1st Place Environment/Nature: Hyunsoo Leo Kim, Virginian-Pilot–Bonneville Salt Flats. in front of the mountain on the horizon is where UtahÕs famed measured mile-site of world land-speed record runs where Gary Gabelich set the new record of 622.407 miles per hour with a rocket engine. Occasionally when the flat gets flooded with rain, the heaven meets the earth on this 30,000-acre land.
2nd Place Environment/Nature: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press– Horses in a field along in Newport News bear temperatures Wednesday morning cold enough to make their breath visible. Temps are expected to drop through out the week.
3rd Place Environment/Nature: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press–A large group of deer graze as a steady snow comes down on a field near Endview Plantation in Newport News. Deer populations near Newport News Park and the plantation have exploded because no hunting is allowed and a lack of natural predators.
HM Environment/Nature: Erica Yoon, Roanoke Times–The claws of a turkey stick out from Steve DavenportÕs sack after he shot it during a hunt on April 5, 2015. The 10th annual Gunnin’ for Gobblers event, sponsored by the Bedford Outdoor Sportsman Association, sent 44 hunters into the fields across Bedford County. GunninÕ for Gobblers is held each year during spring turkey season to give physically disabled hunters the opportunity to spend a morning looking through a scope with the assistance of BOSA members. Davenport served as a guide.
HM Environment/Nature: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press–Lightning flashes over the James River as severe thunderstorms move through Hampton Roads Tuesday evening.
1st PLACE FEATURE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post–Paul and Sapphire at the home of the young father’s best friend. “I’m gonna be the best daddy for this girl,” he wrote on his Facebook page shortly after she was born. Only in the next months did he begin to understand what that would require.
2nd PLACE FEATURE: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press–Dolton McCurry in his Leonardo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hoodie plays in the snow in front of his home on in Newport News. This is the second unusually large snowstorm to hit the area this winter.
3rd PLACE FEATURE: Matt McClain, Washington Post–A young boy does a flip into a pit that was being used for garbage at a tent encampment for people displaced by the earthquake on Tuesday May 05, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
HM FEATURE: The’ Pham, Virginian Pilot–Todd Rosenlieb reacts as his dancers Emma Raker, back, Courtney Coirin, center, and Janelle Spruill, right, going through the routines during the rehearsal of To Be Frank segment for the 10th Anniversary at Todd Rosenlieb Dance in Norfolk, Va., on Nov. 4, 2015. The dancers are preparing for the upcoming Nov. 13 and 14 show that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Todd Rosenlieb’s professional dance company, the only professional dance company in the areas in Norfolk, Va. “Humor in Dance is the signature in my work,” says Rosenlieb.
HM FEATURE: Bill Tiernan, Virginian Pilot–Norwood Thomas ,93, of Virginia Beach as he Skypes with Joyce Morris at her home in Australia Friday evening, November 6, 2015. During WWII she lived in England and was Joyce Durrant, the girlfriend of Thomas, a D-Day paratrooper with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. They lost contact after the war but reconnected in 2015. Thomas flew to Australia in February 2016 to visit Joyce, seeing her for the first time in 70 years.
HM FEATURE: Autumn Parry, News & Advance–Erin Alburger, 11, participates in a staring exercise as the students learn how to become clowns during Randolph’s WildCat Theatre Conservatory at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va.
1st PLACE PORTRAIT: P. Kevin Morley, Times-Dispatch—A month after having a 2.5-lb. tumor removed, 6-year-old Jack Morley goes through chemotherapy at the Massey Cancer Center at VCU. His mid-December operation happened five days after the diagnosis of a Wilms tumor. The tumor is a kidney cancer that occurs more frequently in children. Jack lost one of his kidneys. Jack said that the chemotherapy is the worst part about cancer treatment. “I don’t like chemo. It’s just pretty much every time I go get this medicine that makes me feel nauseated and constipated,” Jack said.
2nd PLACE PORTRAIT: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Gordon Corley, 57, sits outside his wife’s biker apparel shop in Maplesville, AL. Corley explained the meaning to him of each of the three flags that flew behind him. “The American flag, that’s our country, that’s our heritage. It doesn’t matter what color our skin is. We all come from America…Don’t tread on me, that’s the Marine Corps…Far as the rebel flag, that’s just the south. That’s just the heritage of the south.”
3rd PLACE PORTRAIT: Daniel Min, Times-Dispatch—Muslims pray as they celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
HM PORTRAIT: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Cain Mariscal is a former gang-banger who now works as a homeless outreach worker, on October 5, 2015, in San Diego, CA.
