Exhibits & Competitions – Pagosa Springs Photography Club

Digital Photo Contest Winners, Part 2

The Pagosa Springs Photography Club held an Awards Celebration on October 8, to announce the winners of its Eighth Annual Digital Photography Contest. Images were entered in four categories: Creative, Landscape, Nature and People. Part 1 of this series presented the winners of the Creative and Landscape categories. Images in each category were judged on the basis of composition, impact, and technical quality. Judges selected the top 3 images in each category; and Honorable Mention (HM) was awarded to those images within one point (out of ten possible) of the top 3. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the categories. In this post are the results for the Landscape and People categories. These were judged by Pagosa Springs photographer Mark Langford (https://marklangfordphotography.com).

Among the entries in the Landscape category, Chris Roebuck won first prize for Dark Lands. In second was Chimney Rock Solstice, by Herb Grover. Third place was awarded to Gateway of the Arctic, by Dave Anderson. This is always highly competitive category, and honorable mentions were awarded to Andy Butler, for Canyonlands Sunrise, Doug Coombs for Three Sisters Milky Way, Sharon Duquemin for Train, John Farley for Village Lake Aurora, and Barbara Jetley for Ripple.

People’s Choice voting in the Landscape category awarded 1st place to Chimney Rock Solstice, by Herb Grover. Canyonlands Sunrise, by Andy Butler, received 2nd place. Doug Coombs received 3rd place for Three Sisters Milky Way.

The fourth category in the contest was People. For this group, 1st place went to Climb High, by Andy Butler. Second was awarded to Greg Heid for I Hope I Make It. In 3rd place was Belay On, by Chris Roebuck. Receiving Honorable Mention in this group were Wizened, by Kathie Disner, and Victory, from Scott Galabota.

People’s Choice voting for this group awarded 1st place to Wizened, by Kathie Disner. In 2nd place was Andy Butler’s Climb High, and 3rd went to Chris Roebuck for On Belay .

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the photographers in the Club who submitted photos for the contest this year. And many thanks to our judges, to the Club members who helped organize the contest and Awards Celebration (Scott Galabota, Susanne Russell, Doug Coombs, and Russ Durrer), and to those who voted for People’s Choice awards.

Winners of Eighth Digital Photography Contest

The Pagosa Springs Photography Club held an Awards Celebration on October 8, to announce the winners of its Eighth Annual Digital Photography Contest. Members attending the Celebration viewed all the images entered in the contest by 14 photographers who took part. Club members and spouses socialized, enjoyed a pizza dinner, discussed the photos entered in the contest, and photography in general. This year the contest included four categories: Creative, Landscape, Nature, and people. Images in each category were judged on the basis of composition, impact, and technical quality. Judges selected the top 3 images in each category; and Honorable Mention (HM) was awarded to those images within one point (out of ten possible) of the top 3. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the categories. In this post are the results for the Creative and Nature categories. These were judged by Pagosa Springs photographer Kiersten Renner (https://www.wildcraftedphotography.com). A second post will highlight winners of the Landscape and People categories.

In the Creative category, Doug Coombs won 1st place for his photo Goblin Star Trails. Second prize went to Andy Butler, for Desert Web Abstract. Moab Star Trails, by Coombs, received 3rd place. Three photographers received Honorable Mention in this category. These are Adrienne Disbrow, for Red Eye, Scott Galabota for O’Hare Bathroom Shelf, and Chris Roebuck for Wallpaper.

In the People’s Choice voting for the Creative category, winning images were Contorted Cathedral, 1st place, by Dave Anderson; Goblin Star Trails, 2nd place, by Doug Coombs; and Moab Star Trails, 3rd place, by Doug Coombs.

In judging results for the Nature category, 1st place was awarded to Andy Butler for Sunset Sow & Cub. Second was awarded to Dave Anderson for Perseverance. In 3rd place was River Reflections by Kathie Disner. Images receiving Honorable Mention in the Nature category were Disner’s Mom’s Fish; Curious Otter, by Adrienne Disbrow; The Yawn, by Doug Coombs, and Sugar Bowl, by Andy Butler

People’s Choice winners in the Nature category were Andy Butler’s Sunset Sow & Cub, 1st place; Lion Yawn, by Doug Coombs, 2nd place; and Perseverance, by Dave Anderson, 3rd place.

