Ryan Burke-Stevenson

Seven photos from four U-High photojournalists placed highly in the Jostens North American Photo Contest.

Seven photos from four U-High photojournalists placed highly in the Jostens North American Photo Contest, which aims to recognize the work of outstanding high school photographers. First place winners receive $500 from Jostens and $90 in photo accessories from The Pixel Connection. 

Sophomore Simon Vaang placed first in Yearbookers in Action, and he placed both second and fourth in the academics category. In the portrait category, senior Eli Raikhel placed first and junior Estelle Levinson placed fifth. Photos from Eli and senior Olin Nafziger received honorable mentions.

This contest was originally introduced to photojournalists by photojournalism adviser Jayna Rumble, and their participation added excitement to the class. Estelle said her placement in the competition helped her view photojournalism differently.

“I really like photojournalism a lot, but before I didn’t see it as more than a class, but winning this award makes me want to take and submit a lot more photos,” Estelle said.

This award also was a personal milestone for Estelle. She said it boosted her confidence.

“I think winning has made me a lot more confident, especially because last year I didn’t win much,” Estelle said. “I want to try and take it a lot more seriously, take a lot more photos, try new lenses and overall generate more opportunities.”

Simon also said his awards in different categories made him think more seriously about photojournalism and how he wants to continue with it throughout his life.

“I think winning this contest has made me think more of photojournalism being something I keep doing through my whole life,” Simon said. “I taught myself how to take photos for fun, but I think with the success I’ve had it should be something I continue doing.”