Brainerd woman wins top honors in annual CLC photo contest

Lynne Heroux, Brainerd, received top recognition in the 34th annual Central Lakes College photography contest.

Heroux took the honors by winning "Best of Show in Color" for a night scene of the Jefferson Memorial mirrored by a reflection on the pool; a "Judge's Award" for pink and yellow rose framed in the center of a cathedral arch; and a first for a creative ironwork sculpture framed in light from an archway.

Other top winners include Rennie Miller, Brainerd, for "Best in Black & White" for a dog licking the tip of his nose; Jana Waaraniemi, Staples, for "Best of Show Runner-up in Color" for a young child posing with a straw hat; and Lorraine Embretson, Brainerd, for "Best of Show Runner-up in Black & White" for Caribbean children on a school playground.

Judge's awards went to John Overland, Brainerd, for a house on the prairie with a storm cloud sky, and Nancy Thompson, Brainerd, for a British railway station.

Special theme awards for "Crossing Paths" were presented to Dawn Michel, Pequot Lakes, for a color photo of a great-grandparent and baby sleeping together in a lawn chair, and to Becky Tollerud, Merrifield, for a black and white photo of two elderly men looking grimly at each other.

Two first-place awards each was presented to Kelly Humphrey, Brainerd, for violet colored bell flower and for an action shot of a carnival ride in motion; Ingrid Anderson, Lake Shore, for a floral booth of colorful dried feathery flowers and for a landscape of frosty trees on a peninsula reflecting in a lake; Nancy Williams, Brainerd, for a lavender iris and creative magical scene of a mountain horn player floating above his instrument; and Brian Tollerud, Merrifield, for black and white photos of a guitar player and a close-up of motion on an electric guitar.

Other first-place awards went to Jan Kurtz, Fort Ripley, for a butterfly sitting on a daisy; Gary Fitch, Brainerd, for white geese in flight; Jamie Williams, Staples, for a young lady posed in a black hat and dress gloves; Nikki Magnan, Brainerd, for a creative photo of a young lady posing in semi-profile with lavender hair highlights and a star tattoo on her upper cheekbone; Lynn Lenk, Staples, for an extreme close-up of the head of a Holstein cow eating corn; Gail Wannebo, Manhattan Beach, for a sailing vessel heading into the sunset; R.H. Johnson, Brainerd, for a tinted photo of a young lad sitting in the crux of a tree; Gail Fitch, Brainerd, for a landscape of grassy reeds framed on a misty pond in early morning; Amanda Metteer, Staples, for a portrait of a bearded man posed on a stepladder wearing a plaid shirt and cowboy hat; and Denny Schmidt, Brainerd, for a landscape of a winter stream making a curve.

Forty-seven photographers entered a total of 136 photos into this year's show. This is the largest presentation ever and the quality is notably improved, said coordinator Larry Kellerman.

The display, in the lobby near the Learning Resource Center on the Brainerd campus, will be available for public viewing through Friday.