Landscapes win in photo contest

Southeast Missourian

Penny Bender was on her way to work when she saw the sunlight streaming through trees in her yard. It was a moment she wanted to capture on film.

And that photograph, taken with black and white film, was among those selected as semifinalists in the second week of the Foto Fest 2002 contest. The contest runs for four more weeks.

Winners were Bender, Debbie Trautman and Bob Myrick, all of Cape Girardeau, and Leslie Sievers of Jackson, Mo.

Bender said she liked how the sunlight looked through the trees and went inside to get her camera. She often takes landscape photos or pictures of nature "because I'm looking for things I might put on the wall," she said.

She did frame another photo of that same scene.

Leslie Sievers also chose a black and white image to enter in the Foto Fest contest. Her picture of her son, Christian, 5, squatting between rows of corn captured judges' attention.

One judge said it was "a fun photo with an interesting effect. It makes you want to study it closer." Another judge liked the clarity of the black and white print.

Sievers took the photo at the Don Sievers family farm in Tilsit, Mo. Her son had been walking in the field and she asked him to squat down so she could take his photo. "I like the matte finish" of black and white, she said. "It has a unique look to it and lasts longer than color."

Debbie Trautman takes plenty of photographs of her daughter, Hannah. Some of the pictures are sent to grandparents who live out of state. But several made their way to the Foto Fest contest this week as entries. The image of Hannah sitting next to a pumpkin was one that judges thought too cute to pass by. Trautman took the picture at their home before the family carved up the pumpkin for Halloween last year.

A repeat winner

Bob Myrick was a repeat winner in the photography contest. His image of an ocean inlet and tropical trees looked peaceful and picturesque, judges said. Another judge said the "photo has an ethereal quality and is very moody and misty. You can almost feel the humidity."

Myrick took the photo in June during a trip to see relatives in Hawaii. "We were going up to the beach and driving along a two-lane road right next to the oceanfront," he said. "With the trees in the foreground and the water and the hills I thought it made a pretty picture."

His photo of a rainbow in the clouds also was selected as a semifinalist last week. That picture also was taken on the trip to Hawaii. Myrick said he's got another photo that might be even better than the previous winners and plans to enter it next week.

Several other pictures entered in the contest received honorable mention and can be seen at www.semissourian.com. Entries also are on display at the Pasta House court at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

The contest is open to residents in Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri.

There is no limit to the number of photos that can be entered or the size or quality. However, no photos will be returned.

Weekly semifinalist winners receive $10 gift cards to the mall and certificates of recognition. Each semifinalist winner will be entered in a contest to choose six finalists and a grand prize winner.

Entries can be submitted to the customer service counter at the Shoppingtown or at Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill or Chaffee. You can also mail your entries to Foto Fest 2002, c/o Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, 134 West Park Mall, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63703.

Entry forms are available at www.semissourian.com.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126