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The Batavian's photographer wins second place in photo contest

By Howard B. Owens

Howard Owens, publisher and photographer for The Batavian, won a second-place award for photography in the spot news category in a monthly contest sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association.

NPPA sponsors a monthly clip contest in its 11 regions. Genesee County is part of Region 2, which comprises all of New York, the eastern half of Canada and international members based overseas.

Owens won the award for his coverage of the Baskin Livestock fire in November.

The award for Owens was announced last week along with a third-place award in October in sports for Mark Gutman, staff photographer for the Daily News.

In 2013, Owens received a third-place award in March for general news coverage and third place in June for feature/multiple photos.

NPPA awards points throughout the year for photos chosen in first through fifth place (only first through third winners are publicly announced), as well as a single point for each entry.

For the year, Owens was awarded 154 points, good for 15th place in Region 2. Tops was Steven Russell of the The Toronto Star, with 1,132 points.

Gutman had 90 points and Nick Serrata, who freelances for the Daily News, as well as other publications, had 80 points.

Owens, Gutman and Serrata were the only photographers in WNY to place in the top 20.

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