Photos of the Year: Grand Prize

By: Greg Mitchell The United States did not launch a major military invasion in 2004, but plenty of brave and talented press photographers continue to capture (and submit for prizes) the often unhappy aftermath of previous attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. But winners in our fifth annual newspaper Photos of the Year contest were notable in other respects as well, with awards going to photographers at small weeklies, a leading Danish daily and, as usual, The Associated Press. Some offered haunting hard-news images, but there was plenty to smile about, too.

The work of 16 winners in four categories and four circulation sizes appears on the following pages, where you'll also find 12 honorable mentions. All of these pictures, and a full selection from the multiple-image winners, are posted at E&P Online (http://www.editorandpublisher.com). The images will also be on display Oct. 21-23 at the giant "PhotoPlus Expo" at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. That event is partly sponsored by our sister publication, Photo District News.

Our grand-prize winning photographer, Benjamin Krain of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, whose work appears on this spread, went to Afghanistan late last year with reporter Bob Wigginton. Many days brought danger from armed men riding the countryside, opium growers and dealers, and Taliban fighters looking to kidnap journalists. On other days they merely had to deal with desert heat, rampant disease, and a shortage of drinking water. Krain, who shot with a Canon 1D and 17-35mm and 70-210mm lenses, captured literally thousands of images. Upon their return, the two journalists produced for their paper a striking 16-page supplement of words and more than 50 images, published on Feb. 1, 2004. Krain takes home a $1000 prize, sponsored by Nikon.