Images of Western North Carolina 2018

January/February 2019

Images of Western North Carolina 2018: For our annual Images of Western North Carolina Photo Contest, amateur and professional photographers answered the call.

WRITER:

FINALIST - SPRING SUNSET AT DOUGHTON PARK - Bonita Loggins - Loggins had been shooting at another location, but driving a little farther down the road rewarded her with this sunset shot at Doughton Park in Alleghany County. Amateur category

FINALIST - METAPHOR - Nicholas Moore - Rather than the view from Thunder Hill overlook, it was the Blue Ridge Parkway awash in a sunrise glow that really inspired this image. Professional category

FINALIST - WHAT A VIEW - Thomas Moors - Using a tripod, Moors captured the sunrise from his tent while camping along the Art Loeb Trail. Professional category

FINALIST - A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK - J.K. York - The bygone Pink J. Plemmons Groceries & Feeds store in the tiny town of Luck had just the right character to motivate this shot. Amateur category

FINALIST - GOOD MORNING GRAVEYARD FIELDS - Travis Bordley - A morning hike to Upper Falls at Graveyard Fields rewarded Bordley with this sublime scene. Amateur category

FINALIST - LOOKING GLASS AT NIGHT - Kathryn Greven - From Pounding Mills overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Greven shot this image at 3 a.m., using several exposures to capture the brilliance of the Milky Way over Looking Glass Rock. Amateur category

1st PLACE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY - FISHING BELOW THE FALLS - Patrick Williams - Normally packed with visitors in the summer, Looking Glass Falls at dawn is a peaceful place for local fly-fisherman Zane Porter. Professional category

FINALIST - BURST AT TANYARD GAP - Steven Tracy Tweed - With an eye for composition, Tweed snapped this blooming field of zinnias at Tanyard Gap in Madison County. Professional category

FINALIST - HANDS IN THE COOKIE JAR - Lindsay Higgins - This little fella couldn’t resist Higgins’ bird feeder, and she couldn’t resist capturing the moment. Professional category

FINALIST - READERS’ CHOICE WINNER - CRAGGY MIST - Michele Schwartz -This birch tree, shot here just as the rhododendrons were starting to bloom, greets hikers near the trailhead to Craggy Pinnacle along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Professional category

FINALIST - WINTER PASTURE - Mandy Quinzi - Quinzi’s Canon EOS Rebel T6i did the trick for framing this beauty she met in a Madison County pasture. Amateur category

FINALIST - AUTUMN'S BRIDGE TO HEAVEN - Mike Koenig - The soft glow of morning light against fog set the tone for this photo taken along Rough Ridge Trail near Boone. Amateur category

FINALIST - WINTER WAVES - Dale King - On a cold February day, King set out before sunrise to get this shot of a frozen winter wonderland atop Round Bald in the Roan Highlands. Amateur category

FINALIST - BULL ELK IN FOG - Kelsay Lickteig - As the early morning fog was lifting, Lickteig snapped this scene of a bugling bull elk and his ladies during mating season in Cataloochee Valley. Professional category

FINALIST - TIME TO GROOM - Ward Seguin - The unusual white squirrel can be found in very few pockets in the United States, including in Henderson County, where Seguin snapped this pic with his Nikon D5500. Amateur category

FINALIST - STREET SOUL SINGER - Karl Hinterkopf - Emotive and soulful, Asheville busker Teso McDonald prompted Hinterkopf to snap away. Amateur category

FINALIST - LET THE LIGHT IN - Lauren Rutten - Rutten used her iPhone 6 to capture this silhouetted shot taken inside an old tobacco barn in Marshall. Professional category

