Photo Contest

Like I said in my last post, I've finally turned in my entries for the photo contest. I had over 30 photos that I thought were good and I asked my friends and family to vote on their favorites. The top vote getters were:

Ghostly Tree (7), Wood Lily (7), Snapping Turtle (7), Snow Cones (5), Shedding Snake (5), New England Aster (4), Fragmities (4), Skunk Cabbage Along the Brook (4)

The contest is limited to 5 entries per person so I still had some issues making my final decisions. But, after some thought I picked the following:

1. People's Choice #1 - Ghostly Tree

I took this one in the middle of December. It was just starting to get cold and there was a dense fog over the entire sanctuary. (I also took this picture of the fragmities on that same trip.)

2. People's Choice #2 - Wood Lily

This one was a surprise favorite. Personally I like New England Aster better but this is a good shot too. It was taken on the power lines on the 4th of July.

3. My Personal Favorite - Snapping Turtle

This was a great sighting. At the beginning of May my parents and I were walking the stretch and spotted this turtle in the distance. It was crossing from the fragmities to the brook. It was a ways away but it was moving pretty slowly. So, when we finally ran up it hadn't had a chance to disappear into the water. I took pictures of it for a few minutes. The final few had the benefit of great lighting from the setting sun. My favorite thing about the photo is the turtle's eye. Its so beautiful.

4. My Mom's Favorite - Question Mark

While doing a survey of the power lines at the start of July my Mom and I found this great butterfly. Question Marks are relatively rare on the sanctuary and this one was very fresh.

5. Sentimental Favorite - River Otter

This photo didn't get a lot of votes but I had to enter it because its a sentimental favorite. I came across this otter as it bounded along one of the beaver dams on the brook. When it saw me, it dove into the water. When it surfaced for air, I had only a fraction of a second to get a shot off. This is the only one I got and I'm pretty proud of it.

For anyone who's interested in seeing the rest of the entries, the show opens on April 1st at 2:00 and runs thru the summer.