by Dena Popova
STAFF WRITER
From Feb. 20 to Mar. 30, the Stevens Gallery in Reid is exhibiting all the participating photos in the 29th Annual Photography Contest. Staying for more than a month, this year’s collection deserves a look.
Ryan Peinhardt was awarded with Best of Show and President’s choice for his photograph entitled “Good luck charm.”
After the opening Peinhardt said, “It was hard for me to choose just three images to submit. I like to show off my work as well as view what others are doing because there are quite a few people on this campus who are damn good photographers. The show this year is testament to that. I aim for shots where I don’t really need to alternate my images with Photoshop. This year, I chose images that were strong and bold naturally and that went well with gray matting as opposed to black or white.”
After seeing the exhibit, Fiona Taggart said, “I really like the natural photographs, but also it’s good that there are so many different styles represented. They all seem to be made by intelligent photographers.”
Margot Wielgus, one of the curators of the contest, explained that the new cap on number of entries per person significantly decreased the total number of entries.
She said, “This year we have 42 photographs, all of which are in the show. Last year we had a substantial amount more photographs, however, this year, we changed the maximum amount of entries per person to 3. Although we have fewer photographs, we are pleased with their quality.”
Wielgus explained the judging process, “The selection is done by an anonymous judge from the Walla Walla Photo Club, and it usually changes each year. The groups that sponsored prizes (the OP, the Intercultural Center, and the President,) each provided their own judges,” from their respective departments.
The Outdoor Program honored Rebecca Guillet’s “Loch Ness, Scotland” with Best of Show. The Intercultural Center awarded Todd Harrington for his “Rooftop at Cosa Mila,” and the Best of Color photograph was M. Burke Walker’s “Ravenna Park –– Early Morning.”
Walker said, “I got in with one-minute left in the deadline. I’m pleased with my picture and I’m delighted that someone else agrees with me. My only criticism is that the pictures are a bit jammed in there. It might not be a bad idea to save the last 5 days of the exhibition and have them devoted to just the award winners –– so they could be hung with some space around them.”
Eduardo Duquez, a photographer for the Pioneer, whose “Balboa Park” was announced Best of Black & White, said, “I thought it would be fun to enter the contest, and since I was planning on matting the photos I had taken anyway, it was convenient. It’s nice seeing photographs that other students submit, since there’s always a creative idea, subject, or technique that I can borrow for the future. So it’s too bad more people didn’t enter.”
Duquez continued, “I took my pictures at Ogden, Utah; Bennington Lake (in Walla Walla); and San Diego, Cali. This is my first time participating in a contest, so I’m delightfully surprised that I won something.”
