Winners named in Bellevue Reporter amateur photo contest

Published 12:29 pm Friday, April 4, 2014

Dozens of people took their best (photo) shot in the Bellevue Reporter Amateur Reader Photo Contest.

In all, 94 photographs were submitted in the categories of Animals, People and Scenic.

The most popular category was Scenic, which garnered a total of 52 photographs. The Animals category brought 25 entries. The People category had 17 photographs.

The photos went through two rounds of judging before winners were chosen.

Marcia Nobuyama won in the Animals category for a photograph of a cute dog peeking over a wall at the Seattle Humane Society. She will receive a 16 x 20 canvas wrap of a photograph of her choice, compliments of Omega Photo in Bellevue.

Steve Wiebe took the honors in the People category with a photograph of two “treasurer hunters” checking the beach at Ocean Shores. Wiebe wins a Vanguard Arien 27 gadget bag, again compliments of Omega Photo.

Megan Lee is the winner in the Scenic category for a photograph of a bubble reflecting the area outside the Bridle Trails Park. Her prize is a $100 gift certificate at John Howie Steak in Bellevue.

Congratulations to our winners and all of the entrants who clearly have an eye for photography. We’ll plan to show some of their photographs in the weeks ahead in the Bellevue Reporter.

Marcia Nobuyama took this photo at the Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue where she works as a volunteer — a pet publicist (photographer). She takes pictures of dogs for the website for people who are interested in adopting a pet. She was taking out another dog for a shoot “and this guy popped his head over the wall and started watching me. It was just too cute not to capture.” Nobuyama says she greatly enjoys helping and being a part of this organization. “They do great things bringing together pets and people to form lifelong relationships.”

Steve Wiebe is an amateur photographer with an art and printing background. He says he saw these people on the beach at Ocean Shores when the sun was setting. “The golden tones caught my eye from the balcony of our hotel room. I grabbed my camera and telephoto lens and zoomed in on the silhouetted images.” He shot the images in January 2013.

Megan Lee of Bellevue says she was attempting to take pictures of bubbles mid-air outside the Bridle Trails State Park. “It wasn’t long before I realized that the rain from the previous day allowed for the bubbles to remain on the ground a few seconds before they popped. As a result, I was able to quickly blow the bubbles, lie on the ground, and snap this photo, which reflected the surrounding trees.” She took the photo in February 2013.