2007 Photo Contest Winners

Category: Kids Only

Images of cottage life taken by children, 15 years of age and younger.

First prize

WATER, LILIES

Emily Alix Monchamp, 11, has been taking pictures since she was seven. For this shot, she stood on the dock, looking at the lilies by the shore. “From the front, they looked plain and simple. I took them from the side, so they capture the movements of nature.”

JUDGES’ comments

Emily’s mature, thoughtful picture has a seasonless quality, or rather, it could encompass all four seasons, with the blue light, the lilies, and the water that, at first glance, looks like snow. The unconventional angle of this impressionistic image is an example of how kids discover nature at the cottage. Bravo.

Second prize

SPLISH SPLASH

Lindsay Rhodes, 13, set out at her Davis Lake, Ont., cottage to get a good entry. Her sister and her sister’s friend agreed to model, pretending to be people who wash their faces in commercials. “I took a few pictures and this one caught the right moment. It looked spontaneous and the patterns in the water made it come alive.”

JUDGES’ comments

For all its apparently simple appeal – two girls sharing a laugh during a day spent by the water – this shot is just so sophisticated: Rather than sitting smack in the middle, the girls come in from the edges of the shot, framing the action perfectly. Their body language matches, telegraphing that they’re friends. It’s like a grab shot by a professional photojournalist. Impressive work, Lindsay.