2022 Single Category Winners
Judges: (click here for judges' bios)
Lead Judge Dave LaBelle, Pete Souza, Gregory Cooper, Regina McCombs, and Scott Goldsmith
General News
First Place: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Alicia Lopez gets as close as she can to her son, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez as she grieves, kissing his headstone while crying as she volunteers with hundreds of others to place 250,000 flags at Riverside National Cemetery for Monday’s observance of Memorial Day in Riverside on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
Second Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News
Baba Akili, of Black Lives Matter, attempts to shut down the Los Angeles City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 as protesters continue to seek Councilman Kevin de León’s resignation following the release of racist comments during a redistricting meeting. Los Angeles Police officers removed Akili and other protestors who disrupted the meeting as the council, including de León, voted to support Mayor Karen Bass’ state of emergency on homelessness.
Third Place: Don Bartletti , freelance
Just before dawn, undocumented immigrants from Peru and Venezuela warm themselves by a makeshift wood fire along the border in San Luis, Arizona on Saturday, December 17, 2022. In the background more of about 300 amnesty hopefuls from a dozen countries line up and wait to surrender to U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Award of Excellence: Michael Coons, Acorn Newspapers
Nancy Iskander, left, hugs Paramedic John Denton of the Los Angeles County Fire Department following a prayer vigil in honor of her sons, Mark and Jacob Iskander, at Three Springs Park in Westlake Village, Ca on Sept. 29, 2022. Denton performed first aid on her son’s the night they were killed while walking in a crosswalk by a suspected DUI driver.
Award of Excellence: Ringo Chiu, freelance
Family members of fallen El Monte police officers Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana attend a candlelight vigil in El Monte, Calif., on June 18, 2022. The two police officers were killed Tuesday in a shootout while investigating a possible stabbing in the suburban Los Angeles motel, and the suspect died at the scene, authorities said.
Award of Excellence: Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times
Hundreds, caught in a reflection pool, rally over a purported report that the Supreme Court is ready to overturn Roe vs. Wade and allow states to outlaw abortion, according to a purported draft opinion that was leaked to Politico, in front of the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on May 3, 2022.
Feature
First Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News
Frank does pull-ups as he rides the Metro Red Line in Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. A Metro survey says fewer females are riding transit.
Second Place: Patrick Fallon, Agence France-Presse
A migrant from Venezuela makes the sign of the cross as they climbs up from a canal after crossing under a hole in the US-Mexico border wall in El Paso, Texas, on December 19, 2022. - The US Supreme Court halted the imminent removal of a key policy used since the administration of president Donald Trump to block migrants at the southwest border, amid worries over a surge in undocumented immigrants. An order signed by Chief Justice John Roberts placed a stay on the removal planned for Wednesday of Title 42, which allowed the government to use Covid-19 safety protocols to summarily block the entry of millions of migrants.
Third Place: Patrick Fallon, Agence France-Presse
An electrical contractor repairs a sign with gasoline fuel prices above six and seven dollars a gallon at the Shell gas station at Fairfax and Olympic Blvd near a billboard of John Oliver on March 8, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Award of Excellence: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA, August 12, 2022 - On a blistering hot Friday in August, Donald Winston, 56, lugged black trash bags stuffed with belongings up four flights of stairs to what had just become his first-ever home of his own.
Winston sweated profusely as the plastic bags began to shred on the hard floor, but he beamed once they were all hauled, pushed or kicked into the studio apartment. Air conditioning graciously blasted cool air. The unit near downtown Los Angeles was outfitted with a bed, small table and a microwave. Most important, it offered what Winston called “breathing room.”
The day before, Winston had been living about 20 minutes south of the apartment complex, in a shelter for homeless men and women who were formerly incarcerated. Most of the residents live with mental illness and almost all use drugs, which the shelter allows so long as the drugs are used offsite, according to the shelter administrator. Winston shared a room with 32-year-old Jacob Lopez. The two became friends, but it was tight quarters.
