(Photo taken by Trevor Ruben)
On Saturday, February 26, at about noon, I arrived at the National Geographic building in Washington, D.C for the WHNPA judging. I was very excited albeit a bit rushed because I had to go to work at 2. Upon entering the building, I was immediately captivated by the hanging arrangement of framed photos in the lobby. There was really some excellent photography on display, so I could only imagine the caliber of imagery I would see in the competition. Also, having looked at previous winners in different categories of the competition, I knew I was in store for a treat.
The (unfortunately) only judging I got to sit in on, given my time constraint, was sports action photography. This category was very compelling to say the least. Many of the photos were of sports games, capturing the players in mid-motion or in a position you wouldn’t ordinarily catch in regular, full-speed motion. There were many pictures which were quickly whittled down to 14 by judges William Snyder, Chick Harrity, and Alexandra Avakian. I noticed that none of the judges elected to keep most of the pictures that seemed “ordinary,” such as a picture of men playing soccer or two players on a baseball field. Even these “ordinary” pictures were beautiful, but I noticed the judges were looking for something a little less commonplace in the sports world. Among the different sports, the judges also seemed to only keep the most compelling of each sport, i.e. they didn’t keep two tennis or two football pictures. I also noticed that many of the pictures the judges really liked had lots of sharp angles and contours.
The first photo that flashed by that garnered immediate judge and audience reaction was of a dog jumping a hurdle. The dog was mid-air, eyes wide, mouth open and tongue hanging out. Everyone giggled at this picture and it ended up being in the top 7. This was one of my favorites, partly because in a category like sports action, you wouldn’t expect to see a dog, especially one with so much personality vividly apparent in its facial expression. Facial expressions, I noticed, also counted for a lot. There was a close-up shot of a woman tennis player which also ended up in the top 7, and it clearly displayed the strength and vigor that goes into each swing during a tennis game. Her face was intense, crunched up, and sweaty. It was “perfect timing,” according to Avakian. Another judge (one of the men) said it was great because it even captured her earring in mid-swing. The picture was very sharp, concise, and detailed. It really caught a split second moment wonderfully.
After the judges made their cuts, which happened very quickly, the 7 final photos were placed in order according to how much the judges liked them. The second place photo was of children in South Africa playing soccer along the backdrop of a beautiful sunset. The judges really liked the composition and overall aesthetic appeal of this photo. Photos in third to seventh place included a football touchdown picture, the tennis close-up shot, a baseball picture, the dog running, and a photo of an athlete competing in the luge.
The picture that the judges unanimously decided to keep as number one was Kenneth Kelly “braining” a barracuda. The photo was underwater, and Kelly was shoving a spear into the barracuda’s head, and the water was red with its blood. “You don’t see that very often,” said one judge, which I think was its ultimate deciding factor. It is very unusual to see something like that take place in a photo, and to be so ugly and beautiful at the same time was pretty cool.
Overall, I had a great experience at the WHNPA competition, and wish I was able to attend more of the judging. Many very talented people contributed towards making the competition a fierce and visually amazing one. I was surprised to see how tenured eyes can quickly pull apart a photo and deem if it is worthy of staying in the competition. It was interesting to see what aspects of a photo the judges really found value in, and piqued my personal curiosity and interest in photography.
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