WESTERLY– Nicolas Foster said, he swam out from shore one evening and “just got lucky.”
As the sundown sliced through the jean-blue clouds and turned the water gold, the surf photographer and graphic designer snapped a photo of the horizon while a wave curled in front of his lens like fingers.In recording the
tunnel impact, Foster took an image that would garner him a first-place surface in the South County Tourist Council’s image contest, the results of which were announced recently.There were three first-place winners across three various categories– A Stunning Place, Love at the Beach, and Fairs and Festivals.Foster took first in the 21st annual contest’s Beautiful Place category.Approximately 436 overall entries were sent to the tourism council
and judged by Christine Corrigan — a freelance photographer of thirty years who spent 10
years as a staff photographer at the Westerly Sun.Those who ended up in first place made a$500 prize, with 2nd location rewarding$ 250 to each silver finisher and $125 to every third place finisher. Each category named 4 runners up
, who went house with$50 each.Diane Zerba of Charlestown finished simply behind Foster– good for 2nd location in their classification. Zerba captured a reflection of the sky in the sand on the beach in Charlestown. 3rd place went to Stacy Clark of Pawcatuk,
Conn., who snapped an image of the Watch Hill Lighthouse in Westerly.Foster started shooting images in 8th grade. He uses a Sony A7R3 and Sony A60-500 with water real estate when taking images off-shore.
“My favorite part (about taking photos )… it’s really great if you’re doing browse pictures or any sports pictures of somebody, where
you can get a truly good image of them and they get delighted about it,”he said.”Or for myself, if I’m doing that or it’s simply an empty wave, I can kind of see when I’m swimming. I’ll take most likely 1,000 photos, 980 are gon na be terrible, maybe more. However then, you can always type of tell if you search in the water and see on the screen– when whatever lines up. The light is great, everything’s in focus. Yeah, it’s an excellent sensation.”For Gina Campbell, one of her preferred aspects of photography is taking a look at her surroundings in a different way through the lens.” To me that’s type of the magic that occurs,” Campbell stated, who came in very first location in the contest’s Fairs and Festivals category.Campbell utilizes a Canon DSLR, a present from her partner back in 2008.”I’m constantly practicing some sort of method or something I require deal with. And I like to record at sunrise or sunset because that’s a softer light,”she said.Campbell came across her first-place shot while at the Charlestown Seafood Festival.She was there to work on shutter speed and focus.
“I like to go to the fair to shoot fireworks,”Campbell stated.
“They appear like sea anemones.”While image searching, she took a shot of a group of people on one of the fair rides. “This bad kid was sitting in the ride with 2 women ignoring him and it
appears like he actually wanted their attention, “Campbell said.Claiming 2nd place in the Fairs and Festivals category was Todd Gianguzzi, of Narragansett, who took an image of the Narragansett 8 performing at a show.Tammy Anderson, of West Kingston, made third place, with a shot entitled”The Sounds of Summertime.”Campbell’s second-place shot was a Love at the Beach entry,
an image of a duo she assumed was a dad and a kid.”That was taken in the spring at Narragansett Beach,”she said.” They just looked like they were having a great time, they had that bond when they took a look at each other.”Campbell, who is from Wakefield, likes to provide free photoshoots for kids and households
in her local area.Campbell stated she takes pleasure in shooting feeling, something that abounds throughout a child’s face.”
They’re so innocent and just so enjoyable,”Campbell said.”You do not understand what you’re gon na capture.” Barbara McCormick, of Palmetto
, Fla., ended up initially in the Love at the Beach category. “I have actually been taking pictures for permanently … a minimum of since I was talented my first electronic camera when I was 13– a Pentax K-1000
, “she said.”That was 47 yrs back. Nowadays, I simply utilize my iPhone. They take fantastic quality photos.
“McCormick took an image in South Kingstown, showing a couple walking the shoreline while holding
hands on a foggy day.”I always make a point of walking the beach on dreary days. It’s the best,”
McCormick stated.” This couple with blue walked right into my frame and in fact made the shot far better. Call it excellent timing, I guess.”In 3rd place in the category was Franca Bartkiewitz of West Kingston, who snapped a photo of a mother holding up a child in Westerly.Photo contest winners and runners up can be viewed on the South County Tourist Council’s site at: https://www.southcountyri.com/plan-a-trip/photo-contest/For McCormick, her preferred part about taking photos is plain and simple. “I love that the memories reside on.
“