Photojournalist of the Year
(11 entries)

Judges: From the San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Somerdorf, director of photography; Jim Merithew, picture editor; David Paul Morris, picture editor; Randy Greenwell, sports picture editor; Marianne Thomas, Sunday Magazine and features picture editor; Kathleen Hennessy, features picture editor; Kim Komenich, Pulitzer-prize winning staff photographer; Chris Stewart, staff photographer; Carlos Gonzales, staff photographer

Winner
Michael Chow
Arizona Republic

Michael Chow, 35, staff photographer at the Arizona Republic, retains the title he won last year as Photojournalist of the Year. This is the eighth year he has been a finalist.
"This portfolio showed great images in a broad range of situations,Ó wrote the judges from the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Most impressive was the portfolio's inclusion of images ranging from artistic and graphic to emotional subjects handled with care. The picture stories showed the best editing of any in the range of portfolios.
"Most impressive were the photo stories, which made this portfolio rise to the top and kept it there."
Chow worked for the Phoenix Gazette from 1989 until the paper's merge with the Republic in 1996. He has won many state and national awards, including the NPPA Region 10 Photographer of the Year in 1993. He lives in Gilbert with his wife, Cheryl, and their son Brandon.

First runner up
Cheryl Evans
Arizona Republic

Cheryl Evans, 32, has been a part-time staff photographer at the Arizona Republic since 1999. After graduating from Arizona State University in 1991 with a bachelor's arts degree, she moved to California where she worked for The Orange County Register for two years. Evans returned to Arizona and married Arizona Republic photographer Michael Chow. They have a 2-year-old son, Brandon, and are expecting their second child in June. Evans freelanced and worked for the Business Gazette and The Business Journal prior to employment at the Republic. This is her first time being a finalist for the Arizona Press Club's photographer of the year.
"This portfolio showed some really nice images that made the judges react very positively,Ó the judges at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote. "Overall a very strong entry full of great, touching moments and beautifully graphic images that the judges really responded to."

Second runner up
Tricia McInroy
Tucson Citizen

"Tricia McInroy joined the Tucson Citizen as a staff photographer in February 2000 after freelancing in Phoenix for the East Side/Scottsdale Tribune, Daily News-Sun (Sun City), The Associated Press and CitySearch Website.
A 1992 graduate of the University of Missouri, she worked for two years as a staff photographer for her hometown newspaper, the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming. She also worked two years as a staff photographer at the Times-Call in Longmont, Colo. Her photos have also appeared in Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.
"This portfolio had some strong images,Ó the judges at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote. "The judges particularly enjoyed the kids wrestling shot, the cowboy boots silhouetted, and the man slumped at the bar. They had a different feel to them, almost like two different people had photographed this portfolio. There's definitely a diamond in the rough in this entry, and better editing will really bring the shine out."