Photo competition has winners smiling

And while children happily practiced for Little Miss Lake I this afternoon, on the other side of town, other Belizean kids were also capturing the spotlight. The theme for this year’s amateur photography contest, sponsored by the House of Culture, was “Smile Belize.” But perhaps no one expected that all the smiles that most impressed the judges would belong to children, or that some of the winning entries would be taken by young shutterbugs, mere children themselves. News Five was there for the opening of the exhibition.

Noel Escalante, First Place Winner
?When the House of Culture was doing this amateur photography contest, they usually ask me to sort of help out and they asked me to submit some pictures. I liked this one particularly of my grandson, so I said it fit the part because he has a beautiful smile and it fits right into the theme of the competition. So I decided to submit it with along with a few others that I had and I was quite surprised it won.?

Karla Heusner
?Is that the same hat??

Noel Escalante
?Yes, it?s the same hat. It has a little hole in it now, but it?s still working.?

Karla Heusner
?Your grandpa won, do you feel happy??

Escalante?s Grandson
?Yes.?

Karla Heusner
?What do you think he should do with his money??

Escalante?s Grandson
?Nothing.?

Karla Heusner
?You don?t want him to take you somewhere nice for a little treat or something??

Escalante?s Grandson
?Yes.?

Second place winner Magda Chan says she almost didn?t enter the contest, but her daughter simply wouldn?t let her give up on herself.

Magda Chan, Second Place Winner
?That picture was taken on a morning. I had already dropped out, I got discouraged and I dropped out and my little girl she said, ?Mommy, you always said nothing beats a failure than a try.? So I said, ?Okay,? and so my cousin went over. The one with the hair came over in the morning and my two kids and my little niece were in their pyjamas and I said, ?Keith come over here,? and I took a snap.?

?I always hear someone say when they win something that family support means a lot and it?s true. When I told my kids? father I was going to enter, he said why waste my time and different relatives discouraged me and thing. But pictures is what I love to do and I used to do it like ten years ago, but I just started again.?

Davina Lightburn of the Caracol Photography Club in Crooked Tree took third place. Despite her youth, she is already serious about her work, and the win brought out her own winning smile.

Davina Lightburn, Third Place Winner
?The little girl is one of my cousins, and one of the little boys is my brother, and one of the other boys is my other cousin. I took the picture because I thought it was funny because they were sleeping in the sun.?

Karla Heusner
?You going to enter again next year??

Davina Lightburn
?Yes, Ma?am.?

Karla Heusner
?Do you want to say anything to other kids who might be interested in taking pictures??

Davina Lightburn
?Keep believing in your dreams, because your dreams come true.?

Visitors to the opening today were asked to select their own favourite photo. While the winning photographer was not there for this special surprise, her teacher spoke about her achievement, and the subject matter: children and chickens.

Claudia Orantes, Photography Teacher
?The People?s Choice was a photo taken by Ida Sanchez, one of our students. She is fifteen years old from Arenal. She has been taking this class from January. We have only one session a month, so that is six sessions. This is one of her first films and she?s always looking around for children to take portraits of them. I think this was a very fortunate one. She was looking for her little brother and what she told us was that after they chased the chickens, they came and bathed in the water the chickens were drinking, so that was kind of childish fun.?

The House of Culture?s Amateur Photography Contest exhibition continues through August twenty-sixth, so you have plenty of time to come and see all the entries. Karla Heusner reporting for News Five.

The first place winner was awarded five hundred dollars. Second place received two hundred and fifty, and third place took home one hundred dollars.