Durell Godfrey, a photographer whose images have been a visual chronicle of life in East Hampton since her work was first published in The East Hampton Star more than 20 years ago, won third place in the Photographer of the Year category in the New York Press Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest last weekend. Judges praised her work as “charming and charismatic.”
Another of her photographs, of the Zima performance piece at the LongHouse Reserve's LongHouse Illuminated event in December, won an honorable mention in the feature photo category.
The Star’s other winning entries included a graphic illustration by the artist Scott Bluedorn for an East magazine story on a literary walking tour of Sag Harbor featuring famous faces mingling with village landmarks. It took second place in its category. Judges said his “beautiful, quirky, and eye-catching lead image sets the perfect tone for this fun, nostalgic, and useful piece of journalism,” and that his “dreamy, whimsical style is a perfect fit for capturing the rich history of the region by showcasing some of the most prominent creators behind the town that launched a thousand novels.”
A series of articles on the Maidstone Gun Club by Christine Sampson and Christopher Walsh took third place for investigative/in-depth reporting. Judges said the series included “compelling storytelling on top of in-depth investigating,” and they appreciated “the multiple sides of the story covered” and the reporters’ “use of the Freedom of Information Act” in their research.