“Waking up in your own place — that’s crazy,” Winston said over the phone the day after his move.
Winston’s journey to housing hinged in part on his health insurance.
At the beginning of the year, California began rolling out extensive reforms to Medi-Cal, the state and federally funded healthcare program which serves low-income adults and children. The reform initiative is known as California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, or CalAIM.
The idea is to create a system over the next five years that goes beyond traditional medical care to cover other aspects of people’s lives, including some housing and food needs.
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Decisions, decisions for Myah Settle as she concentrates before making a move while playing chess against classmate Noah Melendez at Butterfield Elementary School in Moreno Valley on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.
Portrait
First Place: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES, CA - April 21: An 8x10-inch film portrait of Actor Tom Hiddleston, photographed in promotion of his new Apple TV+ series, “The Essex Serpent,” at Four Seasons Hotel, in Los Angeles, CA, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Hiddleston is best known of late, for his role as, “Loki,” brother to Chris Hemsworth’s, “Thor,” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Second Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register
Andrea Lassakova of the Slovak Republic, gets ready for a ballet rehearsal at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Saturday, October 1, 2022. She will be performing with other dancers, including Russians who left their country because of the war in Ukraine.
Third Place: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times
Hollywood, CA - February 01: Actor Johnny Knoxville is photographed with an electric prod shaft (cattle prod) during promotion of, “Jackass Forever,” the latest installement in his prank film franchise, at the The Hollywood Roosevelt, in Hollywood, CA, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Knoxville brought the device to the red carpet premier of the film and used it on co-stars walking the red carpet with him. Even after being knocked unconscious by a bull, breaking a wrist and ribs, Knoxville, 50, won’t rule out more stunts.
Award of Excellence: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - Josh Brolin, actor from Avengers and Dune, is the star and executive producer of a new "trippy" Western series called "Outer Range."
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Famed American contemporary artist Robert Lyn Nelson returns for a career retrospective in his hometown of Ontario at the Chaffey Community Museum of Art in Ontario on Friday, March 4, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times
Indian blockbuster filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli is center stage after the Hollywood success of his crossover action epic, “RRR,” which took the world by storm. Rajamouli is seen through a glass Fractal in Westwood on October 1, 2022. The movie has grossed $175 million worldwide.
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Super featherweight boxer Rayshaun “El Chivo” Thomas, 25, of San Bernardino says, “ I just ended up falling in love with boxing.” after walking into a gym one day with friends in San Bernardino. Thomas also known as Nino The Boxer now trains at El Chivo Peppertime Boxing Gym and Fitness Center in Fontana on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
Pictorial
First Place: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
Imperial Valley, CA, Thursday, September 1 - An aerial view of the southern edge of the Salon Sea. Severe drought has reduced the lake to dangerously low levels.
Second Place: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
Rawlins, Wyoming, Tuesday, May 3, 2022 - A snow storm moves in as ranchers move cattle on to the Overland Trail Ranch where owner Phil Anschutz plans a wind farm of hundreds of turbines to provide power to Los Angeles.
Third Place: Michael Coons, Acorn Newspapers
Sammy Mason flies his Edge 540 upside down past a large fireball during his performance at the 41st annual Wings Over Camarillo Air Show at the Camarillo Airport on Aug. 20, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Patrick Fallon, Agence France Presse
An aerial image shows a border wall constructed of shipping containers and topped with concertina wire built on federal land by Republican governor Doug Ducey, along the US-Mexico border in the Coronado National Forest near Hereford, Arizona on December 20, 2022. - Arizona agreed Wednesday to dismantle a wall of shipping containers at the Mexican border that critics said was an expensive, ecologically damaging political stunt that did nothing to keep migrants out. The state's Republican Governor Doug Ducey spent $90 million of taxpayers' money lining up rusting boxes in what he said was a bid to stem the flow of people crossing into the United States.
