Six finalists named in amateur photo contest

PICTURE PERFECT

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

Photographs with great color that captured spontaneous moments were selected as the finalists in the annual Foto Fest photography contest.

A panel of judges selected six winning photos from a field of 24. Each of the entrants already had been selected as semifinalists in previous weeks of the contest.

Prizes are yet to be given for the People's Choice award and a Best of the Web contest. Anyone can visit Westfield Shoppingtown West Park to vote for their favorite entry in the Foto Fest contest. Each week's winners were posted online and visitors to semissourian.com/fotofest can choose their favorite. The two awards will be announced following Labor Day.

Finalist winners were Alvin Kamp and Leslie Sievers, both of Jackson, Wayne McPherson, Marty Riley, Liz Grimes and Bob Myrick, all of Cape Girardeau.

The winning photos are listed in random order and appear on page 1C of today's edition.

"We are excited about the sea of pictures," said Joyce Hunter, coordinator of the contest for Westfield Shoppingtown West Park. All the entries are on display at the Pasta House court in the mall.

"You can't go by without seeing a group of people looking at the entries," she said.

Hunter said she's even had interest in the contest from residents in Owensboro, Ky., who are considering a similar event for their community.

"We've have a huge impact with this," Hunter said.

Judges chose photos for their visual appeal, composition and quality. Judges said Kamp's photo showed he had patience enough to wait for the lightning flash so he could capture it on film.

Sievers photo showed her son kneeling in a cornfield, and the picture, taken with black-and-white film, showed a "good play of light," one judge said.

McPherson's photo of a butterfly landing on a flower showed great composition and excellent color. The color of the flowers add good contrast, one judge said.

Riley's photograph of her 4-year-old granddaughter, Allison, playing with a puppy was a great example of the "relationship people have with their pets," a judge said. "It's a girl's best friend."

Riley captured the photo just after the child had gotten out of the pool as she was about to be licked by the dog.

Grimes' picture of her son and grandson shaving showed a "like father, like son," moment, judges said. The picture captured her grandson's expression perfectly, Grimes said.

Myrick's photo of a rainbow captivated judges. Judges said rainbows are difficult images to capture, and this one showed beautiful color. "I've never been so close to a rainbow," one judge wrote.

Sponsors for the amateur photo contest are the Southeast Missourian, Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, Mac's Smokehouse, the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport and Schnucks.

All winning and honorable mention photographs from this year's contest can be seen at semissourian.com.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126