Our Stories

Winners of the Spring 2010 PA NCTA Photography Contest

The results are in!  This Spring, we challenged you to get out on the North Country Trail and take some pictures!  Many of you did, submitting entrances in the “People,” “Trail Features,” and “Wildlife” contest categories.  Photo submissions ranged in subject from wildflowers to shelter-construction, snakes to mushrooms, waterfalls and boulders to young adventurers hiking along the trail.  If you haven’t seen the online photo album yet, check it out!

Nationally known & acclaimed photographer Heather Lahtinen of Weddings by Heather in Western PA graciously served as the judge for our Spring contest.  When she’s not busy running her photography business, Heather gives instructional courses and consultations to help local photographers learn the art of photography.  To see some of Heather’s work, check out her website at: http://www.weddingsbyheather.com/

Without further ado, here are the winners!

Winner of the “People” category:

Winner of the “Trail Features” category:

Carol is hiking the Tour de North Country Trail of PA along with members of the NCTA and the Butler Outdoor Club.  Those who attend the Tour, organized by John Stehle (President of the Butler Outdoor Club), venture out every couple of weeks to hike a section of the North Country Trail in PA.  Each “stage” of the tour involves hiking a different section, and eventually, those who complete every stage will have hiked the entire PA section of trail!

On a chilly April day, while hiking a stage of the Tour de NCT, Carol took the above photo.  Here’s what she had to say:

“We were doing the ten mile section between Henrys Mills and Minister Road in the Allegheny National Forest, Warren County…  It was a day so cold we had to put on every layer in our packs to keep from freezing.  Snow flurries whipped around our heads as we walked.”

“I spotted something white in the woods a short distance away.  I couldn’t really identify it, so took a closer look as the others trudged on.  It was interesting that only the hair remained.  There were no bones, no skull, no body parts.  Only the soft white hair forming a thick carpet with the thin green leaves slicing up through it.   It struck me as the complete life cycle.”

Winner of the “Wildlife” category:

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Those were our category winners!  Now, here is our contest  Best in Show!

Best in Show:

Dan took his picture, which he named “The Crowd,” during a May hike along the North Country Trail in Butler County, PA.  The compelling colors, unique close-to-the-ground perspective, and use of the macro (close-up) photography technique combine to make this shot a true winner!

Next time you are out hiking with your camera, try some of Dan’s techniques:

• Look at your subject from a different perspective: That mushroom might look cool from where you are standing, but it might look even more fascinating if you crouch down and get closer, or take a shot from underneath it!
• Take a bug’s eye view: Get reallllly close with your camera and see how it transforms that common wildflower into a Georgia O’Keeffe!
• Watch for interesting colors & lighting:  Dawn and dusk are generally great times for photography, because the lighting and shadows you can capture.  Next time you are out during sunrise or sunset, look at the colors of the objects around you.  You may look at a tree and think, “it has brown bark and green leaves,” but if you stop and ask yourself “what colors do I really see?”, you may find that the sunset makes the brown bark appear vivid orange, and those green leaves look almost purple!

Congratulations, Dan!  Your photo is a reminder to us all that, whether hiking with a camera or not, we should take time to really see and appreciate the world around us!  Keep taking pictures, keep hiking on the North Country Trail, and most of all, keep enjoying the outdoors!

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Those were Heather’s picks, but what about yours?  We asked you to vote online for your “Fan Favorites” by “liking” your favorite photos in the Photo Contest Album on our North Country Trail Association Facebook page.

Here are your picks for Fan Favorite!

Fan Favorite:

Tammy, who racked up several awards in this year’s contest, is known by her friends in the Butler Outdoor Club and NCTA as an outdoor enthusiast with a gift for photography!  Her pictures tell the stories of the hikes and activities she attends, and are always prominently featured on the Butler Outdoor Club Photo-Journal.

Tammy said of her work:

“All of my pictures are taken because I enjoy sharing the simple things around us.  The pictures are my way of preserving those little bits of nature.”

Fan Favorite Runner-up:

Can you count them?  Here’s what Cody had to say about his photograph:

“It was one of those first warm days we had in March and a couple friends and I decided to head up to Jennings and hike around a little.  We were walking on the NCT when we heard the sound of frogs ahead.  We passed another hiker who told us to check out the small pond ahead…”

“The pond turned out to be a small vernal pool just a few feet off the trail filled to the brim with green frogs that were all croaking as loud as possible!  Everywhere you looked, you could see their little heads poking up out of the water and the noise was deafening.  It truly was a show!”

“I think my photo says something about the many surprises that await you anytime you step onto the NCT.  I have hiked that particular segment many times before, but had never seen the vernal pool until going in the early spring.  You can never hike the same trail twice.”

Photo contest winners will receive prizes donated by the Butler Outdoor Club, Moraine Preservation Fund, Clarion Chapter of the NCTA, Butler County Tourism Convention Bureau, and the North Country Trail Association Trail Shop!  Thank you to all who donated, participated, and voted, and congratulations to the winners!

Closing thoughts from Cody, one of our winners, who grew up in the area, but only recently discovered that the North Country Trail not only passes through his favorite PA state parks, it also offers him hiking experiences right near his home in Ellwood City, PA:

“So many people complain about there being nothing to do in Western PA, but I beg to differ.  There is always plenty to do if you just know where to look.  We are fortunate enough to live in an area where the longest National Scenic Trail runs right through our backyards.”

“I first heard about (the North Country Trail) when hiking at McConnell’s Mill, Moraine, and Jennings.  Then, I looked on the internet and found several segments near my home in Ellwood City at the Cemex property, Gateway, and the segment near Watt’s Mill and State Gamelands 285, which I now prefer over the trails in state parks.  They offer a much more solitary hiking experience.”

“My favorite thing about the NCT would have to be that if offers a forever-changing, world-class hiking experience just a few short miles from home.“

Congratulations again to all of our winners!