The Village of Elsah announces the winners of the annual Village of Elsah Museum Photography Exhibit. The purpose of the exhibit is to celebrate and foster an appreciation of the beauty and unique qualities of the Village. This year’s theme is “Joy and Discovery in Elsah.” The winner is Carolyn Schlueter of St. Charles, Missouri. The opening reception for the exhibit is Saturday, April 6, 2019 from 1 to 4 pm at the Museum located in the Village Hall building, 26 LaSalle, Elsah, Illinois.
In order to encourage an appreciation of the beauty of the entire area within and in the immediate area of the corporate limits of the Village, there are usually two first-place purchase prizes based on location. However, there were no photographs submitted of the surrounding area in the regular exhibit and thus, this year, there was not a Greatriverroad.com Purchase Prize. This is the first year for a Youth Award for a photograph submitted by a person between the age of 12 and 18 years old. Green Tree Inn also recognizes the winner of the Village of Elsah purchase prize with an overnight stay at the Inn.
The judge for the exhibit was Erica Popp, working artist and gallery owner. She formerly taught photography at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. She has worked with us for several years and we appreciate her expertise and support for this project.
Village of Elsah purchase prize is awarded to Carolyn Schlueter for “Green Tree Inn.” This is a color photograph of the Green Tree Inn at dusk with a pale bluish light outside and the warm yellow light inside the building. The composition is strong with a good contrast of the light on the inside and outside of the Inn. Further interest is seen in the reflections of the trees from across the street on the upper windows of the building. The photograph was taken with an Olympus OMD EM-1, Mark II camera and Olympus Pro f/2.8 12-100 lens on February 16, 2019 around 6:45 in the evening. Camera was set on the Program Mode with an f/4.0 setting and basic editing was done using Photoshop and it was professionally printed by Diversified Labs on their Lustre Paper.
The Youth Award is for Jonah Hosmer for “Elsah Creek Reflections.” This 8 X 10 color print shows a thin section of building reflected in the creek. The reflection is in the lower portion. The composition is good, the print is good quality and in sharp focus and expresses the theme well.
There are four special recognition photographs: Rachel Baker for “Through the Keyhole” for the composition; Lyn Moore for “Enchanted Entry” for use of color; Joan Baker for “Read to Discover” for expression of theme; and, for the youth participant, Micha Worley for “Coming Home on the River Road” for unique use of the camera. All the special recognition photographers are awarded a 10% discount on framing of one object framed at Burton Art Services, Alton, Illinois.
The following photographers are represented in the exhibit: Joan Baker, Rachel Baker, Linda Davis Swink, Jonah Hosmer, Karen King, Marty McKay, Lynn Moore, Colleen Osborne, Carolyn Schlueter, Micha Worley.
The Museum exhibit will be open starting Saturday, April 6 and every Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 pm until August 5, 2018. Awards will be made around 2 pm on opening day. Visitors will find much to enjoy in the exhibit. All the photographs are for sale and all proceeds are retained by the photographer. Additional copies or sizes of the purchase prize winning photographs and other photographs in this and previous exhibits can generally be purchased from the photographer.
Thanks go to all who make this exhibit possible with their funding and time: The Village of Elsah Board of Trustees and Mayor Pitchford, Historic Elsah Foundation, Greatriverroad.com, Green Tree Inn, Burton Art Services, Office Depot of Alton, Illinois for their printing for the Youth Workshop, Karen King of Mount Olive and Mary McKay of Alton for their presentations and field coaching at the Youth Workshop, the Village of Elsah Museum Advisory Committee and Museum attendants, Mary Lu Peters and Donna DeWeese.