Finding art through a camera’s lens, Bosque Arts Center’s Photography Guild hosts its annual Youth Photography Contest with show & awards ceremony

CLIFTON – With excellent phone cameras photography as a hobby has become more and more accessible. Anyone with a good eye and some knowledge of composition, color and lighting can make lovely photos. And it is a hobby you can start young and continue enjoying all through life.

The Bosque Arts Center’s Photography Guild was founded in the mid-1980s and serves as a venue to promote, as well as cultivate education and interest in photography. In an effort to engage the youth, the guild organizes a Youth Photography contest. After a few years of absence, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth aged Kindergarten to 12th grade entered their favorite photos in the show which culminated in a reception and awards ceremony March 30.

“We like photography and we like to share our passion,” BAC Photography Guild show organizer Vickie Mitchell said. She and co-organizer Patricia Ferguson were happy with the number of entries and the many places represented in the show. They hope to grow the show and encouraged people to spread the word.

This year’s judge David Carter – an award-winning photojournalist with 30 years of experience – juried 85 photos by youth from Aquila, Clifton, Crawford, Hamilton, Iredell, Kopperl, Meridian, Valley Mills and Whitney. Several homeschooled youth also participated in the show.

Together with parents, grandparents, friends and other family, the young creative photographers eagerly looked at the exhibit to see if they had won an award. There was a diversity of subjects on display, showing the interests of the young photographers – from nature and landscapes, to friends and family and pets

In the Kindergarten – second grade, Iredell’s Bailey Brackeen won first place with a sunset photo of her dog. The lighting and composition stood out in this young photographer’s work. Lucy Pliscott from Valley Mills won second place with the photo of her dog. She also won People’s Choice with a backlit photo of her horse Acey. Six-year-old Layne Hoff from Clifton placed third with a photo of a toy truck placed at the Clifton spill way – the orange and black contrasting the grey concrete back ground.

His sister nine-year-old Campbell won first prize in her category third-fifth grade with a photo of Layne pulling a silly face. She had hoped the photo of their Australian Shepherd Parker licking its nose would win, but she was nevertheless happy with her prize. Campbell loves taking photos with her Polaroid, snapping friends, festivities and pets. For her award-winning photo she used her mother’s phone. Iredell’s Karyn Izbell won second place with a stunning red door in a limestone façade. And Brooklyn DeJong won third place with a photo of her orange tabby Scrambles on a mission.

Homeschooled 10-year-old Brooklyn used her mother’s Nikon DSLR for the assignment, and learned how to use it, download photos onto the computer and more. Her other photos entered were also of family pets Smoke and mini horse Cowboy Biscuit Fashion Cupcake – CB for short.

Caylee Trimble won first place and Judge’s Choice in the sixth-eighth grade category with the photo of a stain glass window – the lighting and the point of view drew the viewer in. Jaxon Martinez won second place with a photo of a zebra. Lily Domel had several landscape photos. The one with last light hitting high pine trees in the mountains garnered her a third place.

In the largest category of ninth-12th grade, homeschooled senior Piper Boyd took first place with her white plum tree blooms against a cerulean blue sky with her hand reaching upward. She liked this photo because it can only be taken at a certain time of the year, and her hand, and the branches gave the photo an upward spiral feel, representing reaching upwards.

Tenth-grader Ellie Baker explained how she made her second-place photo of hands reaching up at a concert. While she uses a phone for her photography, Ellie uses different settings of lighting and shutter speed to enhance her photos.

His 4-H chapter Photography ambassador, De’von Wardlaw had a diversity of photos entered – from his rooster, a Painted Bunting at his uncle’s bird feeder, rock formations at Palo Duro, a moon rise in challenging lighting – showing his range. He won third place with a photo of the night sky taken at Big Bend National Park.

While some photos did not make the final cut, Carter considered them special enough to merit an Honorable Mention, which included Colin Klumpp, Karyn Isbell and Sophia Baker.

The Photography Guild offers the community a valuable resource for viewing photography. A permanent collection of photographs is on display on the second floor of the Arts Center. This collection represents photographs purchased by the Guild and personal favorites of current members.

Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS

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