Local Photographers Grab Top Spots in "Beautiful Middletown" Contest

The Middletown Historical Society, in conjunction with the Newport Art Museum & Art Association has announced the winners of the first annual "Beautiful Middletown Photography Contest."

Organizers said they received entries from more than 40 photographers and more than 100 photographs submitted from as far away as Minnesota.

Subjects ranged from Middletown scenic vistas including Sachuest Point, St. George's School, Hanging Rock, and Second Beach, to studies of several historic buildings in Middletown and also of wildlife photography.

Entries were judged by members of the Photographer's Guild of the Newport Art Association, according to a released statement.

Images of the copyright protected winning photographs may be viewed at the Middletown Historical Society website.

Here's what judges had to say about the winning entries:

"...The Grand Prize is awarded to photographer Sue Berman of Portsmouth for her photograph 'Arches,' a perspective study depicting the supporting structure of St. Georges Chapel.  Probably no single structure in Middletown is more iconic than St. George's yet we seldom see the grace and symmetrical beauty of the supporting structure itself. The blue stone walkway leads you into the image, while the shadow detail and color palette provides a calmness that equally draws the viewer into the photograph..."

"...Second Prize is awarded to photographer Greg Heimall of Middletown for his photograph 'On the Rocks,' a visual study depicting waves crashing on rocks and a battered lobster trap.  The vivid colors of this photograph, taken during a stormy sunset/dawn, are immediate and compelling..."

"...Third Prize is awarded to photographer Eric Full of Newport for his photograph 'Second Beach Sunrise.'  The pastel color palette of this beautiful photograph draws you in.  The light is sublime and the colors are both natural and muted..."

Two additional photos were chosen for Honorable Mention:

"...Day's End by Paula Visnoski of Middletown is a photograph of St. George's School at sunset as seen from Second Beach. The use of St. George's spire to anchor the photograph does not detract from its primary impact, which is the sense of families at the beach on a summer evening.  The mist and the couples are almost cinematic in effect..."

"...Sachuest Shoreline, another photograph by Third Prize winner Eric Full, is a beautiful, but highly sophisticated and muted photograph of a common subject… our rocky shoreline. The long exposure leaves the water an ephemeral, misty substance and the rocks loom like a mountain range, sharp from foreground to infinity."

Cash prizes were awarded to winners at the recent Middletown Historical Society's "Picnic in Paradise" on Sept. 12 at Paradise Park.

 For more details, please visit www.middletownhistory.org or email info@middletownhistory.org.