Award of Excellence: Patrick Fallon, Agence France Presse
A truck driver stops to fix their vehicle at Roy's Motel, Cafe, and Gas station after sunset along the former Route 66 in the Mojave Desert city of Amboy, California on August 30, 2022. While the business and entire town was severely impacted by the 1972 opening of Interstate 40 in California bypassing Route 66, the buildings and neon sign remain popular as a filming location. In 2022, the California Air Resources Board announced a requirement that all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide - leaving questions about the future of transportation, economies, and the role of gas stations in communities across the state.
Award of Excellence: Amy Gaskin, freelance
The swings at sunset on Saturday, April 9, 2022 in Santa Monica, Calif.
Spot News
First Place: Ringo Chiu, For The Los Angeles Times
Melina Abdullah, a leader of Black Lives Matter-L.A. and a professor at Cal State Los Angeles, is removed by police during a mayoral debate at Student Union Theater on the Cal State LA campus on May 1, 2022.
Second Place: Patrick Fallon, Agence France Presse
A person carries items collected from the train tracks as a Union Pacific locomotive passes through a section of Union Pacific train tracks littered with thousands of opened boxes and packages stolen from cargo shipping containers, targeted by thieves as the trains stop in downtown Los Angeles, California on January 14, 2022.
Entertainment
First Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register
Andrea Lassakova of the Slovak Republic, formerly with the Mikhailovsky, pauses before performing during a rehearsal at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Saturday, October 1, 2022. She will be performing with international dancers, including Russians who exited their country after the invasion of Ukraine.
Second Place: Thomas R. Cordova, Long Beach Post
Mary Misery is seen in the mirror as she gets body painted part of her horror makeup done by artist Jay Quintana for a photo/video shoot In Long Beach Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. Mary Misery is a regular at anime conventions as she dresses up as horror for the events.
Third Place: David Swanson, Reuters
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain walk on the red carpet prior to the premiere of Showtime's series "George and Tammy" at Goya Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA, 21 November 2022.
Award of Excellence: David Swanson, Reuters
M3GAN personel perform on the red carpet prior to the premiere of "M3GAN" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 December 2022.
Award of Excellence: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times
San Diego, CA - July 21: A woman helps her friend adjust their dinosaur costume, inside the Convention Center, home of San Diego Comic-Con, Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Sports Features
First Place: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
Inglewood, CA, Sunday, February 13, 2022 - Cincinnati Bengals offensive linemen sit dejected under a storm of confetti after losing Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Second Place: Michael Coons, The Acorn Newspapers
Chaminade fans taunt Camarillo High’s Keilani Peralta as she passes the ball inbounds during the CIF-SS Div. 1 semifinal at Chaminade High School on Feb. 23, 2022.
Third Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News
Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates with a kiss from his wife Anna Croskrey as his children cover him with confetti on the field after the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to win the NFL Super Bowl LVI football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Boxer Victor Vasquez, 7, takes time to rest his arms after doing 100 pushups in the ring while training at M.T.C. Boxing Club in San Bernardino on Monday, October 17, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times
HERMOSA BEACH, CA- FEB 13, 2022: Celebratory Los Angeles Rams fan Will Schaffer, from Newport Beach, hoists Brendan Duffin, a Cincinnati Bengals fan, as the Rams win Super Bowl LVI, 23-20, at the The Brews Hall, in Hermosa Beach, CA, Feb. 13, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Boxer Noel Corona, 6, stands on a create to work on the speed bag as Lorenzo Vasquez, left works the heavy bag while training at M.T.C. Boxing Club in San Bernardino on Monday, October 17, 2022.
Sports Action
First Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News
Home plate umpire Nate Tomlinson is hit in the face by a broken bat from Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels as catcher Will Smith, center, of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on in the ninth inning of a MLB baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Tomlinson would leave the game and was taken to the emergency room.
