2025 Year in Pictures Gallery

Results of the 91st Annual Photography and Multimedia Contest, judged in 2026. The judging took place on March 6 & 7, 2026. Congratulations to all the winners.

Phillipsburg students wave their cell phone lights in the background as Anthony Ashford and Warren Hills’ Tyler Redfield (white) wrestle at 138 pounds on Jan. 27, 2025.
2025 NJSIAA wrestling states
Double Overtime Jubilation - SOMERSET, NJ USA, November 23, 2025 - Chatam’s Sophie D’Egidio (10 center) is pinned by teammates against the goal’s net as they celebrate Alex Donoghue’s (24 left) game-winning double overtime goal to beat Shawnee 3-2 during the NJISAA Girls Soccer Group 3 state final.
Voorhees’ Emma DeMarco, right, reacts as she embraces Kate Johnson after scoring a goal against Delaware Valley on Oct. 7, 2025, during the second round of the H/W/S girls soccer tournament.
AUGUSTA, NJ, USA - AUGUST 3, 2025 - A heavy loder pauses, taking a wrecked car out of the arena as an elderly man drives by on his scooter. The first night of the 2025 Demolition Derby during the NJ State Fair held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. The Derby is the biggest event at the fair and families pass the spectacle down through generations, and a win earns drivers a year’s worth of bragging rights.
Worcester Public School students reach in for autographs from Holy Cross Crusaders women’s basketball forward Simone Lewis following the conclusion of the team’s annual Field Trip Game against the University of Vermont Catamounts on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025 at the Hart Center in Worcester, MA.
Parkland coach Kurt Weber reacts as he gets the water bucket dumped on him after winning the District 11 Class 6A baseball final on May 29, 2025.
AUGUSTA, NJ USA - AUGUST 3, In the pit area, Paul Kimbel, left, and Logan Benner, of Sussex, NJ, pause to talk to friends and look at a girl as they work on there car to install the gas can behind their seat to protect it during a collison. The New Jersey State Fair’s Demolition Derby is the biggest event at the fair in rural Sussex County. Families pass the spectacle down through generations, and a win earns drivers a year’s worth of bragging rights.
Easton’s Nick Salamone leaps into the stands, where his teammates are, to celebrate beating Cedar Cliff’s Kavin Muyleart at 121 pounds during the PIAA 3A finals on March 8, 2025.
NJSIAA SOFTBALL SECTIONAL FINAL
2025 NJSIAA wrestling states
67403 - Entry for Category 12 SPLIFE

Photography winners

Spot News “William V. Finn Memorial” Award

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander appeared at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on June 17 to observe immigration hearings as ICE agents began arresting immigrants during their court appearances. The politician walked with an immigrant whom federal agents moved to seize, while also assaulting and handcuffing Lander. This marked the first time an elected official was arrested by ICE.
  • 1st Place: Dean Moses- amNewYork- Lander on Ice
  • 2nd Place: Porter Binks – Independent – Bridge Collision
  • 3rd Place: Lloyd Mitchell – Independent- Hand’s Up
  • HM: Dean Moses- amNewYork- Attack on the Press
  • HM: Barry Williams- New York Daily News – Workers Look at a MTA Bus Over a Precipice
  • EA: Bruce Cotler- Independent- Backpacking II
  • EA: Steven Pfost- Newsday- Hurricane Erin
  • EA: Ben Fractenberg- The City- Prayer
  • EA: Lloyd Mitchell – Independent- Cuomo’s Time
  • EA: Howard Schnapp- Newsday- Fatal Crash

General News

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National / International News

Gaza hostage Ziv Berman celebrates from a helicopter as he arrives at Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer on October 13, 2025 in Ramat Gan, Israel. The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has brought an end to the two years of war that followed the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. A condition of the deal was the immediate return of 48 hostages held in Gaza, around 20 of whom were believed to be alive.
  • 1st Place: Alexi Rosenfield- Independent- Finally Home
  • 2nd Place: Sam Simmonds- Polaris – Rev. Al Sharpton Counters Trump Inauguration in D.C.
  • 3rd Place: Michael Brochstein-Independent-Senate Nomination Hearing for Pete Hegseth
  • HM: Adam Gray- Independent – Broadview Arrest
  • HM: Bianca Otero- Zuma Press Independent – Emmanuel Macron Takes a selfie with Attendee during UN Conference in France
  • EA: Lloyd Mitchell- Independent- Mass Deportation
  • EA: Bianca Otero- Zuma Press Independent – Indigenous Man Stands at Security Fence Outside COP30 Venue
  • EA: Bianca Otero- Zuma Press Independent – Baltic Flags Prepared Ahead of UN Secretary General Meeting
  • EA: Bianca Otero- Zuma Press Independent – BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s Annotated Remarks at UNGA80
  • EA: Adam Gray- Independent – Musk Chainsaw

News Picture Story

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Feature

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Feature Picture Story

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Pictorial

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Portrait

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Animal

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Sports Action

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Sports Feature

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Sports Life and Recreational Sports

