Winterscapes Photo contest winners

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

By PJH Staff

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The fear of rejection comes with every attempt at new things. Sure, photo contests have been repeated with success in alt-weeklies across the country, but even if we isolate the sense that Jackson Hole is unique because it’s ours, we can still say that Jackson Hole is at least different from the rest of the world, because anybody can try anything with limited, however often piercing, criticism, and tons of support.

We’re happy that Planet Jackson Hole’s inaugural photo contest was a success, both in the number and in the quality of submissions we received. More than 45 residents sent us their best photographs, all of them taking to heart the Winterscapes theme, which emphasized abstract beauty over action and wildlife photos.

As beauty ought to be determined scientifically, our judges (Planet JH staff) rated the photos under three categories: aesthetic, technique and innovation. We left it to the judges to tally each category mentally and deliver the results to us with the highest rating possible (one sure to upset every art critic in the country): “I like it.” After three rounds, we had our winners, and though we had some photographers present multiple submissions, we chose their best submissions to open pages for other talents.

No doubt, the decision process was difficult – we enjoyed so many of the works – but it was also fun to go through a winter in JH though other people’s eyes, and we are very thankful to everyone for sharing their visions and imaginations with us.
Thank you also to Full Circle Frameworks and Gallery, as well as Big Horn Photo for sponsoring this contest with prizes and other support.

The top 10 Winterscapes photo contest winners will present a one-night gallery show 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Feb. 27, at Full Circle Frameworks and Gallery. PJH

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“Sunfrost” by Seth Neilson was a hands-down favorite in the inaugural Planet Jackson Hole photo contest. Judges appreciated the space, the repetition and the brilliant contrast of frozen weeds against an azure sky – not to mention the image’s Ice Age, apocalyptic presence.

Neilson said that he took the photo in January in the backyard of his Star Valley Ranch home. “The hoar frost kinda went crazy for a few days,” he said. “These were a trio of dried weeds that I shot from a few inches above the ground, so they’re actually much smaller than they appear.” Neilson shot the image with an Olympus C5060WZ; fixed lens; shutter speed 1/500; f/5.6; ISO 100.

Hamish Tear won second place with “Red Barn Door.” While also appreciating the framing and color of this photo, judges couldn’t deny the nostalgia for Wyoming winters that this photo evoked. “The image was taken on a mild, grey, snowy mid-January day. It is the steel barn at the end of Game Creek Road,” Tear said. He shot the image with a Nikon D300; 44mm Nikon 18-200 lens; shutter speed 1/500sec; f/11; ISO 400.

Third Place went to Amy Morton for “Burned Tree near Taggart Lake.” We liked a number of phallic images, but this was our favorite; in part for the fact that it does have a surreal quality in that you can’t quite tell what it is at first. Morton took the photo in the early afternoon last March. “A spring storm was coming, so it created a kind of surreal atmosphere,” she said. She took the photo with a Nikon Coolpix 3200, point-and-shoot.

Top: Winner “Sunfrost” by Seth Neilson, Star Valley Ranch
Second: "Red Barn" by Hamish Tear
Third: "Taggart Lake" by Amy Morton


PERMALINK:
Winterscapes Photo contest winners | Planet JH News Article: Cover Stories

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