Gorby won for his image from a deadly SWAT standoff in Dayton and finished third for an image from an incident north of Springfield in which a man climbed up a tower at an electrical substation before eventually being talked down.
“Marshall Gorby works tirelessly to cover news in our communities,” said Ben McLaughlin, managing editor for digital content for the Dayton Daily News. “Day, night or weekend, he serves our readers in digital and print with compelling, relevant images that conveys important information.”
During the deadly standoff situation, Gorby had to contend with tear gas that drifted from the scene into his eyes.
The ONPA contest featured entries from 39 photographers from across Ohio who submitted more than 520 entries in the 71st annual news photography contest.
Springfield News-Sun photographer Bill Lackey earned the ONPA’s small market division Photographer of the Year award for the fourth time. It recognizes his overall body of work, including images from news, sports and features.
Judges for the still photo competition were Kathy Kieliszewski, the senior news director for visuals at the Detroit Free Press; Tim Nwachukwu, a staff sports photographer for Getty Images based in Philadelphia; and Angela Wilhelm, a staff photojournalist at the Asheville Citizen Times in North Carolina.