Kelly Presnell is one of three full-time staff photographers working at the Arizona Daily Star covering daily life in Pima County and Southern Arizona. Kelly is the current Arizona Photographer of the Year.
Waleed Aljashami takes the all in approach en route to winning the bobbing for apples contest at the family fun fest portion of the World Refugee Day celebration at Catalina High School, Saturday, June 22, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
Contestants usually try to snare an apple without getting too wet, so the kid going all out to win was great, but the clear bucket was key to getting an image being able to show that kind of drive.Â
Arizona guard Aari McDonald (2) yells for a timeout as Northwestern players converge on her in a scramble for a loose ball in the championship game of the WNIT at McKale Center, Saturday, April 6, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
Aari McDonald was the engine for the UA’s NIT championship season and was always in the middle of every scrum. Her intensity and willingness to throw herself into fights for the ball makes for eye-catching images.
Mitch Pollock tests the stirrups of his saddle as the prepares for the saddle bronc event on the second day of competition the 94th Annual Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, Snday, February 16, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
I was hoping to find something different behind the scenes of the Fiesta de Los Vaqueros Rodeo and saw this cowboy getting ready for his ride, I figured it more than qualified as different.
Laurie Kuzdal provides some needed support for her son Aaron as he and the Pueblo High School Road Warriors bike club close in on 17 hours pedaling to the record for the Indoor El Tour De Tucson record, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 13, 2019.
Trying to illustrate the physical pain of the event was important. An exhausted Pueblo High School rider holding on to his mom for support with one hour left of 17 hours in the saddle kind of summed up the team's grueling night.
The home plate ump gives an emphatic call, throwing Arizona's Branden Boissiere out at the plate after he tried to score the game winner from second in a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning of their exhibition game against Team USA at Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2019.
A close play and the juxtaposition of the opposing figures of an emphatic ump and a disappointed baserunner captured the heartbreak of losing out on the winning run with the Wildcats' last out of the inning.