Second Place, Magazine Photographer of the Year

Randy Olson, Freelance/National Geographic

"Grand Banks Gold"
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When cod fish nearly disappeared, Canadian law closed Newfoundland's fishery in the early '90's, throwing 40,000 out of work and permanently clouding the future of this one-industry island. The only hope for the province was the discovery of oil in the most inhospitable part of the Atlantic Ocean - Iceberg Alley - known mainly for taking down the unsinkable Titanic. The solution for getting oil from this area was to embark on the largest construction project in North America - to build a small city on an oil platform with a solid core that could withstand the impact of small icebergs. With the highest unemployment in all of Canada, fisherman who would normally not go near this dangerous area in their boats found themselves training for a life on a man-made platform in the harsh sea.