Phillipsburg students wave their cell phone lights in the background as Anthony Ashford and Warren Hills’ Tyler Redfield (white) wrestle at 138 pounds on Jan. 27, 2025.
  • 1st Place: Saed Hindash- NJ Advance Media/lehighvalleylive.com – Winning Wave
  • 2nd Place: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Double Overtime Jubilation
  • 3rd Place: Saed Hindash- NJ Advance Media/lehighvalleylive.com – Full Swing Celebration
  • HM: Andrew Mills- NJ Advance Media- A Kiss from Mom
  • HM: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Right of Way
  • EA: Sofia Sawchuk- Newsday- Independent- For the Kids, For the Community
  • EA: Saed Hindash- NJ Advance Media/lehighvalleylive.com – Winning Wave
  • EA: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Mechanic Break
  • EA: Saed Hindash- NJ Advance Media/lehighvalleylive.com – On Top of the World
  • EA: Andrew Mills- NJ Advance Media- Girls Softball State Champs
  • EA: Andrew Mills- NJ Advance Media- High School Wrestling State Champion
  • EA: James Escher- Newsday-Independent- Basketball Celebration

Sports Picture Story

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Face of New York

New York, New York, USA- September 14, 2025- A young man young lost in his thoughts at a busy corner in Little Italy during the San Gennaro Festival.
  • 1st Place: Syndi Pilar- Independent- Italy
  • 2nd Place: Bruce Cotler- Independent- Wolfie
  • 3rd Place: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Pizza Riot
  • HM: Gary Hershorn- Independent – A Kiss for the Skyline
  • HM: Adam Gray – Independent – Window on Macys Thanksgiving Parade
  • EA: Hiroko Masuike – The New York Times- Newlyweds, New York Style
  • EA: Alejandra Villa Loarca- Newsday – The FDNY Remembers
  • EA: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Coney Big Surf
  • EA: Sofia Sawchuk – Newsday Independent -Larry the Birdman’s NY
  • EA: John Nacion – John Nacion Imaging LLC – 847893629
  • EA: Syndi Pilar- Independent- Life Guard Jump, Coney Island
  • EA: Syndi Pilar- Independent- Heart of Coney Island

Political Unrest

A Columbia alumni is detained by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers outside Columbia University’s graduation ceremony, in New York City, May 21 2025.
  • 1st Place: Adam Gray- Independent- Columbia Graduation Arrest
  • 2nd Place: Lloyd Mitchell – Independent – What you going to do
  • 3rd Place: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Knocked Out
  • HM: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- Cop Down
  • HM: Dean Moses- am NewYork- At Arms Length
  • EA: Dean Moses- am NewYork- Carried Away
  • EA: Adam Gray- Independent- No Kings
  • EA: Alejandra Villa Loarca- Newsday – No Kings Day
  • EA: Lloyd Mitchell – Independent – Everything I’ve Known
  • EA: Dean Moses- am NewYork- Preventive Mesure
  • EA: Dean Moses- am NewYork- Polkadot Dress Lady
  • EA: Aristide Economopoulos -Independent- DHS Push

2026 Still Photography Contest Judges

Kathy M Helgeson is a freelance photojournalist based on Long Island. Before moving to New York, she spent 14 years in higher education as the lead visual storyteller at Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

Earlier in her career, she worked for 16 years as a staff photojournalist at The Tampa Tribune, The Augusta Chronicle, and The Winter Haven News Chief. She has also freelanced for Newsday, the Minnesota Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Minnesota Public Radio.

Outside of journalism, Helgeson enjoys pottery, music, and spending time with her husband, their two sons, and their dog, Zelda.

Corinne Perkins is the North America Editor for ReutersPictures, where she leads visual news coverage across the United States and Canada. Based in New York, she oversees teams of photographers and editors producing award-winning photojournalism on major global and regional stories.

Perkins joined Reuters in 2000 as a freelance editorial assistant during the Sydney Olympic Games and became a full-time member of the organization in 2005 as editor-in-charge of the Singapore global pictures desk. She later served as online visuals editor in Toronto before moving to New York to lead Reuters’ North American photography coverage.

Originally from Mount Isa, Australia, Perkins has spent more than two decades working in international visual journalism and helping shape the way Reuters presents photography across digital and social platforms.

Sandra M. Stevenson is an award-winning writer, visual editor, and curator who recently joined Education Week as Managing Editor of Visual and Immersive Experiences.

Before joining Education Week, Stevenson served as Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post, where she managed a team of picture editors covering International, Climate, and Health + Science. Previously, she was Associate Deputy Director of Photography at CNN, overseeing picture editors responsible for curating the home screen, editing stories and newsletters, and producing special projects.

Earlier in her career, Stevenson worked as an Assistant Editor at The New York Times, where she supervised digital photo editors on the news desk and contributed visual content to Race/Related and Gender. She also helped produce major editorial projects including Overlooked and This Is 18.

Stevenson earned a B.A. in English from Syracuse University and continued her studies in audio and visual media at Université Toulouse in Toulouse, France.