Northern Exposure Pro Photo Contest

Congratulations to the 2025 Winners!

Photographer of the Year	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
First Runner Up	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Second Runner Up	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Photographer of the Year Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Photographer of the Year Runner Up Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Photographer of the Year Runner Up Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Sports Photographer of the Year	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
First Runner Up	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Second Runner Up	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Sports Photographer of the Year, First Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Sports Photographer of the Year, First Runner Up, Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Sports Photographer of the Year, Second Runner Up, Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Feature	Joe Ahlquist, Rochester Post Bulletin
Second place	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Third place	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Honorable mention	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Honorable mention	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald
Honorable mention	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

News Feature, First Place: Joe Ahlquist, Rochester Post Bulletin

Ava Weitl, 13, laughs with registered nurse Anna Saewert after Anna gifted her a squirt gun as she gets ready to leave Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, after nearly two years in the hospital following heart failure. Ava had two life-saving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) runs, a heart transplant, kidney failure and a kidney transplant during her time in the hospital.

News Feature, Second Place: Steven Garcia, Freelance

The St. Olaf Choir performs at Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 8th, 2025.

News Feature, Third Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Bike riders, daredevils, stunt men and other mini bike riders have a blast crashing through the Monster Wall Smash on Wednesday, Aug. 8, following the Limousine Firewall Smash as part of the activities at The Buffalo Chip as part of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The annual motorcycle rally, originally started from just small racing in 1938 to a gathering for “biker culture” also featuring nightly concerts, professional racing, and high-energy stunt shows at the large venues including The Buffalo Chip.

News Feature, Honorable Mention: Steven Garcia, Freelance

Musician Jon Batiste performs during a private gala event at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 3rd, 2025.

News Feature, Honorable Mention: Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

A truck carrying a Christmas tree heads on I80 underneath I480 while heading to the Durham Museum in Omaha, on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.

News Feature, Honorable Mention: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

A pedestrian crosses W. Johnson St. at State St. during a snow storm on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 in Madison, Wi.

General News	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
Second place	Joe Ahlquist, Rochester Post Bulletin
Third place	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Honorable mention	Matt Gade, 605 Sports

General News, First Place: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Cliff Gonyer stands outside his barn with a basket full of eggs on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at Cliff Gonyer’s farm outside Dodgeville, Wi. Due to a strain of bird flu running rampant through Wisconsin factory farms, local farmers like Gonyer are offering lower prices to customers at the farmers market.

General News, Second Place: Joe Ahlquist, Rochester Post Bulletin

Katie Bartels goes through photographs in her home Thursday, June 26, 2025, on the farm she shares with her parents northeast of Zumbro Falls after a tornado the previous day.

General News, Third Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Hundreds of people surround the giant wooden beetle structure during the 12th annual Burning Beetle event on Saturday, Jan. 18, at Pageant Hill in Custer. The event held every January, includes a torch march following by the setting of the structure on fire with chants of “Burn, Beetle, Burn!” to symbolize the community’s triumph over the beetle epidemic.

General News, Honorable Mention: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Over 1,000 head of bison run across the field during the 60th annual Custer Buffalo Roundup on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 at Custer State Park. Every year, the park holds the annual event drawing tens of thousands of spectators, to watch as the park works to sort, maintain health checks and prepare for a future auction to help maintain a healthy bison population for the park. Park officials say they have close to 1,500 head of bison and will reduce that number down to 1,000 through the auctions.

Portrait	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
Second place	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
Third place	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Honorable mention	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Portrait, First Place: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

A bess beetle walks across University of Wisconsin Insect Diagnostic Lab Director Patrick “PJ” Liesch’s forehead during a portrait on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 at UW-Madison Russell Labs in Madison, Wis. For over a decade, Liesch has received 2,500 insect diagnostic requests per year from curious Wisconsinites, his colleagues, pest control companies and farmers.

Portrait, Second Place: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Annual Toke Creek Fourth of July Parade organizer Ryan Pertzborn poses for a portrait before the parade on on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Token Creek, Wi.

Portrait, Third Place: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Minnesota Vikings safety Theo Jackson (26) photographed at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minn., on Monday, June 9, 2025.

Portrait, Honorable Mention: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Evangeline Carbajal, 5, of Minneapolis photographed with a stuffed animal prize at The Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minn., on Monday, August 25, 2025.

Spot News	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Second place	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald
Third place	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
Honorable mention	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Spot News, First Place: Steven Garcia, Freelance

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey sits outside Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis after viewing the scene. A gunman opened fire through windows outside of Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis, killing 2 children and injuring over 15 others on August 27th, 2025.

