Recently, Grayslake area amateur photographers were invited to showcase their talent at the Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum. The museum used these photographs by local contributors as part of a new exhibition, Picture This: Celebrating Grayslake. Categories in the contest included people, places and events. Contestants included Leslie Armstrong (Central Park Freighter), Barb Bradley (Alleghany Field), Tina Curto (Listen), Robin Hartman (Crown of Birds), Jim Jobes (New/Old), D.J. Johnson (Through Eyes of Glass), Phil Merutka (Winter Willow), Maryanne Natarajan (Heading Home), TLC Nielsen (Over the Rainbow), and Andrew Roberts (Rollins Coyotes).
Photo contest judges included Dick Navarre, Paul Valade and Gilbert Boucher with the Daily Herald. The photo contest committee included Connie Dunbar, Dick Navarre, Dave Oberg, Nancy Reed, Charlotte Renehan and Paul Valade.
The judges selected three winners for the contest. In the category of event, they chose Maryanne Natarajan’s Heading Home. They noted, “The boy heading home was a nice moment and brought us back to fun times at the baseball diamond in the spring. The choice of the photographer to crop the image off center created a better picture. There was wonderful use of depth of field that created more focus on the base runner.”
In the category of place, the judges selected D. J. Johnson’s Through Eyes of Glass. They stated, “This is an excellent example of the perfect use of depth of field. It is nice that the 13-year-old photographer was observant enough to see the character in the subject of an ordinary mechanical instrument. It is interesting that out of the natural setting of Rollins Savannah, the photographer took a picture of a viewer and imbued it with a life of its own.”
The judges selected Andrew Roberts Rollins Coyotes for Best of Show, noting, “The coyotes stood out as the winner for the show because of the skill and luck it took to capture them in the wild. We are drawn to the eyes and the wonderful composition. The photographer demonstrated great patience in waiting for the moment.”
In addition, the public was invited to vote for a People’s Choice Award. Photographer Robin Hartman won this coveted award with the entry, Crown of Birds.
The photography exhibition will continue through the end of July. For more information, contact Dave Oberg, Executive Director, Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum at 847-543-1745 or doberg@villageofgrayslake.com or contact Charlotte Renehan, President, Grayslake Historical Society at 847-223-7663 or charenehan@aol.com.