Ossining High School senior Kara Milstein won First Place honors in the high school division of the Westchester County Amateur Photography Contest.
“My inspiration for the photo was balance,” Milstein said. “I took a photo of two ballerinas, one in black and one in white.”
In the photo, the dancers stand facing one another and bent over backwards at the waist, creating one fluid shape with both dark and light portions. Milstein, who made it to the semi-finals of the contest last year, said it was an honor to be chosen for the show again and a thrill to win first place.
“I was very surprised to hear I had won because there is a lot of very beautiful art in the show,” said Milstein. “It is very special to have the honor of being show alongside adult photographers whose work is very beautiful. It was nice to know that people appreciate my work.”
Milstein said that much of the credit for her development as a photographer goes to Harry Quiroga, who teaches the Advanced Photography class. “Mr. Quiroga really pushes all of us and supports us. He teaches us the skills that we need but also gives us the confidence to get better.”
For his part, Quiroga said, “I’m very lucky to have such talented students. They all work very hard. My hope is that Kara and my other students will continue with photography in the future.”
He added that the show only accepts 20 photos for the high school exhibition and this year 17 of the 20 were taken by Ossining students. Ossining High School student Kayla Lees won Third Place in the competition, while Matt Forman won honorable mention.
Photos selected for the show will be on display in the Greenburgh Public Library’s Howard and Ruth Jacobs Family Gallery through June 13th
