Lake Superior Photo Contest 2009 Winners

The 2009 Winners of the14th Annual Lake Superior Photo Contest

This year’s photo contest generated our largest number of entries, with more than 200 individuals and nearly 2,000 images submitted. Needless to say, our judging panel had its work cut out for it. This year’s Grand Prize winner will receive $200, plus a one-year subscription to our magazine and a Lake Superior Calendar. Other prizes include mini calendars and Lake Superior collection items.

A display of contest winners will be shown in February and March at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth with prints provided by First Photo

Next year’s photo contest deadline will be October 19, 2009. See details online or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the rules to Lake Superior Photo Contest, P.O. Box 16417, Duluth, MN 55816-0417.

| Click on Images for Larger View |

Grand Prize

“A stormy night at the North Pier in Canal Park, Duluth”
Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

Judges' Comments:

Sometimes great photography is being in the right place at the right time, but serendipity alone will not capture what those “rights” offer. It takes a good photographer to be able to translate a spectacular moment into an image. Such is the “Stormy Night” photo, which combines a well-thought-out composition converging piers, lighthouse and walkway lights with a layer of water and a stunning reflection.

It’s obvious that the photographer has an artistic eye and was paying careful attention to everything that was going on in the frame (reflection, people in foreground), making this photo a unique, well-balanced composition.

First Prize - Humor/People

“Willow retrieving a stick at Big Bay Town Park”
Madeline Island, Wisconsin
Roslyn Nelson • Washburn, Wisconsin

Judges' Comments:

Our four-legged, furry children enjoy the lake as much as we do. That’s easily seen by this rollicking image that grabbed Willow’s enthusiasm along with an energy in splashes and flying fur, all of which make this a winner.

The color, quality and sharpness of this photo also make it a winner. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

Second Prize - Humor/People

“Standing in the bubbles of
Chequamegon Bay, Ashland, Wisconsin”
Susan Spangle • Ashland, Wisconsin

First Prize - Land/Lakescapes

“Fall at Bond Falls in Michigan”
Tamara Rivette • Marquette, Michigan

Judges' Comments:

Readers of Lake Superior Magazine are not unfamiliar with Bond Falls as a photo contest winner. In photographing a familiar spot, this shot struck the judges because of its extraordinary lighting along with a stop-action setting that invite the viewer to an enchanted place.

Second Prize - Land/Lakescapes

“Piers in the lower harbor at Marquette”
Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

First Prize - Nature

“A babe in the woods between Negaunee and Marquette”
Kaley Lein • Negaunee, Michigan

Judges' Comments:

A babe in the woods focuses on details that make this a great shot: the cub’s face and paws, intermingled with the thin branches of the tree. The sad addendum to this story is that the cub was one of two orphaned that the photographer stumbled upon a couple of days after a report of a bear hit by a car. The photographer contacted the Department of Natural Resources, which found a home for the cubs.

Second Prize - Nature

“A yawning fox in
Chapleau Crown Game Preserve, Ontario”
Ken Randall • Midland, Michigan

Honorable Mention - Land/Lakescapes

“The Presque Isle River in the
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Michigan”
S. Gowtham • Red Bank, New Jersey

Honorable Mention - Land/Lakescapes

“A metal sculpture on a bridge of the
Kaministiquia River in Thunder Bay”
Jeff Elvish • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

Honorable Mention - Nature

“A snarl of waves at Castle Danger”
Dan Overby • Beaver Bay, Minnesota

Honorable Mention - Nature

“A hungry squirrel at White Pine”
Teri Giuliano • White Pine, Michigan

Finalist - Humor/People

“Blue ice at Brighton Beach”
Susan Rantala • Duluth, Minnesota

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Old terminal warehouse on Lake Superior”
Kurt Lach • Plymouth, Minnesota

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Split Rock Lighthouse by moonlight”
Ben Podolak • Baraboo, Wisconsin

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Checking the nets near Marquette”
Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Morning Colors in Duluth”
Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

Finalist - Nature

“Heron in a northern lake”
Renee Boudreau • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

Finalist - Nature

“Moose and calves on the Gunflint Trail”
Michael Hubred • Champlin, Minnesota

A display of contest winners will be shown in February and March at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth with prints provided by First Photo