Congratulations to all the winning photographers! See Part 2 of this series for winners of the Landscape and People categories.

Eighth Annual Digital Photo Contest

The 2025 Pagosa Springs Photography Club Digital Photography Contest is now open for entries. The Contest is open to all Photography Club members in good standing. New or renewing members may join the Club at the time they enter the contest. The submission deadline is September 10, 2025, and prizes will be presented at an Awards Celebration on October 8. As in previous years, members may submit up to 6 photos (2 per category) for a flat fee of $10. You only need to submit your digital image files, not prints. The top three images in each category will receive ribbons and cash prizes at the Awards Celebration, and all entries will be displayed at that time. There will be “People’s Choice” voting on the images entered, as well.

This year there will be four categories: Nature (such as flowers, wildlife, pets, domestic or farm animals, birds, insects); People (such as sports/action, candid, portrait, wedding, street, photojournalism), Landscape, (scenery is the main subject; may include city-scapes and night-scapes) and Creative (an OBVIOUS DEPARTURE FROM REALITY, such as a photo painting or abstract photo). See below to obtain the contest guidelines and entry form.

If you haven’t entered the contest previously, this is a great opportunity to get feed back, both from the judge and from other Club members, about your images. Our goal with this contest is not only to recognize members for their talent, but also to encourage everyone to share their best work with the group. So select your best images and submit them!

For contest guidelines, and directions on entering your images, click here . The guidelines have instructions on how and where to submit your files. Then, download a contest entry form and fill it out with your entries. Note: you should be able to fill in the information on the entry form using the text tool of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac Preview. The best way to submit your images is to use the Dropbox link in the entry form, but you may also bring entries on a flash drive to the PSPC August 13 or September 10 meetings.

Seventh Annual Digital Photography Contest Results

On November 13, the Pagosa Springs Photography Club held an Awards Celebration in conjunction with its Seventh Annual Digital Photography Contest. Members attending the Celebration viewed the 101 images entered in the contest by 20 photographers. During the evening, Club members and spouses also enjoyed a pizza dinner, socializing, and discussing the photos entered and photography in general. This year the contest included three categories: Nature, Portraits, and Manmade/other. Images in each category were judged on the basis of composition, impact, and technical quality. Our judge this year was Shanda Akin, from Durango. Akin selected the top 3 images in each category; Honorable Mention (HM) was awarded to those images within a half point (out of ten possible) of the top 3. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the categories.

In the Portraits category, the top images were:

1st Place: Doug Coombs, Maasai Warriors

2nd Place: Kathie Disner, On the Outside

3rd Place: Scott Galabota, Playing in the Mud

HM: Herb Grover, Cattail Family

HM: David Lenderman, Llama Kiss

HM: Andy Butler, Maasai

HM: Dave Anderson, News of Ukraine

HM: Doug Coombs, Maasai Midwife

In the People’s Choice voting for this category, 1st Place was awarded to Galabota for Playing in the Mud, 2nd Place to Coombs for Maasai Warriors, and 3rd Place to Chris Roebuck for Higher Grounds

(Click on a group of images to view them larger)

This year’s winners in the Nature category were:

1st Place: Chris Roebuck, Grizzly

2nd Place: Adrienne Disbrow, Dragonfly

3rd Place: Dave Minkel, Valles Caldera

HM: Doug Coombs, Cranes Crossing the Moon

HM: Doug Coombs, Sunrise Bear

HM: Rondi Ballard, Milky Hoodoos

HM: Rondi Ballard, Texas Totality with Clouds

HM: David Lenderman, Foxy Portrait

HM: David Lenderman, You’re Next

People’s Choice results for this category were: 1st Place, Coombs for Cranes Crossing the Moon, 2nd Place, Disbrow, Dragonfly, and 3rd place to Lenderman, Foxy Portrait.

