MENU
November 18, 2011 /

Award Winning Atlanta Wedding Photographers | Georgia State University "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" International Photo Competition

Betty wins "Best in Show" for the "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" International Photo Competition at Georgia State University
A
H

Here is a quick mid-week post, another one actually. I’ve had the Friday post written and saved to be auto-published since Tuesday! Today, Thursday, was the award night for the Georgia State University (GSU) “Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures” International Photo Competition. This was a photography contest which was the final gala event for International Education Week here at the University and invited students who were either from another country studying in the US or students from the US whom had participated in a study abroad program outside of the US. Here is the description of the event:

Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures is an international photo competition organized by Study Abroad Programs. Both study abroad and international students are encouraged to submit to the three categories (detailed below) – study abroad students from their travels abroad and international students from their time here in the U.S. As an international student, you would be competing against the other international student entries for places in the different categories, in addition to the International Grand Prize. You would also be considered for the Best in Show, which is the overall contest winner. Prizes range from $25-$200.

The photos categories are People, Places, and Daily Life. In the PEOPLE category, preference will be given to photos showing an interaction between students and the local countrymen or among the countrymen themselves. In the PLACES category, judges will be looking for an interaction between people (students or others) and their various locations. In the DAILY LIFE category, photos should showcase notable cultural experiences that do not necessarily fit into the other two categories.

Betty and I had a tough time but finally narrowed down her entries to three photo which we felt best represented each category. For PEOPLE we chose a photo from Amir and Nasrine’s wedding showing Amir celebrating before the ceremony; for PLACES we chose a photo from Rachel & Shayne’s wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart for it’s wide architectural style; and lastly for DAILY LIFE we chose a recent photo from H & E’s Nigerian wedding of them dancing in Nigerian traditional clothing.

So on Thursday evening, after my day long on location shoot for the television show, the whole family (Betty, Betty’s Mom, Miles and me) walked down to GSU for the ceremony to see how she did!

They announced each category individually and had award for both international and domestic students, so 8 winners per category, one domestic and one international grand prize, and one single overall show winner for a total of 27 prizes. As the announcer started in each category we were a bit let down that Betty wasn’t called for People, but then got excited that her photo from the Basilica was chosen as a 3rd Place winner for Places.

Accepting her 3rd Place Award | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

Then the final category was called and no winners. To be fair, their was some tough competition. A lot of the photos were from interesting places and you could really tell that a lot of the photos were from real photography enthusiasts with some creative compositions and ideas. After the category awards it was time for the Grand Prize winners from each “division” – students living in the US from overseas and domestic students who had traveled for study abroad. Two awesome winners, but not Betty.

Lastly, out of the blue, a single winner had to be chosen to be the “Best in Show” and overall winner for the entire competition… That photo, was Betty’s photograph of Amir at Amir & Nasrine’s wedding titled “Celebration”… it was a dream come true!!

Accepting her Best in Show Award | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

Afterwards all of the winning students took a quick group photo outside. I of course had to sneak in my own shot while the hired event photographer took his =)

Group Photo | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

At the reception immediately following the awards presentation we got to see all of the photos hung in a mini gallery. Betty’s overall “Best in Show” winner was the only photo to be enlarged though, we hope it hangs proudly in the GSU Study Abroad office!

With enlarged overall winning photo | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

Betty was so happy that she even let me take a “Chinese pose” photo of her. Yay!

With enlarged overall winning photo | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

The 3rd place winning photo from the individual “Places” category of Shayne & Rachel’s wedding

With 3rd Place Photo in Places Category | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

Her winning photo with the rest of the winners and her “Best in Show” ribbon

With Best in Show Overall Winner | Betty Won the GSU "Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures" Photo Competition!

We’re so proud of Betty! Being wedding photographers we only really had wedding photos to enter in the contest but we’re happy to report that two of them were winners! Congratulations to Betty and we hope to report on more award winning photographs soon!

Comments
Add Your Comment

CLOSE MENU