Six newspapers collected the 10 awards, which honor staff members for work published in 2012. The Chapel Hill News award went to “2012: The Year in Photos” (Harry Lynch and Mark Schultz).

Various McClatchy executives and editors not associated with the community publications judged the community newspaper competition this year.

Here is what the judges said:

“It is the faces, the motion and the camera angles that set apart these superb photos. The faces of three dogs – and one laughing woman – at a county dog swim. The close-up of two Tibetan monks working on a sand mandala, the hairs on their morning-shaved heads growing in hours later. The great-great-great-granddaughter of a slave, shown walking down into the slave quarters, shot from the perspective of the slaves below. The tiny tot caught mid-stroke as he plays a drum at the farmers’ market. The striking composition – off-balance, filling the frame, rich in color and detail, of a costumed man as red leather fire dragon. They all come to life in the lens of these two photographers who both seem to have a knack for telling passionate stories with one click of the shutter.”

For a complete list of winners, go to bit.ly/12Gsdig