I submitted nine images to the 2012 CPOY Competition in the Single Images category. This is the last time I will be able to compete in CPOY now that I am no longer a student, but because I was enrolled up until December 2011 I still qualify. The images must have been shot between Sept. 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, which includes my last semester of college and my time in Ghana but unfortunately excludes the recent work I have been doing as a staff photographer at the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
Click on an image to open a gallery. Scroll down to read the caption.
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- Homeless street children sleep in their headpans under a bridge Thursday, August 9 in downtown Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Almost all street children in the city of Kumasi migrated from the poor Northern Region in the hope that they would be able to earn money easily in the city and then return home with their earnings. In reality, the children end up working long hours carrying heavy items on their heads and have difficulty finding safe shelter and food. An alarming number of these children are not able to earn enough money to survive and turn to drug peddling and child prostitution.
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- Zachary Sims, dressed as âGrey Dawg,â rests during the first quarter of the Southern Illinois University vs Western Kentucky menâs basketball game, Dec. 7, 2011 at the SIU Arena. Sims, a senior studying Tourism Administration at SIU, says that being a mascot is a very big secret. âI remember faces really well,â said Sims, âso Iâll know most of the people I take photos with and Iâll see them on campus, they have no idea.â
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- A woman gathers wood Monday, August 13 on the shore of a man-made canal near Dixcove, Western Region, Ghana. The woman is a member of the Nzulezu village, a floating community built on stilts that is only accessible via canoe. The Nzulezu villagers must travel 45 minutes each way via handmade canoe to gather food or go to school.
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- Children play on the beach at the Green Turtle Lodge Saturday, August 11 near Dixcove, Western Region, Ghana. The children come from nearby villages and work all day climbing coconut trees, splitting them with machetes and selling the product to tourists.
JamesDurbinMedia.com 
Thanks J.L. for the card. Congradulation on your new opportunity in Midland, TX. The photos you have entered are sure to win, you have a very special talent that very few possess. The card photo was fatastic. Your careing and supportive attitude will take you far, don’t ever compromise your position for corporate America. Hope to see you some time soon,,,,,,,Smitty and Glo.
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These are SPECTACULAR photos, James ! Win or NOT….this is good work. Surely you will equally good opportunities to demonstrate your talents in Midland.
Love ya’
Yer Grandad and Alex