(21 entries)

Judges: Michael Franklin, Peggy Peattie and Jerry McClard, San Diego Union-Tribune
Franklin has been the Director of Photography at the Union-Tribune for five years. He was a staff photographer at the paper since 1984 and specialized in issues about farm workers and their lives in the U.S. and Mexico. Staff photographer Peattie joined the paper in July 1998. She is a five-time winner of the Greater Los Angeles Press Photographer of the Year and a two-time runner-up of California Photographer of the Year.
McClard has been the Metro Photo Editor for two years and a staff photographer at the paper since 1981.

First place
MONA REEDER
The Arizona Republic
"A People in Peril"
"People in Peril won because we realize this is a touchy subject matter for the Indian population and the photographer obviously managed to work their way through this hurdle and make both compelling and subtle images that reflect the myriad aspects of rampant diabetes: obesity, vision impairment, inhibited activity, and altered lifestyle and death. It suffered from having only a few images that include interaction; we felt is was the most complete story in the group."

Second place
MICHAEL CHOW
The Arizona Republic
"After the War"
"We applaud the photographer for working to find the variety they did, their grief of losing everything, yet trying to persevere and carry on with life. Our favorite image was the last, the tag; this actually opens doors into life. The Albanian woman shopping in Macedonia, the charred remains of a man in his home, show good journalistic instincts on the photographer's part. That's something we can't encourage enough."

Third place
PAOLO VESCIA
Phoenix New Times
"A Chain Reaction"
"Third place suffered for lack of editing. This photographer made some very nice images here, but they are watered down by having too many that say the same thing."