Calendar photo contest winners announced
Amy Menerey
NLJ Designer
The Weston County Community Calendar, presented by the Lions Club, News Letter Journal, and the Weston County Arts Council, has announced the winners of its 2020 Lions Club Calendar Photo Contest.
The photo contest was new this year, with requests made to the public to submit images shot within Weston County depicting any of six categories: Community, Ranching/Cowboy, Industrial, Kid-friendly, Landscape, and Wildlife. Images will be featured in the calendar, which is expected to be released in December.
Photos were judged by a panel from the Arts Council, News Letter Journal, and guest judge Jim Frei.
Judging was based on expression of theme, technical execution (exposure and focus, composition, lighting, color balance, center of interest), originality, artistic merit, and “Wow Factor,” with a 1 to 6 numerical scoring system, giving a lowest possible score of 40 and a highest possible score of 240.
The Grand Champion winner, based on this scoring system, is a photo of an American Robin perched on a branch, submitted by Sandra Lund, which is also the first-place winner of the Wildlife category.
It should be noted that during
the judging process, the judges were not privy to any information regarding the photographers who submitted
the entries.
“We wanted to keep the contest as impartial as possible,” said Amy Menerey, organizer of the judging process and graphic designer for the News Letter Journal. Menerey, a photographer for more than 20 years and owner of Lost Cabin Photo and Design, recruited Frei as a guest judge. He was her photography instructor for many years and worked with her to organize a photography club at Mat-Su College in Palmer, Alaska, in the 1990s. Frei received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Columbia College in Chicago and San Francisco State University. He has taught all levels of photography for the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and at Mat-Su College (a satellite of UAA) since 1982. He currently teaches photography and digital editing. His work is in public and private collections including the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
Of the contest entries, Frei wrote, “I never tire from looking at photographs. In competitions such as this one, there are going to be some very pleasant surprises and I was not disappointed. It was a pleasure to meet your community through your photographs.”
The Weston County Community Calendar is a decades-long tradition in Newcastle which features the birthdates and anniversaries of community members, as well as local events. A Lions Club fund-raising project, the calendar – known as the Lions Club Calendar – was published by the Lions Club until recently when they weren’t able to continue producing it. After a one-year hiatus, the News Letter Journal stepped in to partner with them, bringing the calendar back for the 2018 calendar year. This year the Weston County Arts Council is also partnering with the Lions Club to help. All proceeds of calendar sales and entry fees go to the Lions Club while costs of printing and design are covered by sponsors – local businesses that advertise in the product. The birthday and anniversary dates are also published weekly in NLJ’s What’s Up calendar.
“This calendar really is a great tradition, and with the inclusion the Arts Council and local photographers in the production of this year’s calendar it is truly a community collaboration. This is a project I’m really proud of because it is a great way to showcase the community. The quality of what these different individuals and organizations have come together to produce is as impressive as anything you’ll find in much larger communities, and I’m glad the News Letter Journal is able to be a part of this,” NLJ Publisher Bob Bonnar said.