by Zoraya B. Stern  |  Jun 07, 2021  |  Musings

2020. The year where a pandemic turned our lives upside down. A year where we struggled with how to safely continue doing the things we loved. A year where we restrained from gathering in person. The Annual Woodlands Photography Club Contest was able to take place as a virtual event last October. However, printing and matting our photos for a gallery display was postponed until we could safely meet in person and open our exhibit to the public.

I am happy to share that the winning and curated photos will be on display and for purchase if interested at the Glade Art Center in The Woodlands. A beautiful venue to share and exhibit art. All are welcome! Please join us for a reception and exhibit on Monday evening, June 14, 5:30pm-9pm The art of photography really comes alive when printed and seen in a gallery.

I am excited to share that several of my images were curated for the exhibit and this year one of my photographs received the “Best of Show” award! These images along many, many other images from many talented local artists will be on display at this exhibit. Come find me and say hello at the exhibit!

Category: Black & White

Theme: Architecture

Best of Show: “Unexpected Details”

This was taken in the Andalusia region of Spain at the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.  It is an amazing example of Moorish architecture and is known to be the largest mosque in the world.  However, it's uniqueness is a result of how it was influenced by both the Islamic and Christian religions during different rule  throughout history.  When Cordoba was captured by Christian rule during the Reconquista in 1236, a Renaissance cathedral was inserted into the middle of the mosque.  As I walked through the amazing and monolithic structure of the mosque, I was unexpectedly surprised to catch a glimpse of these renaissance architectural details beyond this circular opening.  Two religions, two cultures, two styles of architecture.....one worship space.

Category: People

Theme: Up-Close

Curated for Exhibit: “Senioritis”

When it comes to photographing people, I am passionate about high school seniors and capturing their special year.  It was definitely a challenge during this pandemic year, but with masks during photoshoots and preview sessions on zoom, we made it through.  And, although "Up Close" was not necessarily something anyone wanted to do during a pandemic.....a zoom lens and a creative face covering provided for this playful capture that represented not only a senior's last days in high school, but also how all of us were "ready to be done" with this pandemic!

Category: Open

Theme: Open

Curated for Exhibit: “Infused Spirits”

So, how many of us enjoyed a few extra alcoholic beverages throughout this 2020 pandemic year?  Inspired by indulging in a few extra "spirits" myself this past year and spending time with my photography from the confines of my own home, I used one of my favorite techniques, light painting, to create this whimsical image!

Category: Technique

Theme: Flash Photography

Curated for Exhibit: “Power Stroke"

Back to photographing people.....high school seniors and their sports are my favorites.  Having had 4 of my own children as swim athletes, I love any of the water sports, from swim to dive to water polo!  This shot was taken at an indoor pool with the use of flash to allow me to capture the drama of the powerful butterfly stroke and freeze the action and water.

Category: Wild Card

Theme: Fieldtrips

Curated for Exhibit: “Glassy Splash”

Every year the club provides various fieldtrips where we gather today and go on a fun photoshoot to a new and exciting location. During a pandemic year, going somewhere together as a group was out of the question.  So, our "fieldtrip" assignments were usually within the boundaries of our own homes and backyards.  This photo was created in my home studio with a bowl of water, a medicine dropper, food coloring, an off-camera flash and a macro-extension on my 70-200mm lens to capture the very splash moment of one drop of water.

Category: Nature

Theme: Wildlife

Curated for Exhibit: “Agitated”

After months of not going many places during this pandemic year, our family finally went on an outing where we could be outside and not exposed to large crowds of people.  We visited a relatively local park called Aggie Safari Land to see the wildlife.  The kids got to feed some of the animals and I enjoyed photographing them all.  This image was one of my favorites because I felt most of us could relate with feeling agitated.  Agitated with everything pandemic and 2020 related!!!

Category: Other

Theme: Digital Manipulation

Entered:  "Key Thoughts"

While all the other categories of this competition restricts us to processing and only minor edits of our photographs, sometimes it is interesting to use the full extents of digital manipulation by compositing several images to create a new photographic piece of art.  In this image I blended 3 of my photographs to create a composite of this young lady and her passion for playing the flute.  Often when a flute player performs she is accompanied by a pianist and her thoughtful reflection here is draped in the color red and texture of lace that represent passion.

Thank you for visiting and please comment to share your own experiences if something speaks to you!