Photo Contest
2011
12/22/2011
Many times in life, we overlook the simplest scenarios and miss moments worth capturing. But, thankfully, this year’s photo contest participants didn’t. With an array of unique but familiar images, the mundane and usual became interesting and moving. It was one of our toughest contests with so much diversity yet the simplicity kept us coming back to reflect on the point of view of many of the photographers.
For the second year in a row, we accepted digital entries and had a great response, up from last year bordering on a 150 entries. With a panel of five judges — Christy Sisneros, Shane Cohn, Michel Cicero, Michael Sullivan and David Comden — the finalists were narrowed down to amateur color and amateur black and white photography, with a few honorable mentions. The finalists included such imagery as a creepy spider, a Cadillac with California attitude, and trains in motion. Only the simplest of criteria in judging — quality, creativity and curiosity — secured the votes of the judges.
Thank you to our contest sponsor:
Amateur Color • 1st Place • Brett Ladner “A Cadillac at the Cash Fest in July.”
Amateur Color • 2nd Place • Daniel Gonzales
Amateur Color • 3rd Place • Emily Ann Vaugh
Symphony Rutledge, as photographed by Emily, 17, a junior at Ventura High School.
Amateur Color • Honorable Mention • Alexus Wilhite
“I wanted to take pictures without setting up something elaborate. This picture is just folded paper stars.”
Amateur Color • Honorable Mention • Kristen Clark “This photo was taken of my neighbor’s flowers. By laying the camera on the ground, you can get some amazing views as if you were an ant and this is what you would see.”
Amateur • Honorable Mention • Ron Nicholson “This old bike caught my
eye at the David Mann Chopperfest at the Ventura Fairgrounds.”
Amateur • Honorable Mention • Aaron Friedman
“My main idea of this photo was nostalgia. As a kid, stacking Oreos was absolutely incredible. Shooting this picture brought me back to a better time.”
Amateur • Honorable Mention • Dani Engel
“A heart shaped shadow from the handle of a coffee mug.”
Amateur B&W • 1st Place (Grand Prize Winner) • Israel Rios
“The spider picture was taken last week. I almost stepped on that guy walking out the door. I got the camera, took the shot and dropped him off in some bushes.”
Amateur B&W • 2nd Place • Broc Ellinger
“I enjoy taking photos of iconic objects around Ventura County and enjoy the experiences that come with the photos.
Amateur B&W • 3rd Place • Kaizer Rangwala “Over the Han River”
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