Beauty at the park: Photo contest fundraiser focuses on nature at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on July 23, 2017 7:38 PM
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Full SizeA tree reflected in the water, a spider standing on the water -- these are things that visitors to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park could easily overlook.
But they jumped out at Justin Schmitt as he was walking through the park with his camera.
The 18-year-old was one of several people who entered the first ever Photography Scavenger Hunt. It was sponsored by the Arts Council of Wayne County and Cliffs of the Neuse as a fundraiser for both groups.
Those entering the hunt were given a list of 12 categories for which they were to take photos and submit one in each category.
Winners were chosen by three judges, Park Ranger Eryn Staib, local photographer Anthony L. Smith and Arts Council board president Martha Kornegay, who is also an artist.
"We wanted to find a project that would connect us with the Cliffs," said Wendy Walker, director of the Arts Council. "And we were looking for a project that would connect the arts with forestry. We consider the Cliffs our sister organization."
In addition, a photographer scavenger hunt seemed to be a good way to have people from all over the area go to the Cliffs to see the beauty in the park and also use their artistic skills to highlight that beauty," Ms. Walker said.
Winning photos will be turned into a calendar to be sold for $20 at the Arts Council and at the Cliffs, starting Aug. 4.
Schmitt will have four of his photos in the calendar, two full page ones and two honorable mentions that will be used smaller.
He said he sometimes goes walking at the Cliffs, but for the photo contest, saw things he's not noticed before.
"I felt kind of relaxed and collected when walking around, and when I saw something interesting, I took a picture of it," Schmitt said. "I want to be a photographer when I grow up, and I think that I do see things a little bit different than how other people see them. I think that will make me a good photographer."
One of the younger photographers was 15-year-old David Hoggard. He won an honorable mention for his photo of a leaf that was backlit by the sun where he could see the leaf's veins.
"I like how I could see the light through the leaf and how I could see each detail of the leaf," he said. "I was just walking around and saw it."
Hoggard said he entered the competition just to see how his photos would compare with other people's photos and also to see how well he could do.
"I also wanted to develop my photography skills," he said. "It's a hobby that could turn into a career for me. I was honored to be picked as an honorable mention as young as I am."
The husband and wife team of Derrick and Jennifer Pittman took six winning photos between the two of them and four honorable mentions.
An unusual photo that Derrick took was of a tree with initials carved in it for the category of Out of Place.
"I was just walking through the park and saw it, but wasn't sure how to fit it in one of the categories," the 43-year-old said. "Then I thought about it being out of place because you really shouldn't be carving your initials into a tree there."
He also took a photo of a water spigot dripping water.
"It represents waste," Derrick said. "So I used it in the Water Conservation category.
Jennifer, 42, had a winner in the Fire Prevention category with her photo of an area of burnt trees by the visitor center.
"I didn't see it in that perspective until we were coming out," she said. "There was some little sprigs of greenery starting to grow back, but it looked so gray and solemn to me."
The opportunity for a winning photo in the Hidden Treasures category presented itself in an unusual way.
"We were walking through the park and this little frog hopped right in front of me and sat in some leaves and debris," she said. "All I could see was one eye when I looked down at him. He was a hidden treasure."
Jennifer and Derrick were in the park all day taking photos for the competition.
"We've always loved going out on random road trips since we've been doing photography," she said. "I see things in a new perspective now. It was a nice challenge to have categories to fit the pictures into. I made me think a little more about what I was doing."
Derrick said he didn't realize just how much of a challenge it was going to be until he started trying to match his pictures to the categories.
Ms. Walker said that what amazed her the most about the photo submissions was the diversity of things that people saw in the park.
"We had many pictures that were taken of the same object, but from completely different angles, using different filters and different lighting at different times of the day," she said.
She said the photographers made their pictures, that could have been very simple and generic-looking, really pop and become extraordinary photographs.
"To know that all that natural beauty is in our backyard is great," Ms. Walker said.