By Rick Hiduk
A record 768 photos were entered in the 10th Annual Susquehanna Greenway Photo Contest, breaking the old SGP record. Winners were announced on July 14 after a panel of five judges moved between eight and 11 finalists forward from several hundred photos remaining in each of four categories and continued to narrow the field.
While the biggest winners this year were from the southern reaches of the Susquehanna River, two Bradford County photographers made it to the Top 12, while one photographer each from Bradford and Wyoming counties submitted photos that garnered honorable mentions and are currently up for People’s Choice Awards.
Second Place in the Landscapes division (top) was awarded to David Walsh of Bradford County. “On the way home from a long day trip out to Pine Creek Gorge we stopped at the Marie Antoinette Overlook and found this view,” he related “The late day lighting was soft and lighting up the beautiful farms and the river below.” Walsh said that he returned to the spot the next morning just to see if he might get an even better photo. “Nope. This one was the best.”
James Cole of Bradford County took Third Place in the Wildlife category with a closeup of a female snapping turtle (above) which had just laid her eggs. Cole doesn’t name the park or pond in Athens Township where the photo was taken, but explained that he took several photos and videos of her while he watched with fascination as she performed her task.
The winning photo was taken after she’d laid the eggs. “I didn’t want to disturb her too much until she had finished,” Cole noted. “After this, I watched her mosey back to the pond, leaving her eggs buried in the mud behind us.” To see the winning photos in their entirety, click on this link: Facebook.
Jim Wise of Tunkhannock in Wyoming County watched a bumblebee visit a large sunflower planted by his wife several times before he took a stunning photo of the insect gathering nectar.
Ed Boardman of Bradford County, who has done well in the SGP contest in previous years found himself in the finals again with a magical photo of fresh snowfall on the Bradford County Courthouse at Towanda.
The top three finishers in each of this years categories – Rivertowns, Landscapes, Wildlife, and Adventures – will receive cash prizes, and their photos will be printed, framed, and displayed at a number of galleries up and down the Susquehanna River. The first of these events will be Scenes & Sips on the Haiwatha on Friday, Aug. 6 near Williamsport.
Those 12 photos will be joined on the walls by the People’s Choice Winner in each of the four categories. To participate in the voting, interested readers can click on Facebook and “like” their favorite photos.
The Susquehanna Greenway is a corridor of connected trails, parks, river access points, and communities, linking people to the natural and cultural treasures of the Susquehanna River. The mission of the Partnership is to continue to grow the Greenway, inspiring people to engage with the outdoors and transforming communities into places where people want to live, work, and explore. To learn more, log on to Partnering with Local Leaders to Create Vibrant, Sustainable Communities… | Susquehanna Greenway