Page 12 - Summer2011 magazine

by Mary Labie and Pat Williams

The 2011 Photo Red Rock Canyon Photo Contest has ended and the winners were selected with great difficulty. The
caliber of the entries was incredible and reflected the beauty, tranquility and fragility of Red Rock Canyon.

Red Rock Canyon’s impressive array of weather changes, ranging from blindingly blue
skies to monsoon clouds and snow storms, provided the backdrop for the majority of

the Nature and Monochromatic entries. Fernando Acosta’s entry, The Awakening,
provides an idyllic view of the Wilson Range while Alyssan Stickney’s Misty Mountain
shows the more ominous side of the same mountains.

Misty Mountain

Desert big horn sheep dominated in the Wildlife category with Thomas Knapp and
Scott Warner providing several imposing images of Nevada’s state animal. The Teen

category, including twenty entries from West Technical Career Academy students,
presented some unique perspectives of scenes normally taken for granted. One entry,
Sandyy Larios’ A Boom and a Swirl, is a stylized view of the Fire Pavilion at the

Visitor Center Museum.

Impressive landscapes, flora and fauna were on display in the reintroduced Employee
category. Ron Hawkins Winter’s Splendor featured the vastness of the Calico Hills
under a winter’s blanket of snow and low clouds while Aaron Leifheit’s entries, The
Hideout and Happy Hour, presented a whimsical look at the smaller creatures that

are often overlooked by most visitors.

The Hideout

An Artist Reception and Awards Ceremony, hosted by Friends of Red Rock Canyon
and the BLM on June 11, had over 60 participants and guests attending. Videos,

created for the occasion, of previous contest winners as well as the 2011 winning
entries were viewed before and after the presentation ceremony. Cash awards and
certificates were presented to the eighteen finalists and, as a new feature, all attend-
ees voted on the new People’s Choice Award – Teen Category. Kyle Burt’s photo, Cactus Wren Guarding the Gold, won
the award in very close voting.
(continued on page 14)
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