LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHERS TEST NEW METHODS FOR CONTEST ENTRIES

Nancy Moreton had a picture in mind when she headed to the pool with her daughter, Catherine, and friends.

"My brother is a professional photographer in Kansas," Moreton said. "I'd seen the stop-action pictures he takes, and I wanted to try it."

But, Moreton, who lives in Cape Girardeau, is an amateur. "I knew I'd have to take a roll of film, get it developed and try again."

Moreton spent an afternoon snapping pictures of her daughter and friends popping out of the water trying to catch the splash on film.

"When I got the roll of pictures back they were terrible, really horrible, except one," she explained. "It was the first one I took."

That first picture of Catherine popping out of the water was selected as a semifinalist in the KINSA Contest.

Other semifinalists are Pat Uptain and Maggie Friend, both of Cape Girardeau, and Glenda Myracle of Jackson.

KINSA, Kodak International Newspaper Snapshot Awards, is the world's largest annual amateur-snapshot contest.

The local contest, sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, runs for six consecutive weeks. The last date for entries is 5 p.m. Friday, July 31.

The Southeast Missourian is the only newspaper in Missouri sponsoring a KINSA competition. It is open to current residents of Missouri counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard, Perry and Madison and Illinois counties of Alexander, Pulaski and Union.

Cape Girardeau photographer Pat Uptain was visiting her grandson, Ethan Robinson, in Bakersfield, Calif., this spring when she helped young Ethan do a self-portrait on the sidewalk.

"It was cool that day, and he wanted us to sketch around him. He colored it in with chalk, and I just thought it was unusual," Uptain said.

"I'm a retired teacher," she explained. "Now I make a lot of pictures."

Friend grows flowers specifically to attract butterflies, in part because she likes to photograph flowers and butterflies. She bought the yellow flowering bush in the photograph at the local farmer's market and said it does a great job of attracting butterflies.

This is Friend's second year as a semifinalist.

"This KINSA has really paid off for me," Friend said. "After I did so well last year, my husband bought me all new camera equipment. I got a new camera for Christmas, and for Mother's Day an electronic flash."

The names of photographers are carefully concealed. Judges do not know who took the pictures until after the judging.

Myracle and her husband were vacationing at Glacier National Park this summer and taking lots of photographs of the scenery.

"I loved the reflection in the water," she said. "I thought it was beautiful."

Myracle does a lot of photography and scenery is one of her favorite subjects, especially reflections in water. These pictures can be tricky though, she explained. "At least this one you can tell which end is up," she said. "Sometimes the reflection is so clear it's hard to tell."

In all, 24 semifinalists will be selected by a panel of community judges. From those, eight finalists will be forwarded to the international competition.

Entries will be accepted at Schnucks, Southeast Missouri Hospital's Generations Center, Target, Western Sizzlin and Delmonico's.

Entries will also be accepted at Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the Banner Press office in Marble Hill.

Entries can be mailed to Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701, Attention: KINSA.

Photos must be taken on Kodak film and use Kodak processing. Only prints will be accepted at the local contest level. No negatives, slides or transparencies will be judged.

Photos must have been taken after Jan. 1, 1996.

There is no cost to enter and no limit on entries. No photos will be returned.

For information, contact Joyce Hunter at (573) 335-6611, ext. 150.