HM PORTRAIT: Jay Diem, Delmarva Now—Irving Jarvis, a World War II U.S. Army veteran, will turn 90 on Saturday, July 4, 2015. Jarvis plans to celebrate with family and friends at his home in Eastville, Va.
1st PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—James Madison University r-senior Deane Cheatham (37) looses his helmet as he gets taken down by the Lehigh defense during their game at JMU’s Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, September 12, 2015.
2nd PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Doug Graham, Loudon Now—Racing action at the Luray Caverns CX race held on the grounds of Luray Caverns in Virginia on September 12, 2015.
3rd PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Youngsters hoop on a portable basketball goal brought through their West Baltimore neighborhood by the city’s parks and recreation division on November 17, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland. The goals are regularly rotated around the city in an effort to divert kids from the negatives of the streets.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Alexa Welch Edlund, Times-Dispatch—Kickers’ William Yomby and N.Y. Red Bulls II’s Shawn McLaws head the ball during their game Saturday, May 30, 2015.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Dean Hoffmeyer Times-Dispatch—Keitaro Sawada of Japan rides west on Broad St. during the UCI Men’s Junior Individual Time Trials on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015 in downtown Richmond, VaRichmond, Va.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Norfolk’s DeAndre Sangster manages to hold onto this first quarter pass for a first down as he is hit by Hampton’s Chaka Diarrassouba Saturday September 26, 2015 in Norfolk.
1st PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Hampton University coach Connell Maynor argues a call during the third quarter against Norfolk State September 26, 2015 in Norfolk.
2nd PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Doug Graham, Loudon Now—Artist paints bicycle racers as they zoom past at the Air Force Association Cycling ClassicÕs Clarendon Cup. The pro race is part of USA Cycling’s National Criterium Calendar, and has been the Washington DC region’s premier Pro/Am race since 1998. The Clarendon Cup is known as one of the most difficult criterium races in the USA, due to technical demands of the course and the quality of the participants.
3rd PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—From left, Warhill’s Jewel Walters, Nicole Mulligan, Alexis Pollard and Chloe Wilmoth celebrate after defeating Hidden Valley during Saturday’s 3A state championship volleyball game at VCU’s Siegel Center on November 21, 2015.
HN SPORTS FEATURE: The’ Pham Virginian-Pilot—At the 10:33 mark in the second period, Norfolk Admirals’ Gabriel Verpaelst (27) and Reading Royals’ Derek Mathers started the fight during their game at the Scope in Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. From that moment on, more players get involved.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—Hofstra junior Caryn Bailey gets welcomed to home base by the rest of her team after she hit a home run during their CAA Championship game against James Madison University on Thursday, May 7.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Matt McClain, Washington Post—Adriano DeSorrento makes some practice pitches in between Potomac Wiffleball League games at Gravelly Point Park on Sunday June 07, 2015 in Arlington, VA.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—Chris Wharton stretches before participating in the Drag Race on Queens Way during Saturday’s Hampton Block Party. Four teams representing different charities ran down Queens Way in heats.
1st PLACE PICTORIAL: Heather Rousseau, Roanoke Times—A flag is burned along with other retired flags during the William Byrd High School annual flag retirement ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The ceremony took place on the stadium field and people were welcome to bring flags for the JROTC to properly retire.
2nd PLACE PICTORIAL: Nikki Fox, Daily News Record—A bee flies in a field of sunflowers in Dayton, Va., Sept. 9, 2015.
3rd PLACE PICTORIAL: Bill Tiernan, Virginian-Pilot—A crow flies thru the fog shrouded Forest Lawn Cemetery Sunday morning, February 22, 2015. Last week’s snow began to melt as temperatures rose to the low 50’s Sunday afternoon.
HM PICTORIAL: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—Demetri Masincup, 8, son of Shawnn Masincup, sits on the top of their car while visiting the Christmas light show at 6994 Tiltyard Drive in Dayton on Wednesday, December 16. The 35-minute long show had lights choreographed with music that played on the radio.
HM PICTORIAL: Todd Spencer, Virginian-PilotBlack and white image of a clear sky as the sun sets, lighting the moon and a jet making its way over Norfolk, Virginia.
HM PICTORIAL: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Dancers practice their moves during a Bachata Sensual dance workshop at The Salsa Room on January 10, 2015, in Arlington, VA.
HM PICTORIAL: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Ledell Tenner, 59, on ladder, and Frank Murry, 54, both electricians with the city of Selma, change lights and their fixtures at the foot of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday civil rights march, on March 3, 2015, in Selma, AL.
