmann – The Globe and Mail
2nd – Kenadie Story – Primordial Dwarfism/Brent Foster – The National
Post
3rd – Johnathon Hatzis – Legless Wrestler/Peter Power – The Globe and Mail
Honourable Mention – Prayers of Ismail – Tuareg Nomad/Wendell Phillips – Freelance (Vancouver)
Honourable Mention – Father Michael Bassano – HIV Hospice/Brent Foster – The National Post

MULTIMEDIA
1st – Walker Brown – Boy In The Moon/Peter Power – The Globe and Mail
2nd – A Farm Family/Charla Jones – The Globe and Mail
3rd – Joshua Sager – Homeless in Calgary/Brett Gundlock – The Calgary Sun
Honourable Mention – Father Michael Barrsano – HIV Hospice/Brent Foster – The National Post
Honourable Mention – Conrad Black/Lucas Oleniuk – The Toronto Star
Honourable Mention – Johnathan Hatzis/Attitude is Everything/Peter Power – The Globe and Mail
Honourable Mention – Justice For The Dead/John Lehmann – The Globe and Mail

STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Aaron Elkaim
Honourable Mention – Ian Willms.

2007 CANADIAN PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Bernard Brault – La Presse (Montreal)

2007 CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR
Top hat in arch/Bernard Brault – La Presse (Montreal)

The “still photo” category judges include Graeme Roy, Director of NewsPhotography – The Canadian Press; Peter Bregg, Photo Editor/Photographer,Hello Magazine and Bob Carroll, retired, Photo Editor, The Windsor Star. The Judging Chief is Phill Snel, Deputy Photo Editor, The National Post.
The new Multimedia category judges include Jeff Peeler, Frantic Films,Cecil Rosner, CBC and John White, The Winnipeg Free Press.
Images were submitted and judged in 12 different categories, including Canadian Photojournalist of the Year and Canadian Photograph of the Year.