Second Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News
Devon Allen of the U.S.A leaps a hurdle on his way to winning the 110 Hurdles Elite with a time of 13.35 during the USATF Golden Games at the Mt. SAC Relays in Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Third Place: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times
Competitors in the Doryman's Relay Race are knocked around and eventually tossed from their boat, during the International Surf Festival in Hermosa Beach, CA Aug. 6, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Terry Pierson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Norco centerfielder Dakota Potter makes the catch as she crashes into the fence in right center field on a ball hit by Roosevelt Ashlee Annett during the Big VIII League softball game in Eastvale on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Ringo Chiu, Freelance
Iceland's Karitas Tomasdottir (7) and Czech Republic's Jitka Chlastakova (13) vie for the ball during the She Believes Cup soccer match between the Czech Republic and the Iceland Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Carson, Calif. (Ringo Chiu via AP)Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis attends annual breakfast in commemoration of MLK at InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown IHG Hotel Los Angeles Jan. 14, 2023.
Award of Excellence: Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
Los Angeles Angels center fielder Jo Adell can’t get to a ball hit for a single by Los Angeles Dodgers' Cody Bellinger during the seventh inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Los Angeles.
Animal
First Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register
JoJo the duck gives an interview in front of a panel of judges during the Kids' Pet Parade in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday, February 19, 2022. The pet is owned by Judith Marquina.
Second Place: Patrick Fallon, Agence France-Presse
A grizzly bear climbs up a hillside toward workers as snow falls on the Pretty Rocks Landslide area on the Denali Park Road at Mile 45 in Denali National Park in Denali, Alaska on September 21, 2022.
Third Place: Ronen Tivony, freelance
Award of Excellence: Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News
Steve Hall feeds pigeons on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica September 2, 2022. Hall travels from his home in West Los Angeles four times a week to the pier to feed his feathered friends. Hall says the birds remember him because he feeds them “the good stuff”.
FIRE
First Place: David Swanson, Reuters
Phos-Chek is dropped on the Fairview Fire burning near Hemet, California, U.S., September 6, 2022.
Second Place: Ringo Chiu for the Los Angeles Times
Wind whips embers from a burning tree in a wildfire Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, near Hemet, Calif.
Third Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register
Laguna Niguel, CA - May 11: A lone fire fighter takes on a house engulfed in flames in Laguna Niguel where 20 homes were destroyed and 11 others were damaged in the wind whipped Coastal Fire on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
Award of Excellence: David Swanson, Reuters
A CalFire helicopter passes the sunset over the Fairview Fire burning near Hemet, California, U.S., September 6, 2022.
Award of Excellence: Patrick T. Fallon, Agence France Presse
CalFire firefighters turn away from the fire to watch for any stray embers during a firing operation to build a line to contain the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California, on September 8, 2022. - A ferocious heat wave scorching the western United States could finally begin to wane in the coming days, forecasters said - but they warned of dangerous fire conditions as howling winds sweep through the bone-dry region.
UCLA Sport
First Place: Ringo Chiu, Freelance
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) scores a touchdown against the Utah during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif.
Judges notes
Judges were conservative, wanting to award only the best of the best. We also chose not to move pictures from categories, though a few images might have placed in a different category. Other thoughts: “Crop, edit tighter, thorough captions needed” were the comments most often voiced by judges. “Less is more” may be a trite saying, but was used again this year when entries had weak or redundant pictures in a story or essay. “Portfolios were in dire need of editing,” said Pete Souza. “It pains me that the photographer didn’t crop this image,” he said about a news photo. “Why not? Crop the damn thing.” Souza asked to differentiate between Picture Story and Photo Essay categories, which LaBelle did. Judges also agreed that there were individual pictures in photo stories and essays which should have been entered in single categories, and would likely have done well. The Spot News category was anemic, barely a handful of images entered; much weaker than last year. That said, overall presentations were better than in years past. We are making progress.