FEATURE PHOTOS OF THE YEAR: WAVE RIDER

Daily Pilot photographers always look for an image that is colorful and interesting. We look for them on the land, as well as the sea. This year we saw a variety of interesting moments caught by our staff, but these were the best in our opinion.

Kent Treptow took the leading feature photo this year out in the waters off 56th Street in Newport Beach.

This shot of Robert Guy, 17, of the Newport Harbor High School surf team, as he slips into a wave, was taken with the aid of a water housing by Kent, and was the main image of a photo essay Kent produced on the Newport Harbor Surf Team this past year.

Kent spent many hours out in the water to capture the perfect image, something that is not uncommon in the world of photography.

Runner-up to the top spot was an image of equestrian rider Tommie Turvey Jr. getting a kiss as he performs a skit with his trained horse to the music of “Austin Powers” during the Flying U Rodeo’s Fiesta del Charro show on the last day of the Orange County Fair this past summer. Don Leach has a knack for capturing images like this, and he was in the right place at the right time during this performance.

The Newport Beach Film Festival brings out a variety of characters to help promote the films. Always on the hunt for a good photo, Don Leach spotted Chewbacca and snapped a photo of the Wookie working the media.

The majority of our assignments provide a great opportunity to capture a strong feature photograph. Jamie Flanagan’s image of dancers from the Claddagh Irish Dance Company performing on stage at the Orange County Marketplace is a perfect example of such an assignment.

Every year, the staff looks forward to the Orange County Fair due to its abundance of feature photo opportunities. An image of Sloppy Joe clearing a hurdle as the crowd cheers him on during the running of the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs at the Orange County Fair, which is one of the many opportunities that can be found on a daily basis at the fair. Kent Treptow used a remote camera set-up to catch the low-angle image.

- Mark Dustin

To see the rest of the photos, click here.