I’ve seen Justin Walker’s face many times on a donation cup in a local bagel shop. I vaguely remembered us reporting his story when he was first badly injured in a horrific crash. To revisit his story and see him in a place where he could flash this wide of a smile was truly touching. (Credit: Krysten Massa)
What makes a great photo? Ask 10 different journalists and you’ll get 10 different answers.
Personally, I love to see a photograph that tells a story. Sometimes that conveys exactly what the written story is about. Or maybe it’s a picture revealing something that could never be captured in words.
In reviewing this year’s papers for our Year in Review issue, I selected the following photos as my favorites of the year, primarily for those reasons.
The captions explain what I saw in each of these photos.
I’ve seen downtown Riverhead and Riverside many times in my life, but never from this angle. Beautiful! (Credit: Andrew LePre/LePre Media)Jim Thompsen (left) and Jack Tandy have been co-workers for years at The Home Depot in Riverhead. Earlier this year, Mr. Tandy donated his dying son’s kidney to Mr. Thompsen as a way to honor what he believed his son — local veteran Joseph Tandy — would have wanted. It gets a little dusty every time I see this photo. (Credit: Paul Squire)Shoreham-Wading River students and friends of Nick Donnelly light sky lanterns during a vigil at Shoreham Beach days after his death. This was a place where my friends gathered at that age. To return their under such heartbreaking circumstances was a surreal experience. The tribute from classmates was incredibly powerful. (Credit: Krysten Massa)The Aceituno family in the days after losing their husband and father, Julio. It was the last News-Review cover photo from longtime staff photographer Barbaraellen Koch. These are never easy photos to take. The framing, composition and impactfulness of this shot provided a perfect showcase of BE’s professionalism. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)Covering the death of Thomas Cutinella was one of the more challenging times at this newspaper. Following the success of his brother, Kevin, above, and their Shoreham-Wading River teammates in the aftermath has been among the most joyous. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)I’ve seen Justin Walker’s face many times on a donation cup in a local bagel shop. I vaguely remembered us reporting his story when he was first badly injured in a horrific crash. To revisit his story and see him in a place where he could flash this wide of a smile was truly touching. (Credit: Krysten Massa)This shot of Riverhead’s Fred Miles during a Black Lives Matter-inspired protest on Peconic Avenue blew me away. Hands down my favorite News-Review front-page photo of 2016. (Credit: Elizabeth Wagner)Seeing the hearse entering Calverton National Cemetery for the May funeral of Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack was incredibly powerful. He lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001 and his body was never recovered. That day they buried a vial of blood he had donated. (Credit: Krysten Massa)I loved this portrait of Riverhead High School junior Elvio Estrada, 17, who competed in the world Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition in June. The view from behind, featuring his motto, says it all. (Credit: Paul Squire)A woman holds a child during Sunday night Spanish language Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Riverhead the weekend after the election. It was a trying time for our local immigrant Hispanic community and I believe this image of the packed church captured both uncertainty and faith. (Credit: Kevin Urgiles)
