Top photojournalists recognized at largest competition in Canada

VANCOUVER, April 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Great photos tell stories. They transcend language and cultural barriers and speak to basic human nature.  A great photo is a snapshot of time that can reveal the world's most profound tales of heartbreak, joy and reality with one single image.

Today, the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC) is pleased to recognize the excellence represented in submissions by 135 of Canada's outstanding photojournalists in announcing the finalists in the thirteenth annual National Pictures of the Year (NPOY) awards competition.

Over 2,000 photographs along with 22 multimedia productions from across Canada were entered in this year's competition, representing a spectacular body of work.

The nominated photographs can be viewed online at www.npac.ca and as a featured exhibition during the Capture Photography Festival held at the Pendulum Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia from March 23 – May 15, 2020.

"As the world is gripped in crisis, we see now more than ever just how important photojournalism is to the proper dissemination of information and to the documentation of history. We also recognize the risks that photographers sometimes undertake to make sure they are captioning the times," said Crystal Schick, NPAC president. "NPAC is very proud to have such a vast number of talented and dedicated photographers in its membership who go above and beyond to do their jobs. Huge congratulations to all this year's nominees and winners." 

The News Photographers Association of Canada's 2019 National Pictures of the Year winners are:

SPOT NEWS - Sponsored by The Camera Store
1. Cole Burston/Getty Images – Destroyed Police Cruiser
2. Ivanoh Demers/Independent – Flood
3. Ben Nelms/CBC – Police Take Down Suspect

GENERAL NEWS - Sponsored by Cision
1. Eric Demers/Polaris – Greta Thunberg
2. Jimmy Jeong/Independent – Father Visits Son's Memorial
3. Larry Wong/Postmedia – Wildfire Destruction

FEATURE - Sponsored by Winnipeg Free Press
1. Justin Tang/Independent – National Military Cemetery
2. Leah Hennel/Independent -- Young Hutterite Girls
3. Darryl Dyck/Independent – Pool Silhouette

PORTRAIT – Sponsored by Beau Photo
1. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail – Margaret Atwood
2. Marie-France Coallier/Le Devoir – Bleu Jeans Bleu
3. Kevin Light/Independent – Christian Kluxen
HM. Cole Burston/Independent – Gordon Lightfoot

PERSONALITY – Sponsored by Panasonic
1. Maggie MacPherson/CBC – Red Robinson
2. Darren Calabrese/Independent – Ballet Dancer
3. Cole Burston/Independent  - Rapper Slim Deniro

PHOTO AND ARTICLE – Sponsored by Leica
1. Jesse Winter/Torstar – Tent City
2. Evan Buhler/ The Rocky Mountain Outlook – Adam Campbell's Story
3. Jenna Hauck/The Chilliwack Progress – Making Medieval Armour

SPORTS ACTION - Sponsored by Nikon Canada
1. Mark Blinch/Independent – Raptor's Buzzer Beater
2. Carlos Osorio/CBC – Pan Am Games Freestyle Wrestling
3. Darryl Dyck/Independent – Soccer Header

SPORTS FEATURE - Sponsored by Sony Canada
1. Leah Hennel/Independent – Sledge Hockey Practice
2. Cole Burston/Getty Images – Blue Jay's Team Photo
3. Mark Blinch/Independent – Maple Leafs Shadow Fans
HM. Leah Hennel/Independent – Gatorade Dump

SINGLE MULTIMEDIA - Sponsored by Vistek
1. Mikaela MacKenzie, Winnipeg Free Press - Sugar Beet Farming in North Dakota
2. Matt Smith/Saskatoon Star Phoenix - 'It's a Good Disease': Marymount Man's Love for Music Yields Far-Reaching Record Collection
3. Melissa Tait, The Globe and Mail - A Year After 'Sound On,' Baby Francesca's Singing is Music to Her Mother's Ears
HM. Mikaela MacKenzie, Winnipeg Free Press – Homegrown Hate

TEAM MULTIMEDIA - Sponsored by Thomson Reuters
1. The Tailor Project
Tyler Anderson / Director of Photography
Johan Hallberg-Campbell / Videographer
Alex Cassels / Videographer
Anne-Marie Jackson / Editor

2. Bronco Unbroken: From Tragedy to Tenacity, The Straz Strong Journey – Calgary Herald / Postmedia
Videographers: Leah Hennel and Kerianne Sproule
Editor:  Leah Hennel

3. The Husband and Wife with Thousands of Tumors
Videographer: Ryan Jackson / Independent / Full Circle Visuals
Production Assistant: Bryn Lipinski / Independent / Full Circle Visuals
Producer:  Danny Baggott / Barcroft TV
Producer:  Ruby Coote / Barcroft TV
Editor: Beth Angus / Barcroft TV

HM. Black hole discovery: How Scientists Imaged an Event Horizon – The Globe and Mail
Reporter - Ivan Semeniuk
Location videographer and sound - Patrick Dell
Studio videographer - Deborah Baic
Editor - Patrick Dell

PICTURE STORY - FEATURE - Sponsored by Canon Canada
1. Chris Donovan/Independent -- The Sacrafice Zone
2. Kevin Light/Independent – Long Distance Swimmer
3. Darren Calabrese/Independent – Mothering Without Limits

PICTURE STORY - NEWS - Sponsored by Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
1. Darren Calabrese/Independent – Troubled Waters
2. Melissa Renwick/Independent -- Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program
3. Chris Donovan/Independent – Small Town vs. Nestle

SOCIAL ISSUES - Sponsored by FujiFilm
1. Ian Willms/Independent – Cholangiocarcinoma
2. Chris Donovan/Independent - Living Near an Oil Refinery
3. Darren Calabrese/Independent – Mushuau Inno Community

PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by The Canadian Press
Ben Nelms/CBC - Winner
Darren Calabrese/Independent – Finalist
Leah Hennel/Independent- Finalist

PICTURE OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by Sony
Mark Blinch / Independent  - Raptor's Buzzer Beater

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by Loyalist College
Alex Filipe, Loyalist College

About NPAC:

NPAC celebrates and champions quality and ethical photography in journalism. Through a variety of efforts, the association challenges its members to better themselves and to continually raise the bar of industry standards.

This national organization includes over 300 professional visual journalists, freelancers, photo editors and photojournalism students from across Canada.

SOURCE News Photographers Association of Canada

Laura Ballance, 604-637-6646 (direct), 604-771-5176 (cell), [email protected]