2025 Q4 Singles

Points for Q4 PPAGLA Quarterly Contest 2025

Robert Gauthier                          710 Points

Ringo Chiu                                    610 Points

Jill Connelly                                  490 Points

Gina Ferrazi                                  470 Points

Cristina Salvador Klenz               470 Points

David Swanson                             410 Points

Thomas Cordova                          320 Points

Keith Birmingham                        310 Points

Mike Goulding                              290 Points

Will Lester                                     280 Points

Robert Hanashiro                         210 Points

Terry Pierson                                 200 Points

Genaro Molina                              150 Points

Michael Coons                               140 Points

Scott Mitchell                                 140 Points

Ghawam Kouchaki                         140 Points

Dana Rene White                             90 Points

Patrick Fallon                                    90 Points

Jonathan Alcorn                               80 Points

Daniel Dreifuss                                 70 Points

Paul Rodriguez                                  50 Points

Mindy Schauer                                  50 Points

William Liang                                      40 Points

Amy Gaskin                                         30 Points

Sarah Reingewirtz                              20 Points

Ronen Tivony                                      20 Points

Quarter 4 judges: Diannie Chavez, Rob Schumacher, Mark Henle

General News

Judges comments: Strong image made under great personal risk to the photographer.

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Mounted LAPD push back a crowd of protesters that gatherer at the Metropolitan Detention Center after the No Kings march in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 18, 2025.

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Maria Flores, a Catarina artist, dressed as “Lady Liberty” at a No Kings March protest march in downtown Los Angeles.10/18/2025 Los Angeles, CA.

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Luke Czepiela demonstrates a short take off and landing (STOL) during the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, CA, on Friday, October 3, 2025. Czepiela flies a specially modified CubCrafters Carbon Cub with a lightweight titanium frame, a wider propeller, and a nitrous system for extra power.

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The San Bernardino County Sheriff Department Honor Guard escort the casket of slain Deputy Andrew Nunez into Toyota Arena during funeral services in Ontario on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Nunez was shot to death in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call in Rancho Cucamonga on Oct. 27.

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Carla Jaramillo, right, embraces Ashley Roe and Ramona Munoz, who have all been closely following the Haro case, embrace outside of the Riverside Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Jake Haro, the father of missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, pleaded guilty Thursday morning, Oct 16, 2025, to all charges, including second-degree murder. Haro who along with his wife, Rebecca Haro was in the national spotlight after their 7-month-old child went missing in the summer.

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Feature

Judges comments: A touching moment

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It’s a boy! Jack Estevanovich, 8, caresses his mother, Malori’s, pregnant belly after learning that he will become a big brother during a gender reveal party held at a community park in Riverside, California on October 4, 2025. Family members traveled from Northern California to celebrate the event. Jack is a Romani American boy from the Ludar nation. The Ludar spent hundreds of years living in Romania. They arrived in the United States between the years of 1880 and 1914.

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LOS ANGELES, CA  - DECEMBER 9, 2025 — Antonio Mauricio Gonzales reorganizes the bedroom he shares with his wife and children at 1430 Wright Street in Los Angeles on December 9, 2025. Gonzales, 54, has lived at the apartment building with his family for 22 years. Residents have been complaining of break-ins, broken toilets and water leaks at the apartments. He accused the owner of asking an additional $100 on top of his monthly $800 rent. The owner denied the accusation.Nela Petrusan, landlord and owner of the apartments, is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles city attorney over allegations that she has harassed her tenants and that the building is in deplorable condition.

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A poultry vendor weighs a rooster for a customer at a street market in Fengjie County, Chongqing, along the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, on Oct. 3, 2025. Shoppers gather around the scale as fresh produce and livestock are sold in the open-air market, reflecting traditional buying practices in the riverside town.

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Romani mother, Esmeralda, comforts her daughter, Ashley, 9, during a CPS supervised visitation at a park in Pomona, California. During the visit, Ashley repeatedly expressed her desire to go home. Ashely and her older sister are in CPS custody and are currently in foster care. Romani Americans consider their children to be the center of the families. Ashley’s grandfather said, “I didn’t know there was a set example of how children should be, or you lose them. So if I can’t meet your expectations within a certain time limit, and live the life that you wanted me to, I lose my children indefinitely? How is that? You expect me to change who I am and everything about my culture and my life and what I've learned in a matter of under a year? Instead of taking them from me, why don’t you help me and put me in that place that you want me to be? Romani families have a long history of children being removed from their homes. Cultural differences, a lack of understanding of the Romani lifestyle by the dominant culture, forced assimilation, discrimination and prejudice are some of the reasons that Romani families are broken apart.A history of discrimination and poverty make it difficult for the Romani families to have their children returned as many do not have the education and necessary resources to obtain advocacy and support to help them with the complexities of the legal system. Esmeralda is currently facing this battle without resources. “The light and happiness I had inside me died. I want this depression to go away from me, but it won’t until my girls come home.”

