It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year. Picture of the Year International. I've been lucky enough to be scheduled as a volunteer on Monday and Wednesday for the next 3 weeks.

Today, I sat through a review of the outs for the Feature category. I say 'sat through' because it was almost an hour of going back through 2,150 images and it was dead quiet in there, save for the typing laptops. I was tempted to nap more than a few times... (My lack of sleep didn't help when it's dark except for the images on the screen.)

Here's the Second Place winner:

"Displaced"

Caption: A Pakistani displaced boy from Swat valley sleeps under a mosquito net outside his tent at the Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

I liked it better than the gold winner which dealt with Mexican migration to cities within Mexico. Both pictures involved sleeping children, the second one spoke to me more.

POYi is one of two photo contests hosted by MU each year and I love sitting in on the judging. I get to see some amazing photography and hear the logic of the judges as to why they chose the winners they did. It always gives me plenty to think about.

Spot News winner (I really liked this picture, even if it was morbid subject matter):

"Brazil-Violence"

Caption: Residents look at a body found inside a supermarket cart in the Morro dos Macacos slum in Rio de Janeiro October 20, 2009. The man is suspected to have been killed by rival drug gangs, residents say. Brazil's president offered on Monday nearly $60 million in federal money to help Rio de Janeiro police combat drug gangs after 17 people were killed in weekend violence that raised questions over the city's ability to safely host the 2016 Olympics.

So far, I've gleaned these nuggets:

• Technical aesthetics are essential. if it's not technically well-done, it won't (typically) be considered. And those breath-taking pictures get rewarded.
• For things like Spot News, relevance can influence the judging. The judges often commented, "That was a big story last year..."
• Good captions are important. Sometimes that meant the difference between being in or out. In the Spot News category, the silver medal winner became the silver medal winner because it was taken in the moment of an IED going off (as to the typical picture of an IED being exploded) and not the similar photo that has been taken but isn't in the moment. Another couple of pictures lost out because there wasn't enough information to explain why this picture is significant.
• It truly is a subjective process. It seems like there's always at least 1 picture that I disagree with the judges on, wondering what they see in it. Tonight there was at least 2 pictures that I still don't get the accolades.
• I need to be aware of what's going on (in the world). Many times I would hear a judge mention 'that was a significant thing that happened.' And at least one of them was a freelance photographer who didn't 'need' to keep on top of what's going on in the world, but was anyway.

I have to confess. I felt some jealousy over the First Place winner of the Sports Picture Story category. His essay followed Lance Armstrong's return to professional cycling.

"Untitled"

Caption: Seven time Tour de France Champion, Lance Armstrong reflects on his crash and broken collarbone as he recuperates at his home in Austin, Texas March 28, 2009.

I have watched and loved the Tour de France ever since Greg Lemond was racing. And I cheered for Armstrong since his first win. So the jealousy comes in from the fact that the photographer got this type of access to this guy. And the pictures are *really* good.

As soon as I find out the photographer information, I will include it in this post.