1st PLACE SPOT NEWS: Heather Rousseau, Roanoke Times—Ashley Hill, 24, of Roanoke and John Joplin, 74, of Rocky Mount, make calls from their cars while waiting to be rescued from a Roanoke Fire-EMS swift water rescue team on Tuesday Sept. 29 on Bennington Street SE. Police and rescue personnel set up traffic barriers on hundreds of flooded or dangerous roads in Southwest Virginia on Tuesday, but that did not stop many people from going around them. “It was my own stupid fault,Ó said Joplin who thought he could make it to the convenience store, so he weaved around the orange traffic barricades.
2nd PLACE SPOT NEWS: Bob Martin, Freelance—The Fredericksburg (Va.) Police Department’s Special Equipment Tactical Team (SETT) approach a room at the Relax Inn in Fredericksburg, Va. to end a five-hour standoff. A 53-year-old man was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital for a mental evaluation. (April 2, 2015)
3rd PLACE SPOT NEWS: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—Ryan West, center, paddles a boat with other children through rising flood water in Poquoson Saturday afternoon October 3, 2015.
HM SPOT NEWS: Matt McClain, Washington Post—Earthquake survivor, Pemba Tamang, 15, is carried away after Fairfax County emergency personnel working with USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team assisted in the effort to save Tamang from the rubble on Thursday April 30, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A deadly earthquake in Nepal has killed thousands. Tamang was buried in the rubble for several days.
1st PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Newport News inmate Gregory Washington talks on the phone at the jail annex as he prepares for a GED graduation ceremony. Three inmates participated in the ceremony inside the jail.
2nd PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Hyunsoo Leo Kim, Virginian Pilot—“It’s great to have her home.” Even before the giant white ship with a big red cross on each side pulled into view, Lt. Col. Greg Hoffman stood out front on the rainy pier under an umbrella, wearing an elegant suit and holding a bouquet of pink flowers. He’s a Marine with 26 years of service. His wife, Lt. Cmdr. Beth Hoffman, is a Navy nurse at Portsmouth Navy Medical Center and was selected for commander on this deployment. In the decade since they got married, they’ve both deployed so many times – including several combat tours – that they’ve been apart as much as they’ve been together, Hoffman said. “This one was tough,” he said. Communications were difficult. Compared to the Navy’s warships and aircraft carriers, the Comfort’s communications are less sophisticated. There are no phones or video chatting. It doesn’t get easier, said the seasoned combat officer, his eyes welling with tears.
3rd PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Daniel Min, Times-Dispatch—Shaqwanna Boisseau, facing, comforts her cousin, Kalesha Jones, 11, best friend of Amiya Moses, during a vigil. Amiya, the 12-year-old, was killed at her friend’s apartment.
HM GENERAL NEWS: Todd Spencer, Pilot—LTJG William K. Reade exits the The Los Angeles-class attack submarine Boise after it returned to the Naval Station Norfolk from a seven-month deployment.
HN GENERAL NEWS: Daniel Lin, Daily News-Record—Bryan Kiracofe, of Briery Branch, casts his vote on election day with some help from his daughter Chloe, 6, at the Ottobine Elementary School voting location.
HM GENERAL NEWS: Bill Tiernan, Virginian-Pilot—Friends and family gathered at Camelot Park, a small neighborhood park in Chesapeake to remember their friend Stratton Mitchell,20, who was shot and killed early Saturday morning in the 2500 block of Atlantic Ave. at the oceanfront.
1st PLACE LIFESTYLE: Matt McClain, Washington Post—A man gathers up his belongings next to a photograph promoting a new luxury restaurant along 15th St. NW on Monday February 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.
2nd PLACE LIFESTYLE: Todd Spencer, Virginian-Pilot—Eleven-year-old Michaeyla Nadeau, who has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, reaches up from her wheelchair as simulated snow falls from the roof of the Children’s Museum of Virginia during the Snow Wonders event outside the museum in Portsmouth, Virginia.
3rd PLACE LIFESTYLE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—John Johnson, 73, prepares to rest in his rented home of the Minnie B. Anderson Homes neighborhood, a dilapidated housing complex adjacent to the former Craig Air Force Base in Selma, AL. These units, mostly vacant and ransacked, were residences for Craig AFB personnel but were converted to low-income housing after the base closed in 1977. President Barack landed at the base next to the complex and drove past en route to deliver remarks in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
HM LIFESTYLE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—As temperatures plunged to feel like almost zero degrees, a homeless man who wishes not to be named prepares his bed for the night outside a busy Union Station, on January 8, 2015, in Washington, DC. As the first serious cold for 2015 hit the district, the city activated its Cold Emergency Plan to protect homeless and at-risk residents who wished to accept the offer of warm shelter.
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