A photo is worth a thousand words, and in the case of University of Guelph’s office of research photo contest, photos though a nature lens are worth first and second place and a little cash.
Best in show winner, the best photo throughout all categories, was Aleksandra Dolezal, her photo showed Lorraine Vandermyden standing in a crop field holding a net. The crops are much taller than Vandermyden, as seen in the image.
It’s a beautiful photo with great composition and colours, said Liz Snyder, director of research in the office of research at U of G.
“But the story is telling us about … biodiversity research. And … protecting our biodiversity,” said Snyder.
The photo contest started in the office of research in 2017 and by 2019 they joined forces with graduate and postdoctoral studies, it conducts their own photo contest. Now it is one photo contest, submissions start in June and the deadline is in November. In 2022 the contest received 58 submissions.
“We did it because we wanted to showcase our fabulous research and excellent research that happens at University of Guelph and give to people that actually do the research a chance to showcase it themselves,” said Snyder.
It gives students, staff and faculty time during the summer while they are in the field, lab, or studio doing research to take photos, said Snyder.
“I think what I love about them is you can really see how everyone who submit their photos are really passionate and engaged in the research that they're doing,” she said.
Judges from the office of research decide who the winners are. They look at what photos speak to them but what they really want from the photo is, “a story about the research, tell us something that showcases what the research is about,” said Snyder.
A description of the image and research is included with the photo submissions.
In the faculty and staff category, first place went to Amanda Liczner for her photo named liquid gold. It shows a bee on top of a dandelion with a radio tag strapped to her and tracks her movements.
Second, comes tiny crystals by Maryanne Stones. An image of a new nickel sulfate phase for a corrosion project was captured by scanning electron microscopy.
The undergraduate winners in first and second place, were Mark Duchene and Jenna Scharnowski. Duchene’s photo called mourning warbler is a photo of the bird on a branch. Scharnowski’s photo called the dedication of a beekeeper shows a beekeeper’s face covered in bees.
For the graduate winners Wissarut Sukhaket came first with their photo called restocking supply, showing bees restocking their food supply. Best in show winner Aleksandra Dolezal also came in second in this category.
First place winners and best in show received $500, second place and community choice received $250.
The photo contest is a great way to show not only the university community but the broader community the research taking place by students and faculty at the U of G, said Snyder.
