Newsday photographers earn 11 awards from press group

Newsday photographers were awarded 11 prizes by the New York Press Photographers Association, including four first place finishes as part of the 2015 Year in Pictures and Multimedia contest.

Thomas A. Ferrara was awarded first place in the animals photo category for “The Princess and the Deep Blue Sea,” which captured a 3-year-old Rocky Point girl watching sea lions while visiting the Long Island Aquarium.

J. Conrad Williams Jr. won first place in the portrait category for his photo “House Fire” which showed a firefighter looking out the burned window of a Uniondale house fire.

Alejandra Villa received first place honors in the long form multimedia category, for her video “Gabriel’s World,” which detailed the story of fourth-grader Gabriel Dispenziere as he copes with eosinophilic esophagitis, a rare disease that makes him allergic to most food.

Craig Ruttle, an independent photographer working for Newsday, won first place in the features category for “All American Rush Hour.”

Newsday editor Deborah Henley said, “We’re all very proud that New York Press Photographers Association has recognized our colleagues’ powerful and compelling visual storytelling.”

Other honorees with work published in Newsday included independent photographers Uli Seit, John Roca and Audrey C. Tiernan.

More than 7,000 images were submitted for the association’s annual statewide awards.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.