Photo of Burke Girl, 6, Inspires Movie-Makers

A photo of Burke resident Allison Miller, 6, is garnering quite a bit of attention after winning a national photo contest sponsored by Canon.

The photo features Allison, the daughter of Vesper and Zachary Miller of Burke, wearing a veil while lounging on a sun-dappled floor. Her grandmother, Debra Vickers, snapped it when Allison wasn't looking. Allison, a student at Cherry Run Elementary School, was wearing a friend's first communion veil while watching a TV program.

Allison and her family may wind up walking the red carpet at a film premiere next year. The winning photos in the competition are used as inspiration for movie-makers. Canon teamed up with film director Ron Howard and a panel of celebrity judges to choose their favorite photos to inspire short films to be directed and produced by Howard and the celebrity judges next year.

One of those celebrity judges, actress Eva Longoria, chose the photo of Allison. Vickers calls the photo "Alli's Dreams." Vickers is an amateur photographer who lives in West Virginia and was visiting her family in Burke when she took the photo.

Longoria explained why she chose the photo in an interview on "E! News": 

"From the time when we're this little, women are kind of socially constructed to have marriage and babies as the goal in their life. So, I think my movie is going to be the counter of this. Success is not defined on when or who you get married to."

After seeing herself on TV, when the photo of Allison was held up on national television, Allison said "Yep, that's me," her mother said. "I think her little brother Tristan is more excited."

Allison's mother said her daughter, who wants to be an artist someday, "wasn't thinking about marriage or anything. She wore the veil all day and she was on the floor watching TV. My mother just snuck up and took a picture."

Allison's grandmother has plans of her own for the photo: "She said, 'I'm going to put this away and give it to her on her wedding day,'" Vesper Miller said.