Finalist: Noah Berger, John Locher and Ringo H. W. Chiu of Associated Press
Nominated Work
Ravaged by Wildfire - Embers fly above a firefighter as he works to control a backfire as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The blaze had tripled in size overnight. Photo by Noah Berger.
Flames consume a home as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
Ravaged by Wildfire - Tim Biglow tries to save furniture from the Woolsey fire in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu.
An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu.
Firefighters monitor a backfire while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, near Ladoga, Calif. Photo by Noah Berger.
Firefighters discuss plans while battling the Carr Fire in Shasta, Calif., on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
Cathy Fallon pets her dog Shiloh at their home Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Shiloh was burned when a wildfire scorched the property, burning down Fallon's home. Photo by John Locher.
Araya Cipollini cries near the remains of her family's home burned in the Camp Fire, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Photo by John Locher.
An animal scrambles while flames consume structures as the River Fire burns in Lakeport, Calif., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
Homes leveled by the Camp Fire line the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park retirement community in Paradise, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
People visit the beach as the heavy smoke rises over the the Santa Monica Mountains during the Woolsy fire in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu.
A structure burns as the Carr Fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, Calif., on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
A firefighter rests while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, near Lodoga, Calif. Photo by Noah Berger.
Members of the California Army National Guard search a property for human remains at the Camp fire, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Photo by John Locher.
Phillip Harvey embraces his daughter Arianne Harvey as they stay warm beside a fire in Paradise, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018. The family lost their home in the Camp Fire and were living in an RV on the property. Photo by John Locher.
Firefighter Brandon Esquer makes his way down a hillside while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, near Ladoga, Calif. Photo by Noah Berger.
Troy Miller wipes his eyes as he walks beside a burned out car on his property Nov. 15, 2018, in Concow, Calif. Miller said he tried to evacuate when the Camp Fire came roaring through the area, but had to turn back when the roads were blocked with debris and fire. Photo by John Locher.
Emergency personnel evacuate patients as the Feather River Hospital burns while the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
Sheriff's deputies recover the remains of a victim of the Camp Fire on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Photo by Noah Berger/
Ravaged by Wildfire - The sun rises behind a home leveled by the Holiday fire in Goleta, Calif., on Saturday, July 7, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger.
Biography
Noah Berger is a freelance photographer and has spent 24 years covering the San Francisco Bay Area for editorial, corporate and government clients. He works for national and international news outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times. On the corporate side, Noah covers transportation and infrastructure for a variety of government agencies and works often with UCSF and other health care organizations. A native of New York, Noah lives on Alameda, an island across the bay from San Francisco, with his wife and 8-year-old son.
John Locher became a staff photographer with the Associated Press in 2014. Based in Las Vegas, he has covered the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, presidential campaigns and regional news stories in addition to stories in and around Las Vegas.
Ringo Chiu was born in China and raised in Hong Kong and graduated from Chu Hai College, where he earned a B.A. in journalism and mass communication. He also received his 2nd B.A. in special major with emphasis in photojournalism in California State University of Northridge.
Ringo currently lives in Los Angeles and is a freelance photographer working for the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, Getty Images and Zuma Press. In Hong Kong, he worked for The Express, Sing Tao Daily and Evening Post on various major assignments such as Eastern China flooding, Sino-British meetings in Beijing, amnesty for Chinese illegal immigrants in Macau, Hong Kong Handover 1997.