2021 Portrait/Personality

First Place
First Place

Seen from her window, trivia host and drag queen Betty Wetter hosts “Bedroom Bingo” at her apartment during the coronavirus pandemic in Seattle on April 14, 2020. Washington state’s stay-at-home order prompted local drag performers to creat solo shows from home. “We aren’t making actual paychecks but it’s just as rewarding for us,” says Wetter. “The community has been so supportive during this time and the work we are putting into these shows is to provide an escape from the reality of the situation.”

Second Place
Second Place

Former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden poses for a portrait in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, after a campaign event on Tuesday October 6, 2020.

Third Place
Third Place

Crystal Raghunanan, 18, of Elizabeth Seton High School photographed at her home in Capitol Heights, Md., on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. "I don't think people understand that we've been waiting for this all year. It may just seem like, oh, one little dance, a prom or a graduation. They can do it at another time. But for having something to look forward to all year, that you've been working hard to get to. It's really hard. It's harder than people might think to have to deal with." COVID-19 shut everything down in the Spring of 2020, including the rituals that mark the end of high school- like the senior prom. This is one in a series of portraits that allowed the seniors to get dressed up and show off their prom style for the camera, but with the constant physical reminder of the pandemic- the mask.

Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention

Bernabe Mesa Dom’nguez, 79, drinks a coffee in his dining room in the Kumeyaay community of San Antonio Necua in Baja California, Mexico, on February 27, 2020. Bernabe, the oldest in the town is one of the last three people in the community who can speak the native language. This photo is part of a story that loosely follows El Camino Real de Baja California.