(27 entries)

Judge: Andrew Cutraro, staff photographer, The St Louis Post Dispatch
Cutraro has been a staff photographer at the Post-Dispatch since Dec. 1998, after he was the Detroit correspondent for Agence France-Presse. He studied photojournalism at Western Kentucky University and Rochester Institute of Technology.

First place
MONA REEDER
The Arizona Republic
"Family's Grief"
"Photojournalism at its best acts as a conduit for emotion and feeling. That's what really stood out in this photo. It's warm, sad and interesting to study. This photo was the closest in the bunch to evoke an emotion and to transcend the obvious."

Second place
SHERRIE BUZBY
The Arizona Republic
"Mourning"
"Showed some of the same above-mentioned qualities. This light is nice, too. There's a hint of insincerity to it, but it stood above most of the others because it addressed the feeling of the event."

Third place
DAVE CRUZ
The Arizona Republic
"Fire"
"There are some great things going on here. Two men trying to squelch a structure fire with a garden hose. I wish there was more hopelessness to it somehow, but it comes close. Kudos on the hustle and getting to the scene quick. That's two thirds of the battle when chasing news."

Honorable Mention
FRANCISCO MEDINA
Tucson Citizen
"No title"
"The photographer recognized a hell of a scene here. The situation has the potential for a killer photo, it was just poorly executed. Wonderful job of seeing this (it's away from the action, not obvious, tender, hopeful and ironic) but the viewer has to look really hard for all of that."