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On an overcast morning in September, Hector Alessandro Negrete left his beloved Los Angeles — the city he was brought to at 3 months old — and headed down Interstate 5 to Mexico, the only country where he held a passport.It was a place that, to him, had “always felt like both a wound and a possibility.”Negrete, 43, sat in the passenger seat as a friend steered the car south and two more friends in another car followed. He had condensed his life to three full suitcases and his dachshund mix, Lorca.They pulled over at the beach in San Clemente. Angel Martinez, his soon-to-be former roommate, is deeply spiritual, and his favorite prayer spot is the ocean, so he prayed that Negrete would be blessed and protected — and Lorca too — as they began a new stage in their lives.On the near-empty beach, the friends embraced and wiped away tears. Martinez handed Negrete a small watermelon.As instructed, Negrete walked to the edge of the water, said his own prayer and, as a gift of thanks to the cosmos, plopped it into a crashing wave.

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Portrait

Judges comments: This portrait was conceived then executed to near perfection

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Centennial junior safety Jaden Walk-Green has been selected as the IE Varsity Defensive Player of the Year for the 2025 football season in Corona on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Walk-Green intercepted 10 passes this season and scored six defensive touchdowns for the Huskies.

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Julie Packard, who transformed scientific communication and public engagement with marine science, plans to step down from her leadership role at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the coming months.

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SAN BERNARDINO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26, 2025: Ashley Woodard, 36, peers out of her tent which is pitched on California Street near the sidewalk on September 26, 2025 in San Bernardino, California. She has been homeless for more than 20 years. San Bernardino County approved an ordinance in September that bans homeless encampments on public property and rights of way, citing health and safety concerns. “I am just trying to find my way, Woodard said.

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Decked out in his new white cowboy hat is Benny Farrow-Tatum, the latest member of the family of nine during the San Bernardino County 25th Annual Adoption Finalization Event to mark the adoptions of 92 children at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

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Pictoral

Judges comments: This image checked all the boxes for a photograph that emphasizes graphic imagery and composition.

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LOS ANGELES, CA  - NOVEMBER 18, 2025 -- Los Angeles Trade Tech College power line students participate in a pole climbing exercise during a certification class to become electrical lineman against a backdrop of rain clouds at LATTC in downtown Los Angeles on November 18, 2025.

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A surfer catches a wave at Silver Strand Beach as USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) cruises toward the port at Naval Surface Warfare Center on Oct. 31. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named for naval stalwart John Paul Jones, known for uttering the words “I have not yet begun to fight” in a fierce battle against a British ship during the Revolutionary War. (U.S. Navy photo by Dana Rene White)  

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Visitors were somewhere under the rainbow while exploring the Scottish Highlands near Loch Garry on October 12,2025.

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A tractor hauls a load of melons. During the peak of the season. At this Central California farm, one crew could harvest 12,000 watermelons in one day.

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Nico Hülkenberg races down the Las Vegas Strip in the rain during qualifying for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.

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Spot News

Judges comments: This was the best photograph of breaking news.

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A suspect perched precariously on an 11th-floor ledge during a brief standoff in Downtown Long Beach, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. A bystander said the situation began when the man tried to rob DoLy’s Delectables, which is on the ground floor of the building at Broadway and Long Beach Boulevard. Preliminary reports from police indicated the man was also suspected of assaulting at least two people.

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A drone view of heavy rains that washed out E. Palmdale Blvd in Sun Village, California, USA, 26 December 2025. Rain storms dropped 6 inches of rainfall in Los Angeles County, with 3 times that much in the mountains in the mountains, prompting evacuations and road closures.

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Soccer practice continued after a small plane crashed at Heartwell Park onto a soccer field in Long Beach on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Authorities say two people were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries after a small plane crashed into a person as it made an emergency landing at the park, northeast of Long Beach Airport. Heartwell Park is a hub for youth sports most weeknights, with hundreds of people enjoying the park’s 122.5 acres.

