Strobelit

Pulitzer winnersPhotography paid off big this year for two reporters. Mary Chind of the Des Moines Register and Craig Walker of the Denver Post were each awarded the Pulitzer Prize and 10,000 for a piece of their work from the previous year in the fields of “Breaking News Photography” and “Feature Photography,” respectively.It was Chind’s first major photography award. Her photo shows construction worker Jason Oglesbee rescuing a woman from the flooded Des Moines River. Only the woman’s hands can be seen in the photo as the rushing waters buffet her under the surface. Oglesbee was working on a bridge over the river and lowered himself from a crane down to the water. The photo can be seen at the Des Moines Register‘s website.Walker had been awarded the “Photos of the Year” award from Editor & Publisher magazine, a news magazine about news that dates back to 1884. However, this was his first nomination and win from the Pulitzer Committee, given for his piece “Ian Fisher: American Soldier.” The series of photos covers a young man’s journey from Colorado to Iraq, featuring scenes of both peace and violence. The story also offered Americans a glimpse into the ways in which soldiers signify their new life, such as the pinning of the “blood rifles”a crossed-rifles insignia pin that is hammered into the chest with a fist. The piece is available online in the Denver Post‘s “Media Center,” under the “Special Projects” section.As only one Pulitzer in each category can be awarded each year, several other promising photographers will have to wait until next year for their shot at the prize. However, as many actors say at the Academy Awards, it’s an honor just to be nominated. The “Staff of the Associated Press” and the “Staff of the New York Daily News” were finalists in the “Breaking News Photography” category, while Mary F. Calvert and Robert Cohen made the shortlist in the “Feature Photography” category.