CCM Photo Club Names High School Photo Contest Winners
Breathtaking Images Selected from More than 800 Submissions Statewide – Posted 5/23/16
The Photo Club at County College of Morris (CCM) recently announced the winners of its fourth annual photography contest for New Jersey high school students. Again this year, the competition’s sponsor, Unique Photo Superstore in Fairfield, provided first-, second- and third-prize gift certificates.
Winning first place was Brandon Ancis, of Sparta High School, for “Entrapped.” Olivia Boon, of Roxbury High School, took second with “Hamartia,” and Mitch Highers, of Pompton Lakes High School, placed third with “Right Brain.”
“The competition was so stiff that we decided to award fourth place to Peter Wezyk, of Westfield High School, for “Mt. Rainer Banana Border,” said Hrvoje Slovenc, the Photo Club’s adviser and professor of photography at CCM. Gabriela Perez, of Bridgewater-Raritan High School, and Jennifer Avery, of Roxbury High School, won the Popularity Award, which is presented for the photos that received the most likes on the competition’s Facebook page.
Honorable mentions were awarded to Catherine Benoit, of Newark Academy; Faith Callamari, of West Milford High School; Sarah Veasey and Tatiana Esteva-Ingram, of Sparta High School; Jenny Yan, of Watchung Hills Regional High School; and Anthony Carbonaro, of Pompton Lakes High School.
The contest was open to all New Jersey high school students and this year’s theme was “Borderlands,” which allowed students to creatively define a thin line between two geographical locations, states of minds, emotions or between history and myth.
The winners were announced at an exhibition and reception held at the CCM Art Gallery on Saturday, May 14. CCM Photo Club members served as judges for the event. Of the more than 800 submissions received from dozens of high schools around the state, 52 were selected for the exhibition. High schools featured in the exhibition included Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Columbia High School, Morris Knolls High School, Mountain Lakes High School, Newark Academy, Pompton Lakes High School, Roxbury High School, Sparta High School, Watchung Hills Regional High School, Westfield High School, West Milford High School and Windsor Prep High School.
“The quality of the work was overwhelming, and the members of the CCM Photo Club had an extremely hard time selecting the finalists,” said Slovenc.
The CCM Photo Club is one of many student-run clubs at CCM. The winning photos and finalists can be found on the club’s Facebook page at www.tinyurl.com/dx4lz7g.
Photos:
First Place Winner, “Entrapped,” by Brandon Ancis, of Sparta High School
Second Place Winner, “Hamartia” by Olivia Boon, of Roxbury High School
Third Place Winner, “Right Brain,” by Mitch Highers, of Pompton Lakes High School