1st PLACE AMATEUR CATEGORY FLIPPING AT THE PATCH - Nathan Bowery - Using a tripod and an intervalometer, Bowery was able to take this shot of himself in mid back flip atop Max Patch. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - LEAP - Andy Wickstrom - Asheville climber Josh Cooper on Corner Rock boulder outside of Barnardsville. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - FROSTED AUTUMN - Bistra Hristova - Frosted oaks and rhododendrons at Mt. Pisgah. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - SUNSET RIDGE - Brad Tinsley - The overlook at Rough Ridge along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - LIGHTS ON - Cheryl Binnall - A tunnel along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - SUNSET IN THE SMOKIES - Chelsea Lanford - Sunset at Newfound Gap in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - CUTE FOR FOOD - Kimberly H. Maxwell - A cute but cold grey squirrel. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - JANE BALD SUNRISE - Dale King - Round Bald, Roan Mountain. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - CLOVER GRACE - Eliza Bell - A bonneted baby at an apple orchard in Hendersonville. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - FRONT YARD - Hunter Goosmann - Taken in Madison County. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - SECOND TO NONE - J. Scott Graham - Second Falls at Graveyard Fields. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - SUNDANCE IN THE SNOW - J.K. York - Reams Creek Road, Weaverville. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - BLAZE - Jim Moore - A bear cub caught on camera near Fairview. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - SKY RHODOS - Jim Ruff - Blue Ridge Parkway at Thunder Hill Overlook. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - SUNRISE AT MT. CAMMERER - Kara Sither - Taken from Mt. Cammerer on the NC/TN border along the Appalachian Trail. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN SUNSET - Karen Rowe - Taken from an overlook on Grandfather Mountain. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - A WALK TO THE SUN - Kevin Reaves - Shot from Tennent Mountain in Shining Rock Wilderness. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - A PRETTY PLACE - Larry K. Greenwalt - Taken at the Fred W. Summes Chapel at the YMCA Camp Greenville just over the NC/SC border. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - MIRROR IMAGE - Leah Miller - The honeymoon cottage at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - LET YOUR FEET WANDER - LeighAnne Crowder - Wiseman's View in Linville Gorge. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - RHODODENDRON BLOOM AT HAWKSBILL - Melanie Miller - Hawksbill Mountain in Linville Gorge using an intervalometer. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - MORNING LIGHT - Mitchell Bearden - Black Balsam Knob in Haywood County. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - MAX UNDER THE MILKY WAY - Nathan Bowery - Campsite at Max Patch. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - APPROACHING RAIN SHOWER - Neil Jacobs - Taken along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Cherokee. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - CUDDLING COUGARS - Patti Grosh - Brother cougars Mitchell and Pisgah at the WNC Nature Center. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - Peggy B. Wilson - Taken on the photographer's farm in Asheville. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - GLENN FALLS - Peter Ray - Glenn Falls, Highlands. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - BLUE HERON - Robert Wagner - A great blue heron taken near Cherokee. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - STAIRWAY TO JUSTICE - Ryan Karcher - Jackson County Courthouse in Sylva, NC. Professional category

HONORABLE MENTION - SANTEETLAH SERENITY - Scott Duncan - Lake Santeetlah, Graham County. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - FOGGY MORNING - Susan Murphy - An old barn taken in Matney, NC, at the top of Valle Mountain near Valle Crucis. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - SUNSET ON CRAGGY - Tana Black - The peak of Craggy Mountain along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Amateur category

HONORABLE MENTION - VIEW FROM THE TOP OF CHIMNEY ROCK - Victoria Short - Chimney Rock State Park. Professional category

WHAT A VIEW - Thomas Moors -- Using a tripod, Moors captured the sunrise from his tent while camping along the Art Loeb Trail. (Professional category)

For our annual Images of WNC Photo Contest, presented by Asheville Regional Airport, we received 770 entries that capture the natural beauty of our mountains. Thanks to all who entered and to you who voted for the Readers’ Choice winner (a whopping 7,066 votes were cast). Here, check out our finalists, honorable mentions, and top winners...Taking top honors in the Professional category is Patrick Williams with Fishing Below the Falls; in 1st place in the Amateur category is Nathan Bowery with Flipping at the Patch; and the Readers' Choice winner is pro photographer Michele Schwartz's image Craggy Mist. Congratulations to our winners!

As part of our sponsoring partnership with Asheville Regional Airport, the finalists and winners' photos will be on display at the airport’s gallery January 10-February 17. See flyavl.com for more.

Entry for our next Images of WNC Photo Contest kicks off again in May. Be sure to visit wncmagazine.com/photocontest for details.

Sponsored by Asheville Regional Airport - Check out the NEW Asheville Regional Airport Guide

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