First Place

Bob Gates, Jamesville, New York

Bob comes to the Vineyard the first week of July every year and stays on Moshup Trail in Aquinnah. He says this digital photo was taken at sunrise at nearby Zack’s Cliffs. Carlos Stevenson, one of our judges and the owner of Mosher Photo, says, “This image caught my eye since it was either a very lucky shot or very well planned. The lighting is perfect.”

Second Place

Gary Riedel, Kensington, Connecticut

Gary is a yearly visitor to the Island for a week in August, and he took this photo on Moshup Trail. Alley Moore, the magazine’s art director and one of our judges, says, “This photograph is about juxtaposition, land with sky, greens set against gray, the quiet of a path elevating into an approaching storm. The light is unusual, dark and bright at the same time, in the brief moment before the storm arrives. Makes me want to shout, ‘Run for the car, kids!’”

Third Place

Henry Ehrenberg, Seattle, Washington

Henry, who’s sixteen, and his family spend every July on the Vineyard. His photograph simultaneously captures “both the beauty and grittiness of Menemsha,” says photographer and contest judge Alison Shaw. “I especially love the light reflected in the forward windows of the boats, the cool blues playing off the one brilliant warm patch of deep yellow. Visually speaking, that small patch of yellow is the most important compositional element in the entire photo.”

Honorable Mention

Amaru Pareja, Edgartown

Amaru is a year-round resident and took this photo in West Tisbury. “This piece feels like a painting,” says judge and gallerist Holly Alaimo. “It has a texture that stimulates the visual impact.”

Honorable Mention

Michael J. Malone, Newton

Michael rents annually in Katama, but went to Chilmark for this photo of sunrise at Lucy Vincent Beach in late November. He says the temperature was 25 degrees. “What I found most intriguing about this image was the capture of dramatic lighting, which has allowed so many different textures of the landscape to come out of the photo: the soft, wet sand, the crisp and rocky cliffs, the puffy clouds,” says judge Morgan Taylor Lucero, a graphic designer who works for the magazine and the Vineyard Gazette. “The photographer has succeeded in sharing this beautiful fleeting moment in time.”

Honorable Mention

Sheree L. Vogt, Newton, New Jersey

During a visit last September, Sheree captured the inside of the Cape Pogue Lighthouse. “The composition is perfect with the clear diagonal division of the space,” says judge and gallery owner Chris Morse. “I also thought the subject very cleverly shows the interior of a seldom-seen architectural icon. It depicts the space with volume – a very strong and successful image.” u

Honorable Mention

Donna Kenny, Edgartown

Donna says she visited Martha’s Vineyard for more than twenty years before recently moving here. She snapped this shot at Sengekontacket Pond, where she takes her dogs for daily swims. “The first thing I see is not the cuteness of the photo but the effort that went into working with the puppies – wrangling and arranging them,” says judge Jaxon White, who is the staff photographer at the Vineyard Gazette. “Working with animals is difficult and takes a lot of patience and planning.”

Honorable Mention

Juleann Vanbelle, West Tisbury

Juleann has lived on the Island since 1977 and took this photo from the parking lot at Aquinnah’s Philbin Beach in late September. “I thought this photo captured the subtle layers of colors and information that make up a Vineyard landscape,” says judge and photographer Brian Jolley. “There is very little vertically interesting about the Vineyard landscape, but if you stack information – dunes, beach grass, ponds, brush – together, you can create something that will keep you looking.” Brian sums up his comments with: “Just a quiet day on the Vineyard when you actually feel like it is your island.”

Honorable Mention

Alicia Petitti, East Falmouth

Alicia regularly visits the Island and has worked here in summer. This photo was taken in the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground last September. Judge Alison Shaw’s comments: “When one thinks of Martha’s Vineyard, the image that comes to mind is of pristine, picture-perfect natural vistas, street scenes, and architecture. The setting of this photo, instead, depicts the peeling paint of a building in dire need of repair and a fresh coat of paint. This scene provides the setting for the photo’s subject, a twisted and bunched-up portion of an American flag. The flag itself is actually in great condition, but it’s the flag’s arrangement that adds to the dissonance of the photo. The photographer did a good job using depth of field to throw the background out of focus, so that it simply becomes an echo of the colors and shapes of the foreground architecture. Overall, this is an unexpected image, and that, along with its strong visuals, is what drew me to it.”

Honorable Mention

Adam Samson, Armonk, New York

Adam has been a year-round visitor to the Island all of his life. He took the opportunity as he waited to refill his tires from driving on the beach to take this photo at South Beach. “Framing and perspective were employed to make this somewhat typical scene more interesting, and to make the water appear to be a ‘deeper cut’ upon the earth than it really is,” says judge and photographer Brian Jolley. “I felt absence of color helped here too, as it became more about the created shapes.”