We are pleased to announce the Photos of Distinction for the Spring 2024 session for the Lyme Land Trust’s program Imagining Lyme. We were very impressed with all the beautiful entries this season. Please visit imagininglyme.org to see all the submissions and to submit your photos. The next deadline is September 30, 2024 for photos of Summer.

The judges chose four photos that stood out to them in the Spring 2024 gallery: three Photos of Distinction and one honorable mention. The judges are Wendolyn Hill and Joe Standart. Here is the list of the Photos with judges’ comments.

Asclepias
by Kent Girty
Private Pollinator Garden
Photo of Distinction

Kent Girty’s photograph of Asclepias is bursting with delight in so many ways. Kent captures a unique and intimate landscape of the Asclepias, also known as Common Milkweed. He exposes the intricate structure and design by choosing an up-close side view revealing the shape, texture, and color of the delicate flowers and buds. The tightly wrapped buds give the appearance of being ready to burst into flower and reveal their beauty. The lavender colored buds are sensitively framed against the plant’s green leaves offering a pleasing contrast of colors. The directional but soft light creates dimensionality and adds depth, and allows all the subtle colors of the leaves, buds, and blooms to present a handsome and balanced composition of undulating color, tone and value.

The Milkweed buds appear to be bursting out of the photograph and inviting the unseen but renowned Monarch butterfly to engage with them and continue their own circle of life – Well done! Joe Standart

Cinnamon Fern
by Birgit Musheno
Banningwood Preserve
Photo of Distinction

The photographer, Birgit Musheno, took a wonderfully creative approach to depicting this Cinnamon Fern. It is more than reporting, “this is a fern.” She turned her camera or the fern on its side, moved in close to capture the fascinating, intricate, symmetrical detail of the fern’s fronds and the texture of the plant’s cinnamon-coated stalk. The narrow depth of field works to set the six fronds in perfect focus while allowing the background to drop out of focus, further highlighting the subject. The soft light works perfectly to capture the color, tone, and design of the fronds as they seem to dance in merry unison across the picture plane creating an energetic composition.

Thank you, Birgit, for sharing your sense of design, and love of the wonders of nature with us. Joe Standart

Cows at the Farm
by Adam McEwen
Tiffany Farms
Photo of Distinction

I love the mystery in this photograph by Adam McEwen. At first glance, one is drawn to the serenity of the repetitive shapes of cows contentedly grazing on the cool green luscious grass. The use of the element of depth guides the eye from the sharply focused silhouetted cow in the foreground back through the receding shapes. The shapes become less distinct as they fade into the soft hazy background. As the viewer is drawn back, one is struck by the contained energy of the intense glow from the morning sun, which promises to burst through the fog and warm the earth. Adam has beautifully captured a magical moment in time. Wendolyn Hill

Springtime Basking- Spotted Turtle
by Rich Sanders
Obscured Lyme Preserve
Honorable Mention

To view a Spotted Turtle in Lyme is a rare treat because they are a Species of Special Concern in Connecticut. Therefore, the preserve location has been obscured to protect the subject. This photograph by Rich Sanders is a striking yet unobtrusive capture of the elusive turtle. The turtle feels safe and hidden from all except the most observant viewer by the fuzzy barrier of branches in the foreground, which adds a sense of distance. The color contrast of the orange markings on this turtle stand out against the background green of the water. An interesting element is the perfect reflection of the log and turtle in the water. It creates the optical illusion that the log is suspended rather than submerged. Thank you, Rich, for sharing this wonderful observation. Wendolyn Hill

Joe Standart is an internationally known, award-winning photographer. His national public art initiative, Portrait of America, began in New London in 2004. Learn more about Joe

Wendolyn Hill is an artist, award winning photographer, and former professor of art. Learn more about Wendy.

We’d love to see the photos you’ve taken this spring in any of the Lyme Preserves, the sky above Lyme, or backyard native wildlife/pollinator habitat in Lyme. Please share your three favorite photos in the Imagining Lyme photo showcase. The deadline for Summer photos is September 30, 2024. Three photos of distinction will be chosen. To see the gallery of photos and to submit, go to: https://imagininglyme.org