The best images in the Manmade/Other genre were as follows:

1st Place: John Farley, Alton Bridge at Sunset

2nd Place: Doug Coombs, Kodiak Harbor

3rd Place: Chris Roebuck, My Ride

HM: Dave Duquemin, 4 July

HM: Herb Grover, July 4th Flyover

HM: David Lenderman, Night on the River

HM: Chris Plemons, Steaming in the Storm

HM: Scott Galabota, Snow Swings

The top photos in this category, based on the People’s Choice voting, were: 1st Place, Plemons for Steaming in the Snow, 2nd Place, Andy Butler for Canal Reflections, and 3rd Place went to David Lenderman’s Yokohama Street Scene.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Photography Club contest this year, and all those who helped make it a success.

7th Annual Digital Photography Contest

The 2024 Pagosa Springs Photography Club Digital Photography Contest is now open for entries. The Contest is open to all Photography Club members in good standing. New or renewing members may join the Club at the time they enter the contest. The submission deadline is October 9, 2024, and prizes will be presented at an Awards Celebration on November 13. As in previous years, members may submit up to 6 photos (2 per category) for a flat fee of $10. You only need to submit your digital image files, not prints. The top three images in each category will receive ribbons and cash prizes at the Awards Celebration, and all entries will be displayed at that time. There will be “People’s Choice” voting on the images entered, as well.

This year there will be three categories: Nature (landscapes, wildlife, flowers, etc); Portraits (which may be of people, pets, or other domestic animals), and Manmade/Other, (architecture, trains and cars, street photography, abstract, etc.) See below to obtain the contest guidelines and entry form.

For contest guidelines, and directions on entering your images, click here . The guidelines have instructions on how and where to submit your files. Then, download a contest entry form here: https://pagosaspringsphotoclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2024-pspc-contest-entry.pdf and fill it out with your entries. Note: you should be able to fill in the information on the entry form using the text tool of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac Preview. The best way to submit your images is to use the Dropbox link in the entry form, but you may also bring entries on a flash drive to the PSPC Sept 11 or Oct 9 meetings.

Sixth PSPC Digital Photography Contest Winners

On October 11, the Pagosa Springs Photography Club held an Awards Celebration in conjunction with its Sixth Annual Digital Photography Contest. The Celebration was held at the PLPOA Clubhouse. The contest included four categories: Creative, Landscape, Nature, and People. Images in each category were evaluated by impartial judges on the basis of composition, impact, and technical quality. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the four categories. During the evening, we enjoyed a pizza dinner, socializing and viewing all of the entries in this year’s competition.

In the Creative category, winners were:

1st Place: Gregg Heid, Drafty Wall

2nd Place: Dave Anderson, Aster Zoom

3rd Place: Adrienne Disbrow, Flower

Honorable Mention, Andy Butler, Aspen Glow

In the People’s choice voting for creative images, 1st place went to Anderson’s Aster Zoom, 2nd to Scott Galabota for Fleur de Matisse, and 3rd to Heid’s Drafty Wall.

Aspen Glow, © Andy Butler (intentinal camera motion), honorable mention

This year’s winners in the Landscape category were:

1st Place: Doug Coombs, Bosque Sunrise

2nd Place: Doug Coombs, Monument Valley

3rd Place: Scott Galabota, Snow Shelter

Honorable Mention: Andy Butler, Dunes at Sunset

Honorable Mention: Dave Anderson, Williams Creek Reservoir

Williams Creek Reservoir, © Dave Anderson, honorable mention

People’s Choice favorites in the Landscape group were Coombs’ Bosque sunrise (1st) and his Monument Valley (2nd). Anderson’s Williams Creek Reservoir was 3rd in People’s Choice voting.

In the People genre, the top photos were:

1st Place: Andy Butler, Dune Runner

2nd Place: Chris Roebuck, The Portrait

3rd Place: Barbara Jetley, Yobusame Girl

Honorable Mention: Dave Duquemin, Baby Jackie

Honorable Mention: Scott Galabota, Clean

Results of the People’s Choice voting for this group were: 1st Place, Doug Coombs, Brazil Indigenous; 2nd Place, Roebuck’s The Portrait; and 3rd place for Jetley’s Yobusame Girl.