Congratulations to all the Texas photographers represented in the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism 2012!
Five days after an Iraqi suicide bomber blew a bridge out from under Cpl. Eric Morante and his men, the wounded Marine talks to his mother back in Houston from his hospital bed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in late April 2007. "Don't cry, Mom. I'm good," he says. "I'm perfect. I'm just happy to be alive."
Lara Solt – 1st place, Returning Veterans, Coming Home
Dallas Morning News
Among the Wounded: One bridge, two paths On April 20, 2007, a suicide bomber detonated a dump truck packed with 3,000 pounds of explosives under Bridge 286 where a squad of Marines were standing post near Fallujah in Iraq. Among the wounded were squad leader Cpl. Eric Morante (far right) and Navy Corpsman Anthony “Doc” Thompson (left), the squad’s medic. Eric woke up in an Army hospital in Germany to discover his leg had been amputated, and later suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Anthony, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, has yet to fully wake up. Traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder are the signature combat wounds of the wars in Iraq an Afghanistan. One in five of the almost 2 million service members who have been deployed have sustained one or both of these injuries.
Underweight cattle wait in a pen to be auctioned at the Gillespie Livestock Company in Fredericksburg on August 10. Ranchers were forced to sell their herds because they could not afford hay for their cattle or could not find it to buy.
Jay Janner – 1st Place, Environment Picture Story
Austin American-Statesman
2011 was the driest year ever recorded in Texas. The state suffered through an extreme drought that dried up its lakes and creeks. Crops and trees withered and died. Ranchers were forced to slaughter their hungry and thirsty cattle. Agriculture and livestock losses alone were more than $5 billion.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and players celebrate after Game 6 of baseball's National League championship series against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Milwaukee. The Cardinals won 12-6 to win the series and advance to the World Series.
David J Phillip – 3rd Place, Sports Photojournalist of the Year
Associated Press, Houston, TX
Willie, a heroin addict, lies in bed in a drug house inhabited by addicts in Ciudad Juarez on June 13, 2011. Ciudad Juarez is in the midst of a bloody war between rival cartels fighting for control of the drug trade. Ciudad Juarez has for decades been renowned for it's relationship with drugs, besides being a key transit point for drugs into the U.S. the city has had a long term problem with drug addiction, particularly heroin and cocaine. There are numerous drug houses throughout the city that addicts use to get high.
Scott Dalton – 3rd Place, Portrait Series
Houston, TX
Arlington firefighters Three units of a two alarm fire were damaged at the Castillian Condominiums on Ave J in Grand Prairie, TX, Monday, January 24, 2011 after afire broke out just before 7am. A few neighbors were treated for smoke and asthma issues. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
Tom Fox – HM, Domestic News
Dallas Morning News
