Publication date: February 28, 2014

Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest Winners: A change in perspective

Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest winners reveal the unseen in the ordinary

Something happens between a photograph and the real thing. A pedestrian footbridge becomes a study in symmetry. A campfire becomes a small sight compared to the star-speckled skies. A boy's look becomes an expression of raw emotion and thought.

The images captured by the winners of the Palo Alto Weekly's 22nd Annual Photo Contest all exhibit this enlightening quality. Whether their subject is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a wrinkled man lit from above, or a graffiti-covered bridge at the beach, each photograph asks its viewers to see the world around them in a new way.

The panel of judges -- composed of Weekly photographer Veronica Weber, landscape photographers Angela Buenning Filo and David Hibbard, and fine art photographer Brigitte Carnochan -- selected this year's winners from the many adult and youth submissions in the three categories of Portraits, Bay Area Images and Views Beyond the Bay.

The winners and runners-up will be celebrated at a reception on March 5 at the Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road. The center will also host an exhibit of the photographs through April 6.

The contest is sponsored by the Weekly, University Art and the Palo Alto Art Center.

The adult first-place photographers will be awarded $300 and a $100 gift certificate to University Art. Second-place finishers will receive $200 and a $75 gift certificate, and third-place winners will receive $100 and a $50 gift certificate. Each are also receiving a one-year membership to the Palo Alto Art Center, one of the contest's sponsors.

The youth first-place winners will be awarded $100, the second-place winners $75 and the third-place winners $50. Each will also receive a $25 gift certificate to University Art, a contest co-sponsor.

Click on the images to learn more about the photographers and the ideas and feelings they hoped to convey through their work.

The submission deadline for next year's contest will be March 6, 2015.

— Sam Sciolla

Photos that were chosen for exhibition

Photo Contest Judge bios

Adult
Portraits

First Place