47th annual photo contest
Getty Images staff photographer Tom Pennington is the winner of the Dave Boss Award of Excellence for his entry in the 47th Annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Photo Contest. His photo titled “Take That," was selected by a panel of judges as the Photograph of the Year for the 2014 National Football League Season.
The image depicts Baltimore Ravens defensive back Brynden Trawick in midair about to intercept a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys receiver Dwayne Harris. The winning image was captured on Aug. 16, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Dallas/Fort Worth-based Pennington has been a Getty Images staff photographer for the past three years. Prior to joining Getty Images, he was a senior staff photographer with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 10 years. Pennington, who studied Visual Communications at the University of Texas at Arlington, has worked across the globe covering sports, conflict and human interest stories.
The Hall of Fame’s prestigious contest represents the highest level of excellence in the field of photography and was open to professional photographers on assignment to cover NFL games. Photos taken during the 2014 NFL season, that included Super Bowl XLIX and the 2015 Pro Bowl, were eligible.
Pennington’s entry was the first place winner in the action category while freelance photographer Jason Parkhurst was first in the Feature category. His photo “Smoke Screen” shows Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Demar Dotson running through a large plume of smoke as he takes the field against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 30, 2014.
Judging was conducted at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in early April by a panel of prominent photo editors and photographers. The judges included Ben Liebenberg (Lead Photographer and Senior Photo Editor at the NFL), John Reid, III (Team Photographer for the Cleveland Browns), Karl Roser (Team Photographer for the Pittsburgh Steelers), Amy Sancetta (Photographer for Associated Press), Brad Smith (Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated), and Tony Tomsic, (veteran photographer who has covered pro football for more than 50 years).
Pennington will be officially honored at the Enshrinees GameDay Roundtable, part of the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival that centers on the enshrinement of the Class of 2015. Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Wolf will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 7 pm EDT. The GameDay Roundtable is held on Sunday, Aug. 9 prior to the NFL/Hall of Fame Game between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers that kicks off the 2015 preseason.
Tickets and fan packages can be purchased online at ProFootballHOF.com/tickets or by calling 1-844-4HOFTIX.
PHOTO GALLERIES OF WINNING IMAGES
VOICES BEHIND THE SHUTTER
Listen to the first, second, and third place winners describe their shot>>>
WHO WAS DAVE BOSS?
The late Dave Boss spent nearly four decades working for the NFL and led NFL Properties creative division for 26 years. He was an award-winning photographer in addition to leading the publishing and design efforts for the league. In 1992 he was awarded the prestigious Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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