DETROIT, MI - MLive Media Group photographers won 25 awards during the Michigan Press Photographers Association’s annual conference on Saturday, April 6 in Detroit.
Jackson Citizen Patriot’s J. Scott Park, The Bay City Times/The Saginaw News’ Kaytie Boomer, Ann Arbor News’ Jacob Hamilton, Kalamazoo Gazette’s Joel Bissell, Grand Rapids Press’ Cory Morse, Grand Rapids Press’ Neil Blake, The Flint Journal’s Devin Anderson-Torrez, and The Flint Journal’s Jake May placed in a variety of categories with seven of those being first-place wins.
The photographs entered into the contest were judged by Robert Miller, deputy director of photography at The Washington Post, Jessica Phelps, a multiple-time national photographer of the year and staff photographer at the San Antonio Express-News and freelancer Washington D.C.-based photojournalist Kent Nishimura. The multimedia judge was Brontë Wittpenn, an Emmy-award winning staff photojournalist at the San Francisco Chronicle.
The visuals had to be made between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. Approximately 50 photojournalists from across Michigan entered the contest.
Park won first place in the spot news category for the largest structure fire he has covered in 30 years as a photojournalist.
Bissell took first place in the personal vision category with a photograph from Prince Edward Island.
May won the Sports Photographer of the Year with a portfolio of 15 images from throughout 2023. He also took first place in the sports feature category, as well as the news picture story category for his continued work in the Gaylord community reflecting how life continues and changes amidst recovery after the impact of its 2022 tornado.
Another first place win was in the Multimedia News category, produced by Neil Blake titled, “Tornado.”
The MLive.com staff video team also placed third in multimedia project for “Beaver Island.”
“MLive photojournalists work hard to know their communities and great photos come from this knowledge,” Park said.
MLive.com also won the Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award for a collective photo essay across the staff called “Spartan Strong,” featuring the complete coverage of the Michigan State University mass shooting, the aftermath and how campus life, students, professors and alumni coped.
The categories where MLive staff placed included spot news, general news, feature, sports action, sports feature, portrait/personality, personal vision, news picture story, feature picture story, sports picture story, multimedia news, multimedia project, sports photographer of the year, college photographer of the year (Devin Anderson-Torrez), photographer of the year and the Barry Edmonds Michigan understanding award.
Click here for a direct link to the MLive winners gallery.
“Journalism is a challenging field to work in with a lot of unique situations that arise. To be able to gather with a group of people who understand the work that we do — it’s invaluable,” said Katy Kildee, president of the Michigan Press Photographers Association and staff photojournalist at The Detroit News. “To foster a sense of community really helps us to have honest discussions about how we, as photojournalists, want to approach visual storytelling. Congratulations to all the winners, and we look forward to the 2024 photo contest and another conference next year.”
Ryan Garza of the Detroit Free Press won the photographer of the year title for the second year in a row.
University of Michigan’s Tess Crowley was named the college photographer of the year. Michigan State University’s Audrey Richardson and Devin Anderson-Torrez placed in second and third place in the category, respectively.
