2021 NYPPA Best in Show, Photographer of the Year & Sports Photographer of the Year are…

Press release from the New York Press Photographers Association

NEW YORK–The New York Press Photographers Association dates back to 1913. On April 17, 1915 a group of 58 News Photographers of the various news organizations in New York gathered at the Castle Cave Restaurant at 271 7th Ave., near 26th St and formed a fraternal organization where news photographers could meet on social occasions and exchange ideas and get to know one another better, instead of always meeting on the run at fires and breaking news stories. New York is still the media capital of the world and the New York Press Photographers Association is the oldest press organization in the world, still existing to serve working photographers as a professional and social organization. The Association members work for news organizations in the print and electronic media based within a seventy-five-mile radius of Manhattan. The organization is made up of over 285 active members.

The judges awarded a “Best in Show” selected from the First-Place winners in each category. The judges considered quality in selecting a winner understanding from all the first-place winning images.

This year the NYPPA is proud to announce that the winner of the 2021 NYPPA/Fujifilm North America Corp-Best in Show to Al Bello of Getty Images. His image was according to William Perlman, NYPPA Contest Committee co-chair from what the judges said is that this image stood above the rest as the best image in the year of the Pandemic. It captures everything of what the world has been going though in 2020

Olivia Grant (R) hugs her grandmother, Mary Grace Sileo through a plastic drop cloth hung up on a homemade clothes line during Memorial Day Weekend on May 24, 2020 in Wantagh, New York.  It is the first time they have had contact of any kind since the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic lockdown started in late February.
Olivia Grant (R) hugs her grandmother, Mary Grace Sileo through a plastic drop cloth hung up on a homemade clothes line during Memorial Day Weekend on May 24, 2020 in Wantagh, New York. It is the first time they have had contact of any kind since the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic lockdown started in late February. Al Bello/Getty Images

The Portfolio entries consisted of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 of an entrant’s submissions. One to three picture stories will be included. The judges will consider versatility, but mainly content and quality in selecting a winner understanding that many of the entrants may be “specialists” in various fields of photojournalism. 

This year the NYPPA is proud to announce that the winner of the 2021 NYPPA/Canon Photographer of the Year is David Goldman of the Associated Press. His portfolio consisted according to William Perlman, NYPPA Contest Committee co-chair from what the judges said during the judging a variety of images and picture stories that showed the diversity of the photographers’ abilities. The stories were told much better than the other photographers in the storytelling, the photographers single images showed the variety of what he can photograph.

DAVID GOLDMAN - 2020 PORTFOLIO

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A protester stands off with police in riot gear outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, late Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Protesters converged on the county courthouse during a second night of clashes after the police shooting of Jacob Blake a day earlier turned Kenosha into the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest.

The Sports Portfolio has been renamed in honor of the late Anthony J. Causi, NYPPA member and long-time sports photographer for The New York Post, who passed away in April after battling the coronavirus. 

Sports Portfolio entries consisted of a maximum of 15 images that are enter in the categories. The entries shall consist of at least 7 images from a sports action category, 4 from a sports feature category and 3 from a sports portrait-type of image. 

The judges considered versatility, but mainly content and quality in selecting a winner understanding that many of the entrants may be “specialists” in various fields of photojournalism. 

This year the NYPPA is proud to announce that the winner of the 2021 NYPPA/Canon Anthony J. Causi Sports Photographer of the Year is Michael Stobe of Getty Images. His portfolio consisted according to William Perlman, NYPPA Contest Committee co-chair from what the judges said during the judging a variety of images that showed the diversity of the photographers’ abilities.

MICHAEL STOBE - 2020 SPORTS PORTFOLIO

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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 06: Brock Nelson #29 of the New York Islanders faces-off against Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 06, 2020 in Uniondale City. New York Islanders defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1.

This year’s judging was done by:

Ozier Muhammad recently retired from The New York Times after a 40-year career that included staff photographer positions at Newsday and Charlotte Observer. Ozier has covered Africa since 1974. First for Ebony, going to Dar Es Salaam for the Sixth Pan African Congress, and in 1977 to Lagos Nigeria for the 2nd World Festival of African Arts and Crafts, FESTAC. Ozier went to New Orleans immediately after the hurricane Katrina evacuation effort began. More recently, Ozier spent several months traveling with then U.S. Senator Barack Obama during his presidential campaign and the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. 

Marguerite Schropp Lucarelli has spent her entire career at Sports Illustrated magazine, working on the publications Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Kids, and Sports Illustrated on Campus.
Currently she’s the picture editor for Sports Illustrated, where she focuses on the photography coverage of the NBA and NCAA basketball, and the director of photography for Sports Illustrated Kids and Sports Illustrated on Campus. She focuses on all portraits for both publications and oversees the game action assigned. Currently she’s the picture editor for Sports Illustrated, where she focuses on the photography coverage of the NBA and NCAA basketball, and the director of photography for Sports Illustrated Kids and Sports Illustrated on Campus. She focuses on all portraits for both publications and oversees the game action assigned.

Alex Horvath is an award-winning photographer and photo editor. Currently a staff photographer at The Bakersfield Californian since 2019. Prior to that he was Deputy Photography Editor at Newsday, working with a team of six deputy picture editors covering local, business, sports, nation and world news. Previously he was the Director of Photography at the Californian for over 13 years. He was also a night picture editor for the Buffalo News running the night picture desk, responsible for daily photo report. Worked with designers on presentation and supervised photo staff of twelve. Alex also was a photographer/picture editor for the Mansfield News Journal.

The judging was done during a two-day event and was part of the overall 86th Annual Photography & Multimedia Contest which consisted of over 1945 images with 162 awards given out. Was judged on March 19-20 over a Zoom teleconference.