While my CPOY catalog isn’t as bulky and diverse as last year, I do think the small collection of pictures I chose to submit this year are definitely tighter and stronger. Contests can suck, and be stressful and discouraging, but they definitely, without a doubt, make you sit down and take a hard look at what and how you’ve been shooting. And they can inspire you and make you strive to be better. I’m trying to be less touchy and embarrassed showing other people my pictures, so the screengrab below is an at-a-glance look at my catalog (and you can click through to a slightly bigger one)…

In total, there are (in this order): 3 General News, 2 Features, 5 Portraits, 2 Sports Action, 2 Sports Feature, 1 Pictoral, 1 Documentary Picture Story (based on my thesis project), 1 Individual Multimedia, 1 Multimedia Project (“Splitting main street” from Powering a Nation).

Good luck to everyone who entered! Contests are always exhilarating and humbling… especially CPOY.