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A Long Beach police officer aimed a gun while police closed Pacific Blvd. after getting a report about a man with a gun during a standoff with officers on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025.

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Entertainment

Judges comments: The beautiful moment captures hope and new dreams for this entertainer.

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His second day in Guadalajara Alessandro Negrete treats friends to a drag brunch at El Jardin de Pichina.In late September, the federal government detailed plans to begin processing initial DACA applications for the first time in four years. Had Negrete stayed in the U.S., he would have finally qualified for a reprieve.He isn’t regretful.His new dreams are wide-ranging. He wants to buy a house in Rosarito, where friends and family from L.A. could visit him. He wants to travel the world, starting with a trip to Spain. And he wants to help U.S. organizations build resources for other immigrants who are considering repatriating.The goal isn’t to encourage people to leave, he said, but to show them they have agency.“I actually did it,” he said. “I did it, and I’m OK.”Now, he said, Mexico feels like an estranged relative that he’s getting to know again.

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Inglewood, CA., Oct. 9, 2025. - - Performer Alicia Villareal in concert at the YouTube Theater.

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GEORGE LYNCH and Lynch Mob, live at The Whisky A Go Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA, November 19, 2025.

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Sivan Silver, part of the Silver-Garburg Piano Duo, performs during a rehearsal with the Long Beach Symphony in their Classical Series, Beethoven & Beyond, at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

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Sports Features

Judges comments: This historic baseball moment is as good as it gets!

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 1, 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) picks up Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) after defeating the Blue Jays in the 11th inning 5-4 to win game seven of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.

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Etiwanda opposite Rylee Welcome (4) reacts after a point as Redlands' Gianna Corona (4) reacts in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls volleyball first-round playoff match in Redlands on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.

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UCLA’s Wyatt Mosier leads the Bruins out of the tunnel waving the American flag as head coach Tim Skipper follows prior to playing visiting Nebraska at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. The UCLA Bruins host the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big Ten Conference game.

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Shohei Ohtani #17 celebrates with teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in 11 innings to win game 4 and the National League Division series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

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Manager Dave Roberts, left, hugs coach Danny Lehmann #0 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 to win game 4 and the National League Championship series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, October 17, 2025.

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Sports Action

Judges comments: This was one of the greatest moments in sports history. An image that every photogragher dreams on making..

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Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers watches his third solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning of game 4 of a National League Championship Series baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, October 17, 2025. Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs and struckout 10 Brewers as he led the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory and a sweep of the series and was named the NLCS MVP.

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CSUN Matadors’ Keilani Claiborne (6) and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos’ Mya Delaney (30) compete for a header during the Big West Championship semifinal at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. UC Santa Barbara defeated CSUN 3–2 in a penalty shootout.

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 1, 2025: Teammates cheer as Los Angeles Dodgers Miguel Rojas reacts while rounding the bases after hitting a game tying home run in the ninth inning during game seven of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.

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TORONTO, CANADA- OCTOBER 31, 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts leaps into the arms of Los Angeles Dodgers Enrique Hernández (8) with Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) reacting, left, after the Dodgers turned a double play on Toronto Blue Jays Addison Barger (47) in the ninth inning to win Game 6 of the World Series at Roger Centre on October 31, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.

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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 11, 2025: Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) makes a 12-yard touchdown catch against Michigan Wolverines defensive back Jayden Sanders (27) in the second quarter at the LA Memorial Coliseum on October 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

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Meet our judgeS

Diannie Chavez

Rob Schumacher

Mark Henle

Diannie Chavez is a staff photographer at The Arizona Republic. She joined the visuals team after graduating from Arizona State University in 2022. Prior to her role at The Republic, she worked with PHOENIX Magazine, News21 and Cronkite News in Washington, D.C. 

Rob Schumacher is a senior staff photographer at The Arizona Republic & USA TODAY Network since 1990. In addition to hundreds of state, regional, and national awards, Rob was the 2020  Arizona Photographer of the Year.

Mark Henle is a senior staff photographer for The Arizona Republic & USA TODAY Network. since 1984. He started his career at the age of 14 working for his family ‘s bi-weekly newspaper in Marshall, MN. Mr. Henle has two hundreds of state, regional and national awards.