First Place: Samantha Castille, Francis Howell North-FHNtoday
Noah Garthe looking through the crowd on the dance floor at the Homecoming dance. The dance attracted more than 1,400 students to it as it returned in the large gym after last year’s dance was held on the football field. (Samantha Castille, Francis Howell North-FHNtoday)
Judge’s Comments: This image looks like it could it be an album cover or a still from a film. The photographer did a great job of capturing the lights in the background, which add depth, and then having a clear focus on the subject. The confused expression adds an almost comical element to the image, and he seems almost isolated with the lights spotlighting him. In the caption, though, it would be nice to have a quote from the subject to let the viewer know what he was thinking in that moment.
Second Place:Vincent Hsiao, Ladue Horton Watkins-Rambler
Freshman Will Plassmeyer smiles as he makes dance moves in a circle of students at Ladue High School’s homecoming dance Oct. 15. Students moshed to the loud party music as flashing DJ lights moved across the school’s multipurpose room. “We were at homecoming, they played a good song, everyone made the circle in the middle, and my friend Owen Prange pushed me in the middle, and I didn’t know what to do so I just started dancing,” Plassmeyer said. (Vincent Hsiao. Ladue Horton Watkins-Rambler)
Judge’s Comments: I love the symmetry in this photo. The viewer feels like they are right in the action to where they can almost hear the music and cheering from the rest of the dancers. The clarity and exposure make for a clean picture, and the photographer also did a wonderful job of making sure they didn’t crop too closely and that the angle was appropriate for the shot. The caption adds voice to the image, too.
Third Place: Aniya Sparrow, Francis Howell Central-Central Focus
Senior Evan Erickson enthusiastically shoots into the air as the Senior Showmen, the cheerleaders of the Powderpuff game, toss him up during the Homecoming pep assembly. Some of the boys from the Class of 2023 performed a dance routine to different song clips from the Emmy-award-winning TV show “Stranger Things.” The routine drew a lot of laughs from the student section, the teachers, and even the administrators, who enjoyed seeing the boys put on their dancing shoes and hype up the crowd for Homecoming. “It was a really fun thing to do, and it was a little bit scary to be honest,” Erickson said. “But, I knew they would catch me. And being a Showman helped me make friends with people I haven’t ever talked to before.” (Aniya Sparrow, Francis Howell Central-Central Focus)
Judge’s Comments: The clarity and exposure of this image is great, but it is the array of facial expressions that add another layer to it–there is excitement, amusement and a bit of apprehension. Catching the subject in midair adds movement to the image as well. The caption is written well and provides plenty of detail to explain the action and emotions behind the image.
Freshman Aly True ran back to the safety of first base after an attempted run to second on October sixth. The game was at the bottom of the sixth inning and the Lady Jays Varsity Softball team was up by nine runs against the Trojans. “The energy on the team can be very crazy and wild but at the same time very supportive…we all go crazy after a play happens,” said True.
