The setting is Oahu, Hawaii.The event is a Shinnyo-en Buddhist lantern-floating ceremony, and Singer says it was one of the most incredible events he has ever witnessed.

"Thousands of people opening up their hearts; it was such an emotional event," Singer said. "There was no other photo I could submit." Singer earned the trip to Hawaii by winning an essay-writing contest, and the photo he took there won the Kehillah Jewish High School graduate the Weekly contest on his return.

While this is Singer's second photo-contest victory (he took first place in the 2010 youth contest as well), he has been avidly snapping shots for a little less than three years. It all started with a discovery in the back of the family garage.

"My dad, in typical dad fashion, bought a nice camera in the '90s and then set it in the garage and never used it again," Singer said. "Then a few years ago, I found it and started playing around with it and got really interested." This interest led his parents to give their son a new camera for his birthday, and Singer has put it to use with a photography blog.

In the fall, Singer will head to the University of California at Santa Barbara to study biopsychology, but he is sure that this won't be the end of his photography days.