MLive Media Group photographers took home 24 awards, including the Photographer of the Year award, during the Michigan Press Photographer Association’s annual conference last weekend.
Jake May, a photojournalist at The Flint Journal, was awarded with Photographer of the Year. It’s his fifth time he’s won the award since his career in Flint began nine years ago.
May was also awarded with the Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award for his photo story “Spirit of Flint,” which gained national attention for earning an Honorable Mention from the National Press Photographers Association’s 2022 Cliff Edom New America Award.
“I am humbled to continue to have the opportunity to share the story of my neighbors,” May said. “There are so many amazing stories to tell in Flint and all of the communities in Genesee County, let alone Michigan. I do not take that responsibility lightly. I love Flint and I love Michigan. It’s a beautiful place and I am honored to document our home.”
Other MLive Media Group photojournalists that earned individual awards in specific categories include Kalamazoo Gazette’s Joel Bissell, Ann Arbor News’ Jacob Hamilton, Jackson Citizen Patriot’s J. Scott Park, and The Saginaw News’ Kaytie Boomer.
MLive photojournalists placed first in 10 of 17 categories: Spot News, General News, Feature, Sports Action, Feature Picture Story, News Picture Story, Multimedia News, Photographer of the Year, Multimedia Project and the Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award.
Bissell placed first in the Multimedia Project category for a video project on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes that estimates 22 million pounds of plastic enters the Great Lakes each year — a topic that was personally important to him.
“It was a very eye-opening experience for me to work on that project,” Bissell said. “Being able to win an award and pair it with something I am passionate about is why I am a photojournalist and that’s why we do journalism. To get the opportunity to check off both of those boxes is pretty awesome.”
Isaac Ritchey, who was named College Photographer of the Year, built much of his portfolio during a six-month internship at The Flint Journal after graduating from Central Michigan University.
“(The award) is reassurance for myself that this is what I want to do for a very long time, this is what I can be good at, and this is how I can make a difference,” Ritchey said. “To be able to be in Flint for six months and and not only improve as a photojournalist but learn what it means to be a part of a community and be human — I hope that was shown in the work that I was able to do.
“I’ll always look back at my six months in Flint with fondness,” he said.
Fellow CMU photojournalist Aurora Abraham earned runner-up College Photographer of the Year, followed by Michigan State University’s Annie Barker, who interned with MLive at The Grand Rapids Press, and the University of Michigan’s Dominick Sokotoff.
Here is a full list of MPPA Award Winners for 2021, with judging by Sue Morrow, Jared Soares and Bunni Elian:
Spot News
1st Place: Jacob Hamilton, MLive.com/Ann Arbor News, “James Craig”
2nd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Missing Man”
3rd Place: J. Scott Park, MLive.com/Jackson Citizen Patriot, “Engulfed”
Honorable Mention: Joel Bissell, MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette, “Lights On”
General News
1st Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Senseless”
2nd Place: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press, “Restorative Justice”
3rd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Remembering Bernard Terry”
Honorable Mention: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Put the Guns Down”
Feature
1st Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Little Cruiser”
2nd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Fatherhood”
3rd Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Fair’s back”
Honorable Mention: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press, “Homeward Bound”
Honorable Mention: Jenifer Veloso, Flintside, “Family Ties”
Sports Action
1st Place: Isaac Ritchey, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Using Their Head”
2nd Place: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images, “Phil”
3rd Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance, “Going Vertical”
Honorable Mention: Nic Antaya, Freelance, “Ski Jumper”
Honorable Mention: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press, “The Pull”
Sports Feature
1st Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance, “Roller skaters”
2nd Place: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press, “The Pull”
3rd Place: J. Scott Park, MLive.com/Jackson Citizen Patriot, “Little coaches”
Honorable Mention: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Bigger Than Me”
Portrait/Personality
1st Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance, “Aspiring Ski Jumper”
2nd Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Benched”
3rd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Strength”
Honorable Mention: Erin Kirkland, Freelance/For Rolling Stone, “Sarah”
Personal Vision
1st Place: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, “White Gloves for Gold Medal”
2nd Place: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press, “Drum major”
3rd Place: Devin Anderson-Torrez, The State News, “Eyes”
Honorable Mention: Sheldon Krause, The State News, “Tree”
Feature Picture Story
1st Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Spirit of Flint”
2nd Place: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press, “Mom Coping with COVID”
3rd Place: Brittany Greeson, Freelance, “Uprooted: Life After the Mines”
Honorable Mention: Aurora Abraham, Central Michigan University, “Pinky and Blinky’s Fight”
News Picture Story
1st Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Put the Guns Down”
2nd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Oxford”
3rd Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Oxford Mourns”
Sports Picture Story
1st Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Pick Your Poison”
2nd Place: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press, “DCFC Till I Die”
3rd Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance, “America’s Birthplace of Organized Skiing”
Honorable Mention: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press, “The Pull”
Multimedia News
1st Place: Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/Saginaw News , “Michigan teachers reflect on challenging school year learned to savor normalcy”
2nd Place: David Guralnick, Detroit News, “Traverse City State Hospital”
3rd Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Flint man freed after 25 years in prison for marijuana”
Multimedia Feature
1st Place: Kelly Jordan, Detroit Free Press, “Detroit Buffalo Soldiers”
2nd Place: Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/Saginaw News, “Saginaw’s Miss Faye the barber continues cutting hair, giving encouragement”
3rd Place: Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/Saginaw News, ‘I know they have my back’ St. Charles female football player says about teammates”
Multimedia Project
1st Place: Joel Bissell, MLive.com, “Great Lakes Plastic”
Sports Portfolio
1st Place: Nic Antaya, Freelance
2nd Place: Isaac Ritchey, Central Michigan University, MLive.com/Flint Journal
3rd Place: J. Scott Park, MLive.com/Jackson Citizen Patriot
Honorable Mention: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images
College Photographer of the Year
1st Place: Isaac Ritchey, Central Michigan University
2nd Place: Aurora Abraham, Central Michigan University
3rd Place: Annie Barker, Michigan State University
Honorable Mention: Dominick Sokotoff, University of Michigan
Photographer of the Year
1st Place: Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal
2nd Place: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press
3rd Place: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press
Honorable Mention: Nic Antaya, Freelance
Barry Edmonds Michigan Understanding Award
Jake May, MLive.com/Flint Journal, “Spirit of Flint”
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