Next year’s photo contest deadline will be October 19, 2009. See details online or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the rules to Lake Superior Photo Contest, P.O. Box 16417, Duluth, MN 55816-0417.

| Click on Images for Larger View |

Grand Prize

“A stormy night at the North Pier in Canal Park, Duluth” Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

First Prize - Humor/People

“Willow retrieving a stick at Big Bay Town Park” Madeline Island, Wisconsin Roslyn Nelson • Washburn, Wisconsin

Second Prize - Humor/People

“Standing in the bubbles of Chequamegon Bay, Ashland, Wisconsin” Susan Spangle • Ashland, Wisconsin

First Prize - Land/Lakescapes

“Fall at Bond Falls in Michigan” Tamara Rivette • Marquette, Michigan

Second Prize - Land/Lakescapes

“Piers in the lower harbor at Marquette” Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

First Prize - Nature

“A babe in the woods between Negaunee and Marquette” Kaley Lein • Negaunee, Michigan

Second Prize - Nature

“A yawning fox in Chapleau Crown Game Preserve, Ontario” Ken Randall • Midland, Michigan

Honorable Mention - Land/Lakescapes

“The Presque Isle River in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Michigan” S. Gowtham • Red Bank, New Jersey

Honorable Mention - Land/Lakescapes

“A metal sculpture on a bridge of the Kaministiquia River in Thunder Bay” Jeff Elvish • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

Honorable Mention - Nature

“A snarl of waves at Castle Danger” Dan Overby • Beaver Bay, Minnesota

Honorable Mention - Nature

“A hungry squirrel at White Pine” Teri Giuliano • White Pine, Michigan

Finalist - Humor/People

“Blue ice at Brighton Beach” Susan Rantala • Duluth, Minnesota

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Old terminal warehouse on Lake Superior” Kurt Lach • Plymouth, Minnesota

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Split Rock Lighthouse by moonlight” Ben Podolak • Baraboo, Wisconsin

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Checking the nets near Marquette” Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

Finalist - Land/Lakescapes

“Morning Colors in Duluth” Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

Finalist - Nature

“Heron in a northern lake” Renee Boudreau • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

Finalist - Nature

“Moose and calves on the Gunflint Trail” Michael Hubred • Champlin, Minnesota

| This Year's Contest | Table of Contents | Home |

©2009 Lake Superior Port Cities Inc. All rights reserved.

January 2009

“A stormy night at the North Pier in Canal Park, Duluth”
Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

“Willow retrieving a stick at Big Bay Town Park”
Madeline Island, Wisconsin
Roslyn Nelson • Washburn, Wisconsin

“Standing in the bubbles of
Chequamegon Bay, Ashland, Wisconsin”
Susan Spangle • Ashland, Wisconsin

“Fall at Bond Falls in Michigan”
Tamara Rivette • Marquette, Michigan

“Piers in the lower harbor at Marquette”
Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

“A babe in the woods between Negaunee and Marquette”
Kaley Lein • Negaunee, Michigan

“A yawning fox in
Chapleau Crown Game Preserve, Ontario”
Ken Randall • Midland, Michigan

“The Presque Isle River in the
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Michigan”
S. Gowtham • Red Bank, New Jersey

“A metal sculpture on a bridge of the
Kaministiquia River in Thunder Bay”
Jeff Elvish • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

“A snarl of waves at Castle Danger”
Dan Overby • Beaver Bay, Minnesota

“A hungry squirrel at White Pine”
Teri Giuliano • White Pine, Michigan

“Blue ice at Brighton Beach”
Susan Rantala • Duluth, Minnesota

“Old terminal warehouse on Lake Superior”
Kurt Lach • Plymouth, Minnesota

“Split Rock Lighthouse by moonlight”
Ben Podolak • Baraboo, Wisconsin

“Checking the nets near Marquette”
Mark Mitchell • Marquette, Michigan

“Morning Colors in Duluth”
Robert Welton • Duluth, Minnesota

“Heron in a northern lake”
Renee Boudreau • Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota

“Moose and calves on the Gunflint Trail”
Michael Hubred • Champlin, Minnesota