Matt Swensen, the Creative & Photography Director for the New York Giants, took first place in the Feature category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's annual photo contest.

The announcement was made Thursday afternoon after nearly 1,200 images were submitted for consideration in the process.

"The talent pool of photographers around the league is deep and they're all so amazing," said Swensen, who has been with the Giants for nine seasons. "It's an honor to even be mentioned with them."

Swensen's submission, which he titled Rookies Take on Monday Night Football, captured cornerback Dru Phillips (22), wide receiver Malik Nabers (1), and tight end Theo Johnson (84) taking a moment in deep thought prior to the Giants' primetime game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 28, 2024.

"There's always a level of chaos during pre-game introductions, especially as the road team, and that is when I captured this photo," Swensen recalled. "On the opposite side of the field, I noticed three of our rookies in the end zone and they were backlit by the fireworks. I ran over trying not to be too intrusive in the moment because that's their time to get mentally ready."

Swensen added: "Feature images like this are important to capture for the storytelling and history of our teams. They stand side by side with action photos and bring out the deep emotions that run through the sport."

Bryce Todd, a photographer for the Los Angeles Rams, took home first place in the Action category and the Dave Boss Award of Excellence for his Air Puka photograph. All 20 of the photos that received honorable mention or higher will be displayed on a video kiosk at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Swensen's photo will be among those printed and mounted for display.

The voting panel included six prominent photo editors/photographers: Brynn Anderson, photographer, Associated Press; Ryan Kang, manager of photography at the NFL; Ben Liebenberg, director of photography/lead photographer for the NFL; Terrell Lloyd, director of photography and lead team photographer for the San Francisco 49ers; Brad Smith, vice president of photography at WWE; and Kevin Terrell, photographer-image creator/photo editor for Kevin Terrell Photography.