Winners of 2007 photo contest announced

By JoAn Bjarko
Publisher

Judges carefully scored 78 photos to come up with nine winners in the 12th annual North Forty News-Fossil Creek Current photo contest. Scores were close enough to make note of honorable mention awards in all categories --Gardens, Children and Machines.

Winners in each group and the judge's comments follow.

Children

Valerie Adams of Wellington captures first place in this category with a black-and-white photo of her daughter taken at the Colorado State University test gardens. Judges liked the emphasis on the girl's hands and found it compelling that her eyes were not a part of the photo. It makes the viewer ask, "What is she thinking?" one judge observed.

Second place goes to Pamela Logan of Wellington with a charming photo of a young boy. Judges found that having one eye visible and other hidden in shadow added to the photo's interest. "It's a good, tight, colorful, candid photograph," one judge said.

Patsy Laubach of Livermore takes third place with an action shot of a young girl swinging over the Poudre River near Martinez Farm. The wedge of light on the river draws the viewer's eye, one judge commented.

Honorable mention goes to Nancy Faust of Fort Collins with her photo of two children and their dogs. Faust nicely captures a happy moment in a field of light snow.

Gardens

First place goes to Marika Ujvari of Windsor, who found an interesting angle on mushrooms. Judges liked the quality of the print and its composition and exposure.

Tammi Sullivan of Wellington gets the second-place award for her close-up of a small spider investigating a coneflower. The spider makes the photo unique and captures a moment when something is happening, judges said. The photo is also well composed.

Danelle McCollum of Fort Collins earns third-place honors for a close-up of flower petals opening to the sun. Judges liked the out-of-focus background and the patterns produced by the shadows.

A captivating blue bench wins honorable mention for Elaine Spencer of Fort Collins. Composition and color caught the eyes of judges. "The eye picks up the foreground and follows through," said one judge.

Machines

Larimer and Weld County residents found some interesting perspectives on the tools that have formed our civilization. First-place honors go to Elaine Spencer of Fort Collins with her photo of an old-time washing machine. Judges said placing children in the scene adds charm to the photo, and they enjoyed the expression on the girls' faces. Motion blur in the water gives the feeling of action, they added.

Steve Baird of Livermore wins second place for experienced hands at work with knitting needles. Good color, good skin tones, great exposure and composition summarize the judges' comments. They agreed Baird brings a unique interpretation to the category and said photographing someone at work caught their attention.

Third place goes to Amber Baatz of Greeley with her photo of a Weld County windmill. Judges liked the simplicity of the photo, its sharp contrast and the sense of barrenness.

Pamela Logan and Carol Nelson, both of Wellington, get honorable mention. Logan's photo captures a decisive moment of a shell popping out of a shotgun, so that it is not a static image. Nelson's irrigation equipment forms an angle that draws in the viewer, earning praise for good composition.

The Fossil Creek Current and North Forty News thank judges Gene Dodd, Tanya Chalimonczyk and Charlie Johnson for volunteering their time.

Dodd became an avid hobby photographer after retiring from the administrative information systems department at Colorado State University. Chalimonczyk heads the optics/kitchen department at Jax Outdoor Gear. She has a background in landscape design and art and has worked with photography for 30 years. Johnson, a former newspaper photographer, works for Larimer County Engineering and Open Lands. Many of his photographs hang in the Courthouse Offices Building.

Categories for the 2008 photo contest will be announced in the March papers.