After receiving more than 200 photos, the Lake Erie Center has announced the winners of its 2014 photo contest.
The contest’s theme, “The Nature of Our Region: From Oak Openings to Maumee Bay,” invited camera enthusiasts to submit up to five photos featuring various nature scenes throughout northwest Ohio.Submissions were separated into categories: youth, teen, adult, and special needs adult.
First-place winners received a $50 Visa gift card and will have their winning entries framed and displayed in the Lake Erie Center.
Listed by category, the winners are:
• Youth — Nico Francis-Emonds, whose photo titled “Bug Berries” is a close-up of an insect crawling across red berries with green foliage in the background;
• Teen — Clyde Swander, who took a black-and-white photo of a Canada goose observing the sounding area;
• Adult — Jeff Jellinger, whose photo titled “Rad Tad” captured a mature tadpole hiding in the autumn leaves underwater; and
• Adult special needs — Marc Arnett, who photographed a red-winged blackbird peeking out of green leaves.
The contest also featured a People’s Choice Award, which went to the shot that received the most votes on the Lake Erie Center’s Facebook page.
That honor went to David Tidrick, who snapped a shot of a sunrise over the horizon of the foggy Lake Erie water.
Go to facebook.com/lakeeriecenter to see more photos that placed in the categories.