Gordon B. Wright Photography Award
Photography has become increasingly important as a means of communicating information and attracting readers. Reporters and editors shoot photos to illustrate their stories, and specialty photographers are frequently hired by publications and construction organizations.
The photography awards were established in 2004. View previous winners »
Photography Award Requirements
Award Specifications
The Gordon Wright Photography Awards will be presented to the person(s) who took the winning photograph(s)–not to the publication or publishing house. Only one award of each kind will be presented, although the judges may, at their discretion, award honorable mentions or duplicates if more than one photographer contributed to a series of photos. Only CWA members in good standing at the time of entry are eligible to submit entries. If multiple photographers are involved in a series, all photographers must be members of CWA at the time of judging. Categories include 1) feature photograph–single photograph on a current subject of significance to the construction industry and 2) series of related photographs–photographs used to illustrate a single article or series of articles on a single topic relevant to the construction industry.
Presentation Format
Each entry must include:
- Original Photography Awards Entry Form
- Original published tear-sheets of the photograph or series of photographs
- An opening statement, no more than one page, containing
- a brief description of the specific discipline or segment of the construction industry and the audience that the publication serves;
- an explanation of the significance and intent of the material submitted and how it was conceived and prepared;
- any other pertinent background that might assist jurors in evaluating the entry.
Entries should be no larger than 8½ by 11 inches unless published in larger dimensions. All entries should be presented in a neat and systematically organized manner and should be enclosed in a plastic carrier, folder, or binder–but should not be presented on boards of any kind. This should be mailed to:
Photography Awards Co-Chair, Janet Cohen
c/o Barton Malow Company
26500 American Drive
Southfield, MI 48034.
Winning entries will be displayed at the awards dinner, Thursday, May 1, 2008, and on the CWA website. If possible, please convert all pages of your entry into pdf format and provide a CD of them with your entry. The entry form and check should be mailed directly to the CWA office. If using a credit card, you can fax the form to the CWA office.
Entry Requirements
- Only one entry may be submitted from each category. Each photographer should submit his or her own entry, using a separate application for each entry. An entry fee must be paid for each entry submitted.
- All entries should be attributed. Where no byline appears, the entry should include a statement from the publication's editor corroborating the responsibility of the individual photographer or group of photographers for originating the submitted material.
- Material must have appeared in a specialized business periodical, a technical association magazine, or a professional journal serving the construction industry, encompassing such disciplines and activities as architecture, engineering, planning, design, specifying, contracting (building/heavy/specialty), and construction materials, systems, equipment, or management.
- All entries must have been published in an issue of the publication bearing a cover date during the period of January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding the awards' year (2007 issues for awards to be presented in 2008).
- Series entries bearing cover dates earlier or later than specified may be submitted in their entirety, but only if 75% or more of the series was published within the prescribed dates.
- All entries become the property of CWA. Only the winning entries will be retained for archival purposes. CWA may ask permission to reprint the winning photographs in its newsletter or place them on its website.
Judging Criteria
An impartial panel of acknowledged professionals selected by the CWA Journalism Awards Committee will judge the awards. The committee serves as the screening group to receive entries and verify their compliance with the prescribed entry rules. No individual is eligible to serve as a juror if he or she has submitted an entry for that year or is presently affiliated with a publication or publisher from which another editor or writer has submitted an entry.
Judges will evaluate entries as follows: does it tell a good story? 30%; artistic quality: 30%; technical quality: 30%; significance of the subject: 10%.
Judges are instructed to evaluate each entry primarily on journalistic merit. The jury will look more toward the merits of the entrant’s photography and communications efforts than at the entry’s presentation and promotional qualities.
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008