Cover Story (continued from previous page)
not very remarkable in and of itself, yet everything around them is extraordinary: the white billowy clouds, the floating clumps of salt brine and that vast lake, so shallow that the conversationalists seem to be standing on water. Why, we wondered, are they there?
Steven’s Shpall’s “Dance� captures perfectly the fast, lively pace of a flamenco dance. The slightly off-kilter camera angle, the blur of the dancer’s skirt, and the expressions on faces of the musicians all contribute to this effect. N —David Hibbard
Youth - Views Beyond the Bay Area Judge’s comments This year’s winners in the Views Beyond the Bay Area category all took elements of nature as their subject matter but to very different effect. First-place winner Caroline Ebinger got in close to her subject to create a striking composition combining fallen leaves, weathered wood and rusty metal.
Tim Aiken stepped back to create “Carrizo Sunrise,� a sweeping view of a sea of yellow flowers under a surreal sky. And in the aptly titled “Ghosts,� Lauren Wong depicts a pier enshrouded in fog with apparitions who appear to be walking over the surface of the sea. N —Angela Buenning Filo
First place
Mountaintops in Clouds Deven Hickingbotham
A
lmost entirely placed third.� He added that the competition drained of colgives him “motivation to capture unusual or, two mounand artistic images that stand out from the taintops rise above crowd.� the clouds. They are Hickingbotham plans to travel to more spotted with thickets scenic locations and attend photo workshops of dense, dark trees to help further hone his photography skills. that alternate with And sometime in the future, he harbors anpatches of bare white other ambition. snow. The rest of the “As a culmination to all these efforts, I’d landscape remains like to together an exhibition,� he said. N — Aaron Guggenheim obscured, further bringing out the mountaintops as isolated islands among a sea of white, buoyant clouds. When all of these elements are put together, they make for an iconic and captivating photo. Palo Alto resident Deven Hickingbotham has always possessed a passion for photography. He started during the late 1960s when he was in the eighth grade, working in the darkroom in his home. His hobby later became a career in professional sports photography, and his work has been featured in national magazines and newspapers. He has photographed sports events ranging from cross-country running to football, including many at Stevenson High School in central Second place California, where his daughter and son both Filtered Light, Ellen Konar attended school. He said he now primarily focuses on photographing alpine ski races. In addition to his professional focus, Hickingbotham also has a keen interest in landscape scenes. “Mountaintops in Clouds� was taken in the Donner Summit area near Tahoe around Christmas last year. Hickingbotham was skiing at Sugar Bowl when he saw he had “certain weather conditions Third place that covered everything but a few mountain tops. ... It was a Rock Power, David Golick composition that was clearly attractive.� He pulled out his Nikon B40 and snapped the photo. Honorable mention Hickingbotham said that winning first place this year “fulfills a goal I’ve had since Salty Conversation, Danny Colligan 2004, when I first entered the contest and Dance, Steven Shpall
First place
Urban Decay Caroline Ebinger
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hat may have looked like junk to someone with a less artistic eye became a thing of beauty in the hands of Caroline Ebinger, who made a close-up shot of the decaying ruins of a demolished park in Pennsylvania the subject of her winning photograph. “My mom used to go there as a kid,� she said of the park, which she visited while on a family trip. “There’s only rubble left. Bases of rides, basketball hoops, old park equipment.� While she first took overview shots of the whole landscape, she decided to take a few more detailed pictures as well to capture the texture and color of the rusty metal and scuffed wood amongst the fallen leaves. “I thought it would be interesting to take close-ups. I liked what was on the ground,� she said. The Palo Alto High School junior said she’s been interested in photography “for as long as I can remember,� adding that she took a photo class in middle school and a few others on how to use her Olympus DSLR camera. She writes feature stories and takes pictures for one of her high school’s magazines, and though she’s interested in journalism, she said she prefers taking artsy shots to news photos. “My favorite type is nature and landscapes,� she said. She said she is considering majoring in architecture and design in college, or possibly business, but that she wouldn’t be opposed to taking her photography hobby on a more
professional route, should anyone take an interest in future photos. “If anyone would buy them, that would be great,� she laughed. But whatever the future may bring, Ebinger, who also won thirdplace in another category, plans to keep on shooting. And of her success in this year’s contest, she said: “I’m honored that I was chosen.� N — Karla Kane
Second place Carrizo Sunrise, Tim Aiken
Third place Ghosts, Lauren Wong
About the cover: Anwyn Hurxthal’s “Cali Kali — A Tribute to Motherhood� earned first place in the Portraits category in this year’s Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest.
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