Our readers did not disappoint.
In our second annual photo contest, 553 pictures were submitted in the categories of nature, people and architecture. It was a painful process to winnow down so many striking images to a handful of winners, but we hope you agree that the pictures on these pages are spectacular, both for the emotion they convey and for the portrait they paint of our region.
Grand Prize
Veterans Memorial Park • Avon Lake, Ohio
Taken by Gina Linehan of Bay Village, Ohio
Gina Linehan had a list of errands to run with her two daughters, and knowing how bored they’d be, she built a bit of fun into the outing — a stop at the beach to play.
Like any good photographer, she brought her camera, a Nikon D70.
“I had been taking an online photography course, and I thought this would be a fun place to take some shots,” she says.
Once there, the girls (ages 7 and 10) began to play, looking for beach glass and shells and digging in the sand. “They started jumping around near the water’s edge, and when I stepped back to take some more shots, I noticed the old lifeguard chair,” Linehan says. “So I snapped away while they played in the waves.”
The results, well … you can see for yourself.
“I fell in love with this photo for several reasons,” Linehan says. “It captures the relationship between my daughters very well, and I love the fact that they are having so much fun together jumping in the tiny Lake Erie waves. I also love that the photo suggests someone is watching over them, even though they are blissfully unaware.”
Linehan has always loved photography, but it turned into a passion once the ideal subjects came along — her children. “My favorite kinds of photos to take are those that capture them in ordinary and beautiful ways,” she says.
Linehan and her husband grew up along the lake but moved to Cincinnati for work for a few years. “We knew we wanted to raise our family here,” she says. “The lake is such an amazing gift to see every day.”
Architecture the Man-made Environment
First Place
Marblehead Lighthouse • Marblehead, Ohio
Taken by Thomas Liskai of Helena, Ohio
Ah, the lighthouse shot — a perennial favorite of Lake Erie photographers. Of the 144 shots submitted in the architecture category, 28 included lighthouses.
Liskai’s photo, however, put a twist on the classic composition. With a sky as blue as the brightest July day and a snow-covered lake, the image makes you want to follow that path in the snow and take a seat on one of the benches. “The scenery …” Liskai says dreamily. “The way there was that blue sky.”
Liskai, who used a Canon 40D for this photo, confirms that lighthouses are indeed a favorite of his. He even took a trip to Michigan last summer to capture a new set of them.
Other frequent subjects of Liskai’s are covered bridges, Amish country, butterflies, birds and the Lake Erie shoreline.
Being a member of the Port Clinton Photo Club has been helpful, he says. “It gives you ideas of how to do better.”
Main Street Beach • Vermilion, Ohio
Taken by Scott Dommin of Vermilion
Another lighthouse, yes, but this photo is really more about the fury of Mother Nature.
Most of us, on such a night, would stay inside. Not Dommin. He was at home when he saw the radar on TV. “It showed a well-defined storm with heavy rain and lightning headed for Vermilion,” he says. “I quickly drove down to the beach, hoping for a shot.”
He didn’t just get a shot. He got the shot.
Dommin, who took the photo using his Canon EOS 5D, likes the photo because it shows “the power of Mother Nature alongside the works of man.”
Seconds after he got the shot, Dommin raced back to his car as it started to pour. Wisely, he stayed in the rest of the night.
Wind Turbines • Port Burwell, Ontario
Taken by Bruce Bolin of Port Burwell
It’s a scene Bolin sees every day from his Port Burwell home as he walks his dogs. Yet, at dusk it turns spectacular. “Like many photographers,” he says. “I cannot resist a sunset.”
Bolin took the photo using his Pentax K2OD set at an exposure of 0.0008 seconds at f5.6. He then cropped the photo to emphasize what he perceived as the most interesting portion.
To him, the poignancy of the photo is that it “combines an impression of the sun’s energy with our current efforts to utilize some of its effects on Earth.”
First Place
Point Gratiot Park • Dunkirk, N.Y.
Taken by Bryan Wilson of Kennedy, N.Y.
Wilson was on his way to the beach to photograph the sunset when he found the perfect frame for his shot — a grove of towering trees. It offered him a view that would be lost as soon as the spring warmed up a bit.
He pulled out his Nikon N60 and captured the scene. His advice to other photographers is to look beyond the sunset. “Don’t stop shooting when the sun goes down,” he says. “After this shot, I went down to the beach and captured several more great shots.”
