CNN iReport Awards

I’ve referred to freelance photographer/instructor Michael Andrew on numerous occasions on the blog; the following is a direct copy from the Michael Andrew Photography Blog:
CNN announced today the finalists for its first yearly CNN iReport Awards and I was honored to learn I am one of 5 Finalists for the Breaking News Category for the image & story I posted about Evan Monsignac, the Haitian Rice vendor who had been buried alive for 27 days and amazingly survived.
In a weird way, being nominated for something like this is really humbling for many reasons. For one, I was able to see first hand a person's amazing will to live. Second, it seemed symbolic of the strength and will of the Haitian People to rise from the destruction. Both of these are reward enough for anything. Third, I'm not even sure if this will make sense, but to me, it is almost like karma's way of saying thank you for everything else were trying to do down there with the orphanage program. I have always believed that good things will eventually happen when you try your best to help others. I didn't go down there with the intention to get a picture or a story, I really just wanted to help, and it was just a luck of the draw to stumble upon Evan shortly after he was rescued. We were rejected by just about everyone for that first week, tired, hungry, and mentally broken down- I had many doubts about being there and wanting to leave. We stuck it out, and eventually it all paid off. This nomination is really icing on the cake.
More information at Michael’s Blog at http://www.michaelthemaven.com/
To view the finalists and vote, check out the CNN iReports Awards Page:
Michael Andrew a Finalist on CNN's iReport Awards