CENTRE COUNTY PHOTO CONTEST

And the winner is ...

By Stephanie Koons

More than 600 photos were submitted in the fifth annual Centre County photo contest, and from them, five finalists were selected in each of six categories.

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Centre Daily Times readers voted for their favorites, and today we’ll bring you the winning photos from three of the categories. Read about the winners in the final three categories later this week.

Favorite photo taken outside the county: Louise Victor, of Boalsburg

Victor said she took this photo in July while in Oahu, Hawaii, celebrating her 35th wedding anniversary with her husband, Richard.

“There are actually two palm trees in the picture and the sun is peeking out between the two trees, which appear as one,” Victor wrote with her submission.

Victor, the choral director at Bellefonte Area High School, said she enjoys “looking for unusual angles of things” when taking photos.

Favorite photo by children 12 and younger: Eleanor Jamison, of State College

Eleanor, 8, took this photo of a praying mantis Oct. 12 in her backyard. “It was as if the praying mantis was posing for her,” said her father, Jamie Jamison.

Eleanor, a second-grader at Radio Park Elementary School, has been taking pictures since June and seems to have a flair for it, Jamie Jamison said.

Eleanor, who wants to be an artist when she grows up, said she had no doubt about which photo she wanted to enter in the contest. “My dad thought it was really cool, and I liked the eyes because they really pop out,” she said.

Favorite miscellaneous photo: “Rainbow Walk,” William C. Raco, of Beech Creek

Raco, a material supervisor for the state Department of Transportation in Clearfield, took this shot on Oct. 23, 2007, at Pelick’s Queens 3 Farm in Zion.

The people in the photo are Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Pelick.

“It’s very colorful,” Raco said. “It’s a nice depiction of that farm in particular. It’s just one of the favorite spots I have in Centre County.”

Raco said he teaches beginning photography classes at Keystone Community Network in Lock Haven and has won a photo contest for Pennsylvania Magazine, as well as Internet and gallery contests. He also sells stock photography.

“I picked up a camera probably when I was in junior high school and never put it down,” Raco said.