Wilson enjoys shooting wildlife, landscapes and anything that keeps him outdoors.
In Flight • Niagara Falls
Taken by Brian Zeitler
of Orchard Park, N.Y.
When an out-of-town friend who had never seen the Falls came to visit, Zeitler took her to see the majestic site. A rainbow and bird in flight not only added to the effect, it helped make a great photo, taken with Zeitler’s Canon EOS 40D.
“The timing was right,” he says.
But in case you made the same mistake we did, Zeitler points out, “Just to clarify that, unfortunately, the bird is just a seagull and not an eagle.”
That’s OK, Brian. It’s still a winner.
Bench in Snow • Euclid, Ohio
Taken by Donald Miller of Euclid
Miller goes to this small park often to practice his photography. On the winter day this photo was taken, something was different.
“I have walked this path many times, but this time the light seemed to match the mood of the scene,” he says.
Miller thinks it’s the composition of the photo that makes it so compelling. Everybody who sees it has “a different take on how it makes them feel,” he says. But they are all drawn to the photo in the same way. “Very simple but strong,” he says.
Miller took the photo with his Nikon D300.
People
First Place
Lakeshore Reservation
North Perry Village, Ohio
Taken by Travis Yocum of Painesville, Ohio
It was one of those classic summer nights — warm and inviting. “We took our daughter to the park so she could play in the sand, and I could get some pics,” Yocum says.
Yocum then slipped away with his Canon XTI SLR to snap what he thought was the shot: an abandoned boathouse that had been overgrown with ivy. But it was upon his return that he found the real winner. “I caught this moment between my wife and child, silhouetted in the late sun. When I take a photo, I enjoy trying to capture a feeling or moment, not just an image.
“I really love this image,” he continues, “because it captures the joy of being a child and of being a parent.”
Cedar Point Amusement Park • Sandusky, Ohio
Taken by Lisa Kenning of Huron, Ohio
Kenning took this photo of her daughter Gwyneth last summer at Cedar Point Amusement Park as an experiment of sorts.
She was curious to see what would happen if she focused her Nikon D40X on her daughter and then followed her as the ride moved. “I was really excited about the results,” she says.
But she likes the photo for more than its technical merit. “I love this photo because my daughter is completely absorbed in the moment, unaware of the camera,” she says. “With her it can be a challenge to get anything beyond a forced smile, scared expression or a blurry picture of her running away from the camera.”
Mentor Beach Park • Mentor, Ohio
Taken by Bill Simmonds of Chardon, Ohio
Why is it always the last shots that turn out so spectacular? Simmonds and his wife, Carla, had been out shooting when they decided to make a final stop at the beach.
“I noticed the bike rider resting and enjoying the view,” Simmonds says. “Although there were a number of people there, I was able to isolate the person. There was just enough rim light on the edge of the subject to keep him from being a total dark silhouette.”
Those technical details resulted in a very emotional shot. “I like the peaceful, calm feeling of the subject matter,” says Simmonds, who used his Nikon D200. “The person is lost in his thoughts.”
Enter our 2010 PHOTO CONTEST
Send us your views of the Lake Erie region and enter for your chance to win. We’ll select a grand prize winner and first-, second- and third-place winners in each of the three categories. Winning photos will be featured in the March/April 2011 issue of Lake Erie Living.
For rules and prizes, visit LakeErieLiving.com,
and click on “Enter our 2010 Photo Contest.”
2009 Contest Judges
Greg Terepka
Greg Terepka is a Cleveland photographer who says that, although he certainly enjoys capturing landscapes and people, he is most strongly drawn toward the common and overlooked details that surround us. “Photography is my escape,” he says. “It allows me to isolate the subject from its environment and give it a life of its own for a short space in time.” Terepka’s work can be seen at gtphotography.us.
Laura Watilo Blake
Laura Watilo Blake is a Cleveland travel photographer and writer whose work has taken her to the far reaches of the globe, including the Sahara Desert, Peru and, most recently, Portugal. You can read her story and see her photos in “Rental Sweet Rental” on page 34 of this magazine. You can also read her blog and view her photos at farflungplaces.blogspot.com.
Colleen Smitek
Colleen Smitek is the editor of Lake
Erie Living. She has worked in publishing since 1997 and has a great appreciation for the work that goes on behind the lens.
