1. Chris Pietsch, ChrisPietschMedia.com.

2. Athena Delene, Delene & Co., 541-515-9442, Delene.Co.

3. Robert Scherle, Flickr.com/photos/robertscherle.

Chris Pietsch was introduced to photojournalism through his father and grandfather’s newspaper in Idaho — The Sandpoint-News Bulletin. At 16 years old, Pietsch worked his way up from the janitor’s closet into the darkroom where he found his lifetime passion.

“I was kind of a shy person,” Pietsch says. “Photography was a kind of ticket to being in with different cliques and stuff.”

After almost 39 years at The Register-Guard, USA Today let the legend go, but his photos remain throughout the newspaper’s archives and now, in Eugene Weekly’s Best of Issue. After many nominations for Best Photographer, this year he will finally take home the title.

“I will kinda say in summation that it’s been kinda fun to, you know, win an award on the way out, a little bit,” says Pietsch. He described it as “a cherry on top of the sundae.” — Bayla Orton