June 8, 2004 The editors of The New York Times Magazine announced today the winners of the "Capture the Times" photography contest for college students. The contest invited undergraduate and graduate students from around the country to submit a photo essay or portfolio reflecting the way we live now. The winners were chosen by a panel of The Magazine's senior editors.


"We were thrilled by the variety and creativity of the more than 350 submissions for this photo contest," said Gerry Marzorati, editor of The New York Times Magazine. "The level of sophistication and originality of the submissions was heartening and inspiring. We can look forward to following many of these able photojournalists as their careers develop."

The Grand Prize winner is Sarah Stolfa, 29, a photography major in her junior year at Drexel University. Her submission is a color photo essay featuring the patrons of McGlinchey's, one of the oldest taverns in Philadelphia, and suggests the isolation and loneliness of drinking in a bar.

Two runners-up were chosen as well. One is Matthew Pillsbury, 30, a recent graduate of the School of Visual Arts graduate program in New York City. His series, called "Screen Lives," consists of 11 black and white, long-exposure, still-life photos in which the dominant source of illumination is from a television or computer screen. These photos are now on display at Bonni Benrubi gallery on the Upper East Side of New York City.

The other runner-up is Pinar Yolacan, 23, a recent graduate of Cooper Union in New York City. Her submission consists of a series of 16 color photos that reflect on the psychology of clothing and adornment. It consists of portraits of women dressed in clothing and jewelry made of chicken parts.

The Grand Prize winner will have her work published in the June 13 issue of The Magazine, and receive a cash prize of $1,000 and an Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera with a 14-54mm lens. Two runners-up will have their work featured on The New York Times Web site, www.nytimes.com, and receive Olympus Stylus Digital cameras.

The contest was open to work that was created in the past year and had never been published. Submissions represent photojournalism, portraiture or art photography.