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2008
Photo Contest Winners |
| We ran a photo contest in 2008.
Digital technology today makes it much easier to take and submit photos via
the internet, and our readers submitted over a thousand pictures!
Because of the wide array of photos, it was difficult to choose the winners,
but here they are with some comments about each one from publisher Brad Igou.
Congratulations to the winners! |
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"On the Way to Church"
Photo by Tom Bailey, Hilton Head
Island, SC
Tom wrote, "I was driving around the back
farm roads in my RV and I was stopped at a sign. We spotted this family
walking probably to or from church." He snapped the photo from inside his
vehicle.
Of the many photos I have seen of the Amish,
this one is truly unique, and one of those "just happened to be there at the
right time" situations. The chance composition of each family member dressed
for church all in a row, along with the fall colors and the various modes of
"transportation" make for a lovely photo that reflects the importance of
family and the calm beauty that make Lancaster County so special to us. |
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GRAND PRIZE: "On the Way to Church" |
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"Setting Up Shop"
Photo by Charles Rehm, Grahamsville,
NY
Charles wrote, "I am just an amateur
photographer that takes 1000's of pictures a month of various subjects. I am
a teacher in the Catskill Mountains, but have a second home in Paradise and
spend a lot of time in the area looking for photo opportunities."
Charles submitted several stunning photos,
but I liked this one for all it communicates. Here is a makeshift "raodside
stand"which is so indicative of the area. An Amish boy is obviously "the
manager," and is getting his decorated horseshoes ready on the right side.
Homegrown tomatoes ("no chemicals used") are for sale on the left. In
between are the mailboxes for the various families living nearby. And that
tall summer corn makes a perfect background. |
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FIRST
PLACE: "Opening Up Shop" |
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"Tilling Tobacco"
Photo by Donna Gingrich, Moriches, NY
Donna also sent us a selection of beautiful
photos. I especially liked this one because it exudes the quiet peacefulness
of working in the fields by oneself. I suppose it also shows Amish kids
don't get much of a summer vacation! The rich soil and the straight rows of
tobacco, along with the horizon that divides the photo, gives a sense of
great depth and openness. I am always impressed by those straight rows,
knowing that tobacco is still planted by hand, using a special vehicle
pulled by a horse or mule, with the riders dropping the plants in the rows
as they go through the plowed field. |
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SECOND PLACE: "Tilling Tobacco" |
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"Just Married"
Photo by Sharon Zerr, Rumson, NJ
I chose this photo simply because it shows
how we and the Amish are both alike and different. In some ways, this is
just like a non-Amish wedding, when we decorate the car with a sign that
says "Just Married." But of course, this is an Amish wedding, so there is a
carriage. Behind the buggy in the driveway is the "bench wagon," used to
haul the benches and other items needed for the church service and wedding
held in the house that day. The carrriage awaits the newlyweds as they
embark down the road on a new life together. |
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THIRD PLACE: "Just
Married" |
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"Making Hay"
Photo by Kelly Weizer, Burlington, NJ
Kelly took this photo when she was here in
August of 2008. While I have seen quite a few shots of the Amish making hay,
which is one of my favorite scenes in the area, this one had nice
composition and a beautiful progression of stratified greens and yellows in
the surrounding landscape. |
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HONORABLE MENTION: "Making Hay" |
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Photos are the property of
the Amish Experience/Amish Country News, and may not be used without
permission. 2009 |
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ENTER the 2010 Photo
Contest - DEADLINE is Dec. 31, 2010
Email (no more than
5 entries per person) to editor@amishnews.com |
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