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Michigan man takes Grand Prize in Lake Superior Magazine photo contest

Feb 06, 2018 07:12AM ● By Editor
Grand Prize: “Sunset on the Graveyard Coast” • Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore • Gary McCormick, Grand Marais, Michigan

DULUTH, Minn. (WLUC) - The winners of our 23rd annual Lake Superior Photo Contest have been announced in the February/March 2018 issue of Lake Superior Magazine, and 10 of the chosen photographers are from Michigan. Many of the winning images also are from the Michigan shore of Lake Superior.

Among the top winners are Gary McCormick of Grand Marais, whose image of the coast along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore won the Grand Prize; Debra Carey of Bessemer, whose of young Izzy on a pond won First Place in People/Humor; and Mark Upton of Allouez, whose image of pancake ice earned Second Place in Lake/Landscape. Other Honorable Mention and Finalist winners were from Marquette, Ironwood, Nissula, Pinckney and Williamston. Thomas Oliver, a teacher originally from Au Train and now working for the Department of Defense in South Korea, also earned an Honorable Mention.

Judges reviewed nearly 900 images for the Lake Superior Photo Contest this round and, as is true every year, the competition was tough because the quality of photography remains amazing.

“Our spectacular Big Lake neighborhood – touching on three U.S. states and a Canadian province – offers plenty of visual beauty, and when you couple that with the extremely high technical and composition quality of the images that are entered, it continues to be delightfully difficult to narrow to a few winners,” says Konnie LeMay, editor of Lake Superior Magazine.

The annual contest covers five categories: Lake/Landscape, People/Humor, Nature, Artsy/Altered and Maritime. 

As mentioned, the overall Grand Prize went to Gary McCormick of Grand Marais, Michigan. The magazine’s cover is a modified slice of an image by the First Place winner in the Lake/Landscape category, a shot of Ontario’s Old Woman Bay by Gerry Kaiser of Windsor, Ontario.

Grand prize, first and second place and honorable mention winners are featured in the February/March 2018 issue of Lake Superior Magazine, currently on newsstands, at regional gift shops and for sale online. Finalists are shown online only.

The Grand Prize winner earns $200, a one-year subscription to Lake Superior Magazine, a 2018 Lake Superior wall calendar and an award certificate. First Place winners get a one-year subscription, a 2018 Lake Superior wall calendar and an award certificate. The cover image also earns a $150 additional prize.

Second Place winners receive subscriptions, mini calendars and award certificates. Honorable Mention winners (printed in the magazine) and Finalists (posted online) receive certificates.

Special in the Maritime category, winners may appear in the North Star Port magazine and will receive a year subscription to it from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, a partner in judging the category.

You can link online to see all the winners at https://www.lakesuperior.com/contests/photo-contest/photocontest17/.

The deadline to enter for the 24th annual Lake Superior Photo Contest is Oct. 15 and you can link to the entry form and rules online at: https://www.lakesuperior.com/contests/photo-contest/photocontest/.

Boreal Ship Spotter - larger view here