Spot News, Second Place: Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Lashawna Jones is overcome with emotion as she screams “my daughter is dead,” at N.P. Dodge Park in Omaha, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. First responders had found her daughter and another girl earlier in the day. Three students had gone missing in the river two weeks ago, all three have now been recovered.

Spot News, Third Place: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

A bloodied protestor is led away in handcuffs by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent following a confrontation outside an ICE facility during a protest on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 in Broadview, Ill.

Spot News, Honorable Mention: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Rev. David Black of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago exclaims “Help me, help me please” as he has water poured in his eyes by a fellow protestor after he was pepper sprayed by federal immigration agents during a protest outside an Immigration, Customs and Enforcement facility on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 in Broadview, Ill.

Photo Story	Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal
Second place	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Third place	Jaida Grey Eagle, Freelance
Honorable mention	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Honorable mention	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Photo Story, First Place: Owen Ziliak, Wisconsin State Journal

Photo Story, Second Place: Steven Garcia, Freelance

Photo Story, Third Place: Jaida Grey Eagle, Freelance

Photo Story, Honorable Mention: Steven Garcia, Freelance

Photo Story, Honorable Mention: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Sports Action	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Second place	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Third place	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Honorable mention	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Honorable mention	Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Honorable mention	Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Sports Action, First Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Hill City quarterback Brensen Veneklasen dives into the end zone for a score after being knocked off his feet by Stanley County’s Witt Myers (32) during a game on Friday, Aug. 22 at Ranger Field in Hill City.

Sports Action, Second Place: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Minnesota Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton (25) makes a catch at the wall against the Athletics in the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.

Sports Action, Third Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Paco “The Texas Punisher” Castillo takes a punch to the face from Dan “The Primal” Godoy in the first fight of the night during the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip on Saturday, Aug. 2, during the 85th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Godoy won the fight by TKO in the third round.

Sports Action, Honorable Mention: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Nicholas Lazo (15) of Holy Angels High School heads the ball in the first half during the Class A boys soccer state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

Sports Action, Honorable Mention: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Minnesota Twins left fielder Harrison Bader (12) dives for a ball in the sixth inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Sports Action, Honorable Mention: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

Lane Rossow, of Fairfield, N.D., fails to hang on while steer wrestling on the second day of the Range Days Rodeo on Tuesday night at the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City.

Sports Feature	Dylan Engel, Freelance
Second place	Matt Gade, 605 Sports
Third place	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald
Honorable mention	Maya Giron, Rochester Post Bulletin
Honorable mention	Steven Garcia, Freelance
Honorable mention	Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Sports Feature, First Place: Dylan Engel, Freelance

After game two against the Sioux City Explorers was postponed due to weather, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks infielder, Derek Maiben, sits in the dugout while lightning strikes, immediately precessing cutting off power, behind the outfield wall of Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND, on June 18th, 2025.

Sports Feature, Second Place: Matt Gade, 605 Sports

The Sioux Falls O’Gorman Knights celebrate their 3-2 win over Brandon Valley in a Class AA semifinal match on Friday at Summit Arena during the state volleyball tournament in Rapid City. The Knights will face Harrisburg in the Class A state championship match on Saturday night.

Sports Feature, Third Place: Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Fans take a photo from the Ferris wheel as LSU’s Jared Jones (22) takes a pitch during the first inning in game four of the Men’s College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Sports Feature, Honorable Mention: Maya Giron, Rochester Post Bulletin

Byron’s Natalia Behrens (16) reacts to losing 9-3 to Rocori in the Class 3A state softball championship on Friday, June 6, 2025, at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in Minneapolis.

Sports Feature, Honorable Mention: Steven Garcia, Freelance

Harrison Bader #12 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates a walk-off solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning during a MLB baseball game at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN on July 4, 2025.

Sports Feature, Honorable Mention: Chris Machian, Omaha World-Herald

Nebraska’s Rex Guthrie (21) tackles Houston Christian’s Deuce McMillan (2) as Umpire Dan Montgomery gets tangled up in the play during the second half of a college football game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

PROFESSIONAL CONTEST RULES

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to current professionals working within two states of Minnesota: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois. All work must be taken or published in 2025. Multi-year projects that concluded in 2025 are eligible for the photo story category as long as it includes images from 2025.

ENTRY FEE

$15 for any professional competing in the contest.
Register here. You will receive a link to the contest entry in the confirmation email.

