Essex Heritage Celebrates Photo Contest Winners

SALEM, MA — Photographers from all over the North Shore once again captured the essence of Essex County in pictures in 2021.

The Essex National Heritage Commission solicited some of the best of those shots and will present awards to the winning photographers during the virtual 2021 Essex National Heritage Area Photo Contest on Feb. 17.

The annual photo contest encourages photographers of all levels to "capture" the living landscapes, unique places, and interesting people of Essex County.

Prizes were awarded in the categories of Historic Essex National Heritage, New Perspectives and On the Move.

The Grand Prize winner was "Star Trails Over Motif" taken in Rockport by Jason Kennedy of Nashua, New Hampshire.

Salem's Rick Matthias's "Moonlight" photo taken in Salem won first prize in the Historic Essex National Heritage Area category. Second prize went to Karen Hosking of Salem for her photo "Paine House in Infrared" taken in Ipswich, with third place going to Susan Plutsky of Salem for her photo "Zinnea Path" taken in Amesbury.

Kathy Diamontopoulos of Haverhill earned first place in the New Perspectives category with her photo "Clam Bar" taken in Salisbury. Francisco Urena of Marblehead earned second place with his photo "Winter 2021 Marblehead" taken in Marblehead.

Donna Bambury of Middleton earned first prize in the On the Move category with her photo "Under the Bridge" taken in Topsfield.

The public is invited to the virtual awards ceremony on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. Those wishing to attend can register for virtual access here.

The winning images will be exhibited for a full year at the North Shore Bank branch on Main Street in Peabody and the office of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission on Main Street in Haverhill.

All the winning photos can be seen here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)