My winning picture in an exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

I was delighted that of three pictures that I submitted last year to an annual photo contest that Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine runs, I was told on November 16 that I won second prize in one of the eight categories! There were over 3300 entries and more than 600 photographers entered the contest. The Peaks, Valleys, & Plains category in which I won had 544 entries. You can see all of the 2005 winners; look a little over halfway down to see my shot. (You can also see the pictures as laid out for the January issue of the magazine.)

The picture was taken on a warm Sunday afternoon, October 24, 2004 (4:09pm) at Price Lake off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC. I hope that viewers will initially think that it is a shot looking straight out toward a mountain. In fact, I was standing on a large rock, and took the shot looking straight down at the rock and the lovely reflection I saw of the sky in the lake.

All of the thirty-one winning pictures are on display through March 31 at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. I went today to see the exhibit. After this stay in Raleigh, the display will travel to other state museums through the rest of the year.