Getty Images leads the way in the nominations for the Sports Journalists’ Association’s British Sports Photography Awards.
The agency has eight nominations across the five categories – two each in young sports photographer, sports picture, specialist portfolio, and sports portfolio of the year.
Getty’s Stu Forster – overall winner in 2006 – received two nominations, in sports picture and specialist portfolio, as did colleague Clive Mason – overall winner in 2002 – in sports picture and sports portfolio.
Three other photographers were nominated twice: the Mail on Sunday‘s Mark Pain, in sports picture and sports portfolio; Action Images” Paul Childs, in sports news picture and sports picture; and freelance Eddie Keogh, in specialist portfolio and sports portfolio.
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In total, the Mail on Sunday had three nominations, with Pain’s colleague David Shopland nominated in sports news picture.
Only two other national mainstream newspaper photographers were nominated: The Sun’s Mark Robinson, in specialist portfolio, and The Times’s Marc Aspland, in sports news picture.
Just one regional newspaper photographer was nominated – the Nottingham Evening Post’s Dan Matthams, in young sports photographer.
The sports photographer of the year will be selected from the winning portfolios.
The Sports Journalists’ Association said the overall number entries was up 10 per cent on last year.
Chris Smith, the former Sunday Times sports photographer and chairman of judges, said: “Judging the entries wasn’t easy – there were some very competitive pictures and portfolios this year.
“The quality of the entry overall was excellent. The use of digital photography, with some images taken in very poor light, has moved on very rapidly, with pictures of a very high standard being entered this year which would probably have been impossible even just a couple of years ago.
“It was also encouraging to see such a high number of strong entries in the young photographer category. It was all very impressive.”
Judges included Lee Clayton, Daily Mail head of sport, photographers Eileen Langsley, Patrick Eagar and Ian Stewart, and Graham Woods, executive editor of The Times Magazine.
The shortlists for the writing and cartoon categories of the British Sports Journalism Awards will be announced next week.
Young sports photographer
Gareth Copley – Press Association
Carl De Souza – AFP
Julian Finney – Getty Images
Paul Gilham – Getty Images
Dan Matthams – Nottingham Evening Post
Simon Stacpoole – Offside Sports Photography
Sports news picture
Marc Aspland – The Times
Philip Brown – Freelance
Paul Childs – Action Images
Matt Dunham – The Associated Press
Tom Main – Freelance
Lee Mills – Action Images
David Shopland – Mail on Sunday
Sports picture
Paul Childs – Action Images
Stu Forster – Getty Images
Dylan Martinez – Reuters
Clive Mason – Getty Images
Toby Melville – Reuters
Mark Pain – The Mail on Sunday
Paul Thomas – Freelance
Specialist portfolio
Stu Forster – Getty Images
Eddie Keogh – Freelance
Laurence Lustig – Freelance
Mark Robinson – The Sun
Mark Thompson – Getty Images
Edward Whitaker – Racing Post
Sports portfolio
Shaun Botterill – Getty Images
Matt Dunham – The Associated Press
Tommy Hindley – Professional Sport
Eddie Keogh – Freelance
Clive Mason – Getty Images
Mark Pain – The Mail on Sunday
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