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32 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Artscene · FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2008 Shutterbugs answer call to Capture Oakville About 150 entries in camera club's annual photo competition By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF I f a picture is worth a thousand words, there's going to be a lot of discussion happening at a new photography exhibition at town hall. The Oakville Camera Club is displaying 80 entries from its annual photography competition, Capture Oakville 08. The show opened Thursday night and will run in the north atrium at town hall until Jan. 10. The photos will take viewers' breaths away, according to Kieley Hickey, president of the camera club. "The entries were really high quality," she said. "We especially noticed this in print quality, as they put a lot of effort into where they got their images printed and the quality. The photographers put a lot of time and thought into their entries." This year's competition, the second annual, drew approximately 150 entries. The five categories were humour, nature, past its prime, digital and abstract art, and light and shadow. There were no requirements when it came to skill level or camera type. The only rule was that all photos be taken in Oakville. "We were so happy with 150 entries and the selection was fantastic," said Hickey. "Seeing the entries that were all images of Oakville was beautiful." This year saw a lot of entries from amateur shutterbugs in the community, which pleased Hickey. "The thing that I noticed the most is that there were a lot of public entries, it wasn't just the Oakville Camera Club entering this competition," she said. The most popular category was nature shots. "The nature category is always a big category in Oakville," Hickey said. "People love submitting in that category." The winners were announced at the show's opening reception Thursday night. The grand prize photo of the show was This is the End in the category past its prime by Oakville photographer and camera club member, Les Lengyel. Lengyel won a a Nikon D80 for his outstanding work. "I'm so excited for Les, because he shot that image with a Rebel, which is your base, entry-level Canon camera, and he is winning a Nikon D80, so he's getting a very high-end camera with a lens," Hickey said. The winners in the individual categories were: Nature: 1. Lubomir J. Koulev (The Return of the Light) 2. Marilyn Jarret (Autumn Leaves), Honourable Mention - MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER BEST IN SHOW: Oakville Camera Club President Kieley Hickey hangs photographs submitted for the club's annual competition, Capture Oakville 08, in the atrium of Oakville Town Hall. The exhibition of the top 80 photos runs until January 10. Below, the top photo of the competition, This is the End, by Oakville photographer Les Lengyel. Brian Gray (Monarch up Close). Humour: 1. Zoran Djukic (Look at him!) 2. Richard Braeken (Help!), Honorable Mention - Les Lengyel (Tethered Technology Syndrome). Past Its Prime: 1. Les Lengyel (This is the End) 2. Michal Urban (Timeless), Honorable Mention - Jennifer Schelfhaut (Oldtimer). Digital and Abstract Art: 1. Lisa Horvath (Sixteen Mile Creek) 2. Faraaz Ahmed (Fuzzy Fruit), Honorable Mention Les Lengyel (Forest Rhythm). Light and Shadow: 1. Michal Urban (Lone Bird) 2. Roman Chlebowicz (Apple Tree), Honorable Mention - Ali Thompson (Oakville Pier). This year's jury consisted of Bill Hewitt of CPS Inkworks, Michael Willems of Henry's and Dan Dionne of Vistek. Hickey said the judges had a difficult time choosing the winners, as well as which 80 images would be placed on display in the exhibition. "The judges said that it was hard to choose the winners because of the great selection of top-quality images," Hickey said. "Being able to grab 80 images was also difficult." This year's entries will be kept together as a collection that will be available for display in various locations throughout the town. Hickey said she hopes the exhibition will eventually find a permanent home. "We're hoping that the mayor will come forward and say they will purchase this collection and use it to decorate our city," she said. Plans are already underway to host Capture Oakville 09 late next year. Hickey said the success of the competition's first two years means it will definitely return in 2009. "It is such a thrilling event," Hickey said. "It is so exciting for me and the Oakville Camera Club, and I think even the public is hyped up about this now. It's an annual tradition that we intend to continue." The Oakville Camera Club was founded in May 2006 by Hickey and another local photographer, Bill Smith. Meetings are held twice a month on Wednesday evenings from September through July. The club is open to photographers of all skill levels. It focuses on education, assignments, critiques and image sharing rather than monthly competitions. There are no equipment requirements to join the camera club, Hickey said. "You can come and join if you have a point and shoot, but we will encourage people to go out there and take it to the next level and purchase an SLR (single-lens reflex) camera," she said. For information on Capture Oakville 08 or the Oakville Camera Club, go online to www.oakvillecameraclub.com.