For the 37th year running, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has put out the call to local photographers to submit their best for a juried exhibition, and this popular event delivers once again. While the exhibition has traditionally been Florida-centric, the last couple years have switched focus specifically to Selby Gardens.
Submissions were broken up into five categories: Favorite Selby Scene, Selby Gardens’ Geometry, Plant Life at Selby Gardens, Selby’s Birds, Bugs & Critters and Selby in Black and White. Photos must’ve been taken within the last two years, and while cropping and basic photo editing is allowed, no special effects or techniques such as adding/removing objects, etc are permitted.
210 photographs had been submitted and 143 selected for exhibition, and cash prizes were awarded for First, Second, and Third Place winners in each category. There were also Honorable Mentions in each category, as well. Finally, there is the Best In Show award.
This year’s Best In Show award goes to Jo Chaney for her A Curious Curl photo.
A native New Englander, Jo moved to Florida 4 years ago from Maine where she and her husband raised their 2 daughters. Jo’s interest in photography began in college which she pursued through the Naval School of Photography and later the New England School of Photography in Boston. Jo majored in portraiture and went on to work at a portrait studio and eventually freelanced while home schooling her children. Although Jo enjoys all types of photography, since coming to Florida she has taken a special interest in the native birds here. Her winning image, “A Curious Curl” was shot using a 105 mm lens for 2 seconds at F/32.
“I was looking up, looking for lines, textures, graphic interest when I saw the small curl among the straight palm fronds and it’s surprises like this that I love about nature photography,” Jo says.
First Place Winners in the five categories are:
A. FAVORITE SELBY SCENE
Zen Bamboo by Emilio Callado
B. SELBY GARDENS’ GEOMETRY
The Fern and the Nightingale by Marie Gauthier
C. PLANT LIFE AT SELBY
Garden Glory II by Paula May Scott
D. SELBY’S BIRDS, BUGS AND CRITTERS
The Feast by Mathew Gutman
E. SELBY IN BLACK AND WHITE
Succulent Beauty by Jo Chaney
The full list of accepted submissions can be found
here.