AWARDS

First, second, and third place awards will be made along with any honorable mentions the judges feel are merited. The judges will not be required to give awards to three places in all categories. The winners will be announced at the Northern Exposure Conference hosted by the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Judges: TBD, judged by professionals outside the region.
Prizes: Plaque for POY awards, certificates for individual category placements

ETHICS POLICY

Altering the content of documentary photographs through technology is prohibited. Image cropping, adjusting levels and basic toning is acceptable. It is fine to dodge and/or burn areas and to correct technical defects in a photo (such as minor dust spots) as long as the work’s content is not changed. No use of AI to alter images is allowed. No removal of objects in the images as it was recorded is allowed. When in doubt, don’t. If it is determined by the Northern Exposure contest organizers that a photo has violated these standards, the photograph will be disqualified. Documentary works that are proven to be “set up” or “staged” will also be disqualified. Judges may request the original, unedited file if concerns arise.

PROFESSIONAL CONTEST CATEGORIES

(SPN) Spot News – A picture of an unscheduled event for which no advanced planning was possible. Examples of this include but are not limited to: natural or manmade disasters, protests, accidents, etc.
(GEN) General News – A picture of a scheduled event for which advance planning was possible. Examples of this include but are not limited to: the cleanup/aftermath of a natural or manmade disaster, press conferences, ground breakings, etc.
(FEA) Feature – A picture of a found situation with a strong-human interest and provides a fresh view of the commonplace.
(SPF) Sports Feature – Any feature photo from a sporting event that is outside the field of play or is separate from the game action.
(SPA) Sports Action – A picture that captures peak action and the spirit of competition.
(POR) Portrait – A picture that reveals the essence of the subject’s character. Can be either a found moment or a setup image. (Individual images only – no diptics, collages, etc.)
(PST) Photo Story – A series of images that tells a story on a single topic or subject. A minimum of three images is required and there can be no more than 15 images per story. The caption field in first picture in the story should include a short title and a brief introductory caption to summarize the entire picture story. Individual captions for each photo are required.

‘OF THE YEAR’ AWARDS

(POY) Photographer of the Year – Entries must include a variety of single images and a minimum of one photo story (maximum of 3). A title slide must separate the story from the singles. No more than 50% of the portfolio may consist of images made outside of the contest region.
- Maximum of 40 images including picture story. (title slide doesn’t count to 30 picture limit)
- Entries must include work submitted in at least four of the individual categories.
(SPY) Sports Photographer of the Year – Entries must include a variety of at least 3 different sports represented. A picture story is encouraged, but is not a requirement. If a story is included, must include a title slide. No more than 50% of the portfolio may consist of images made outside of the contest region.
- Minimum of 12 single images required with a maximum of 30 images total including story (title slide doesn’t count to the 30 picture limit) .

HOW TO ENTER THE PRO CONTEST

1. NAME THE FILES CORRECTLY

CategoryCode_PersonalCode_Slug_PhotoNumber.jpg

CategoryCode = Three letter code for each category
PersonalCode = First four letters of your last name + first initial + middle initial
Slug (only applicable for stories) = One word description of any photo stories
PhotoNumber = Entry number (01, 02, etc.) You do not need to enter multiples in each category. For photo stories, be sure to number them in the order that best suits the story.

EXAMPLES

Single: fea_ewenmj_01.jpg or spa_ewenmj_03.jpg
Story: pst_ewenmj_election_02.jpg or pst_ewenmj_homespun_01.jpg
of the Year: poy_ewenmj_05.jpg

2. FILE INFO REQUIRED

The following information that must be included in the metadata for still images. Images without metadata will be disqualified:

Author/Photographer: Your full name.
Caption/Description*: Enter the caption here. This is mandatory for every picture, including individual pictures in a picture story. Captions may be projected onto the screen during judging. DO NOT add your name in the caption field. Any entry that includes your name or organization in this field will be disqualified.
Date: Date photograph was taken.
City: Location image was taken.
State: Location image was taken.
Credit: Organization affiliation, or Freelance, if none.
Headline: Name of entry. This will be what is used when winning images are posted.

*For picture stories, must include a title slide with a brief introductory caption summarizing the entire picture story. This overall caption should be included in the metadata of the title slide before the first individual picture. The remaining pictures in the picture story should only include the caption for that photo.

3. NUMBER OF ENTRIES

A total of 15 entries allowed. “Of the year” categories count as one entry each.
There is a limit of five photos or stories for each non “of the year” category.
There is a limit of one entry for each “of the year” category.

4. FILE SIZE

RGB or grayscale JPG files only. Final images should be resized to 3000 pixels on the longest side.

5. UPLOAD ENTRIES

Upload correctly named and sized files to the website URL you will receive in your registration email confirmation.

ENTRIES SUBJECT TO DISQUALIFICATION

Missing the deadline
File names not properly slugged / formatted
Name / organization/ appears in caption field
Violating the contest’s ethics policy

THE 2025 CONTEST DEADLINE IS 11:59 PM (CST) ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2026.

The contest deadline will not be extended.

QUESTIONS?

Email Matt Gade: Matt.Gade@605Sports.com