Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Alexander Stawinski Jacob uses a light board to identify letters of the alphabet, placing them in the correct location as his aide Mary Kooiker of Mount Pleasant instructs him during school at Mount Pleasant High School. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Jessica Scott Sisters Meghan McGowan, left, and Erin McGowan enjoy a moment together while covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream during the human sundaes event at Camp Quality Michigan in Fenton, Michigan. The sisters were volunteers at a camp that offered children who have or have been affected by cancer. [Click to enlarge]

Three Central Michigan University photojournalism students placed as a "College Photographer of the Year" in the annual Michigan Press Photographers Association conference earlier this month.

Rochester senior Alex Stawinski, Grand Haven senior Jessica Scott and Howell senior Holly Parker were named second, third and honorable mention in the high-ranking category.

The judges critiqued each student's portfolio - consisting of single photographs and a photo story - in front of a crowd of about 40 professionals on March 1. Eighteen student portfolios were showcased from Michigan colleges and universities.

"We swept the whole college photographer category," said Scott, Central Michigan Life's photo editor. "Someone from Michigan State took first place, but we took second, third and the honorable mention."

Stawinski, a senior photographer at CM Life, also had placed honorable mention with a feature photo story "The Power of Touch." In the story, he followed deaf-blind child Jacob Hartshorne, who has CHARGE syndrome, and his interaction with the world around him.

"The awards were a great cap on the year that I was able to grow a lot, and move forward in making storytelling documentary pictures," Stawinski said. "It just makes me want to continue to push my storytelling on a daily basis."

This was Scott's first year entering the competition.

"It was pretty exciting," she said. "It completely took me by surprise. I haven't been doing this for very long. I never go into something like that expecting to win."

Photojournalism professor Kent Miller said every year there are hundreds of photos in each category and three judges have to agree on which photos are the best.

"With all the pictures they have to sift through, it is an honor to anyone who wins an award," Miller said. "It's probably the most awards we've won in a year, at least as far back as I can remember. They all worked very hard and they should be very successful in their future."

Other winners included Suttons Bay senior Dan Stewart, third place winner in the editorial illustration category; Sophie Hays, Farmington senior, who received an honorable mention in the sports action category; and Mount Pleasant senior Nichole Lockman, who came away with an honorable mention in the multimedia-audio slideshow category.

Ryan Wood, Midland Daily News photo editor and CMU alumnus, received first place in the Photo Editor of the Year. Steve Jessmore, formerly of the Flint Journal and a CMU alumnus, won the Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award for his photo column, "Sense of Community."

Brett Marshall, a temporary journalism faculty member and Midland Daily News photographer, won multiple awards.

"I got an honorable mention in feature, second place in sports portfolio and second place in sports picture," he said. "It's good, friendly competition. It's a great way to see how others are doing. It's a good way to showcase what we do. It's not about winning, it's more of an outlet to see other pics."

To see winning photographs, visit the MPPA Web site at mppa.org.


news@cm-life.com

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