P R E S S R E L E A S E :
Orcas Island Photo Contest – Winners
Contest
The Orcas Island Photo Contest started in late 2009 to provide a means to bring together the best photographs for an annual Orcas Island Photo Book book contest. 176 photographs were submitted to the Contest.
The San Juan Islands are one of the most beautiful areas in the world, and this year – 2011, the Orcas Island Photo Contest is expanding to include all of the San Juan Islands. A Contest called the San Juan Islands Photo Contest is being developed and encourages all of the Islands’ photographers to share their unique vision. “The Eyes of Islanders” – San Juan Islands edition will include all of the Islands in 2012.
The Contest judging completed earlier this year and book production is underway. This year, a Top Photograph was selected by an esteemed set of Judges from the Aspen Colorado area. I asked friends in Aspen to be the judges in this contest. All are in Aspen, so there’s little chance there would be any prejudice about photographs seen before. Most importantly, all three have unique and well established professional qualifications in photography. I’m very thankful for their participation.
The Winning Photographs will be available in a wonderful hard cover archival book.
The Winners of the Orcas Island Photo Contest
The first prize top photograph goes to Natasha Ryder for her photo “Dock” .
"Dock"
I asked Natasha about her involvement in Photography and she explained:
“ I had been interested in photography for years, but never had the means to pursue until my mother gave me my first camera, a Polaroid iZone 300 3.2MP, for my seventeenth birthday. Though professional grade picture quality still eluded me, I didn’t yet consider myself worthy enough to mind. I sought out subject matter wherever I went, photographing the same, inanimate object(s) nigh fifty times, striving for the perfect composition. I would later retire to my room for hours of juxtaposing each candidate against another. The list would thin out until I found the picture that contained the most of what I considered to be good attributes. These were elements like corresponding angles, points of focus, color, shadows, and balance. I used that camera to a demise that was rendered timely for my want of an upgrade. I later took a photography class as an independent study through the Orcas High School’s OASIS program. There I learned a few more tricks and some terms for what I had been doing. One of my assignments in that class was to enter a contest. I entered the Orcas Photo Festival because I had so many befitting pictures to choose from. Since then I have had a few more upgrades and have been taking as little as ten photos of the same content for my deliberation. I just got a Nikon DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm. and I’m still getting the hang of it. If you would like to see any more of my work you can find me on facebook, where I have posted a photography folder.”
The Winners in each Category
People
The top photograph according to the Judges is: “Chapman Fire”.
Photographer: Bob Phalen
"Chapman Fire"
Places
The top photograph selected by the Judges is: “Sunset Ride” .
Photographer: Rod Magner
"Sunset Ride"
Nature
The top photograph according to the Judges is: “ZAP!”
Photographer: Martin Taylor.
"ZAP!"
All the photographs selected, as well as those with honorable mention will be available in the archival quality hardcover book “Through the Eyes of Islanders”, due out in May, 2011.
Photographers receiving honorable mention by the Judge’s selection include additional images:
Randal Dean Monge, Adam Farish, Jerry D Eisner, Dennis DeHart, Russell Lee Post, Alita Humphrey, Dyan Holmes, Anthony Martinez, Kevin Page, Philomena Robinson, Keri Lago, Martin Taylor, Rod Magner, Bob Phalen
Judges
David Hiser is a long time National Geographic photographer who resides in Snowmass Colorado. David Hiser is a photojournalist and a photo educator who has led workshops and seminars throughout North America. He has had 20 stories published in National Geographic Magazine and many others in international publications including Newsweek, Smithsonian and Geo. His stock photo archive is represented internationally by Getty Images.
David’s photo career has been wide-ranging. He has twice been a first place winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition while many of his images of the the late “gonzo” author Hunter S. Thompson appeared in several recently released films and books. A long-time resident, David enjoys teaching as he shares his knowledge of the best photographic locations near Aspen.
David lives with his artist wife Annaday in the mountains near Snowmass, Colorado. His recently published photography can be seen in two locally available books: Aspen’s Rugged Splendor and Aspen: Rocky Mountain Paradise.
Andrea Wallace is the Artistic Director of Photography and Digital Media at Anderson Ranch Arts Center located near Aspen, Colorado. She received her MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before coming to the Ranch, she worked as Assistant Professor at Lake Forest College and Willamette University. Her film, Rochell and Brian, a documentary about teenage pregnancy, premiered at the New York International Independent Film Festival in 2006.
She has exhibited nationally and internationally with numerous shows throughout the Americas, Europe, China and the Middle East.
George Stranahan says “my family photography really started with my mother Virginia, universally called Did. She was an early user of 35mm and did her own chemistry. When I was eleven, she handed me her Leica 111g and the key to the darkroom. She acknowledged that with six kids she was finished. I don’t know if any of her negatives or prints exist; I remember them as quite domestic, family and kitchen scenes.” George Stranahan has several books published and his work can be found at http://flyingdogarts.com/content/view/16/29/ and his ground breaking photoblog http://www.georgestranahan.com/?page_id=148
George’s friendship with Gonzo Journalist Hunter S. Thompson is well known. His blog says “
Long time friend, neighbor and co-conspirator of Flying Dog owner George Stranahan, Hunter was a large influence on George’s life and subsequently on the creation of the Flying Dog brand; whether it was riding motorcycles, blowing shit up, or just getting a good, old-fashioned drunk on at the Woody Creek Tavern.”
http://www.flyingdogales.com/Gonzo-HunterSThompson.aspx