Here is a full list of MPPA award winners for 2023:
Spot News
First Place: J. Scott Park, MLive.com/Jackson Citizen Patriot, “Engulfed”
Second Place: Joel Bissell, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “MSU Mass Shooting”
Third Place: Joel Bissell, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “EF-1″
Honorable Mention: David Guralnick, Detroit News, “House Explosion”
General News
First Place: Audrey Richardson, Detroit Free Press, “Mourning mother”
Second Place: Cory Morse, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “MSU community mourns after shooting”
Third Place: Sarahbeth Maney, Detroit Free Press, “Deed Decided”
Honorable Mention: Daniel Mears, Detroit News, “Barely Visible”
Honorable Mention: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, “Praying for life without parole”
Feature
First Place: Tom Hawley, The Monroe News, “Tears of Joy”
Second Place: Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press, “Easter Bunny Shock”
Third Place: Clarence Tabb Jr, Detroit News, “Jumping for the Win”
Honorable Mention: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Cardboard Chaos”
Honorable Mention: Cory Morse, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “First Day of School”
Honorable Mention: Audrey Richardson, Detroit Free Press, “Cubby”
Sports Action
First Place: David Guralnick, Detroit News, “Safe at Home”
Second Place: David Guralnick, Detroit News, “Up and Over”
Third Place: Nico Mendoza, Central Michigan University, “Stretched”
Honorable Mention: Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/Bay City Times, “High Knees”
Honorable Mention: Marie Underwood, Central Michigan University, “Together”
Sports Feature
First Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Goooooooooooal”
Second Place: Daniel Mears, Detroit News, “Winner and Losers”
Third Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Defeated”
Honorable Mention: Daniel Mears, Detroit News, “Consoling a Loss”
Honorable Mention: Andrew Mullin, Midland Daily News, “A Push for Victory”
Honorable Mention: Nic Antaya, For Getty Images, “Ankle Sprain”
Portrait/Personality
First Place: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, “The Fencer”
Second Place: Sarahbeth Maney, Detroit Free Press, “A Mother’s Plea”
Third Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Flint Royalty”
Honorable Mention: Daniel Mears, Detroit News, “Chicken Lady”
Honorable Mention: Nick Hagen, New York Times, “Casino Strike”
Personal Vision
First Place: Joel Bissell, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “Prince Edward Island”
Second Place: Alexis Rankin, St. Ignace News, “In the Mirror”
Third Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh”
Honorable Mention: Jacob Hamilton, MLive.com/Ann Arbor News, “Snowville”
Honorable Mention: Sarahbeth Maney, Detroit Free Press, “Repossession Harm”
Feature Picture Story
First Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Saleh”
Second Place: Tess Crowley, University of Michigan, “98th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim”
Third Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Flint Royalty”
Honorable Mention: Audrey Richardson, Detroit Free Press/Michigan State University, “Michigan woman’s backyard becomes haven for animals in need”
Honorable Mention: Tom Hawley, Monroe News, “I Want to Live”
News Picture Story
First Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Then and Now: How Gaylord Recovers After Devastating Tornado”
Second Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Spartan Strong”
Third Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Beneath the Pines We Will Gather”
Honorable Mention: Jacob Hamilton, MLive.com/Ann Arbor News, “Grayson’s Heroes”
Honorable Mention: Nic Antaya, Freelance/For The New York Times, “Our Family Can Have a Future”
Sports Picture Story
First Place: Cory Morse, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press, “Game Day with the Spartan Marching Band”
Second Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Cubs for Life”
Third Place: Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press, “Demolition Derby”
Honorable Mention: Nic Antaya, Freelance/For The New York Times, “Miggy’s Last Game”
Multimedia News
First Place: Neil Blake, MLive, “Tornado”
Second Place: Andy Morrison, The Detroit News, “Thunder Bay Acidification”
Third Place: Andy Morrison, The Detroit News, “Tuskegee History Uncovered”
Multimedia Feature
First Place: Katy Kildee, Freelance, “Tale of Sir Edward”
Second Place: Sarahbeth Maney, Detroit Free Press, “Dabl’s Bead Museum”
Third Place: Katy Kildee, Freelance, “Bearding”
Multimedia Project
First Place: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, “Relapse. Overdose.”
Second Place: Nico Mendoza, Central Michigan University, “How Color Paints Our World”
Third Place: MLive Media Group, “Beaver Island”
Sports Photographer of the Year
First Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal
Second Place: Cory Morse, MLive.com/Grand Rapids Press
Third Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance
Honorable Mention: Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/Saginaw News
College Photographer of the Year
First Place: Tess Crowley, University of Michigan
Second Place: Audrey Richardson, Michigan State University
Third Place: Devin Anderson-Torrez, Michigan State University
Photographer of the Year
First Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press
Second Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal
Third Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance
Honorable Mention: Sarahbeth Maney, Detroit Free Press
Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award
MLive.com Staff, “Spartan Strong”
Best of Show
Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Saleh”
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