The Images of Aging Photo Contest is back for a second year with high hopes after a successful inaugural contest. The revamped contest began Nov. 14 and will run through Feb. 24 of next year.
The contest has three categories for photographs this year: black and white, color and mobile. Awards will be presented for first and second places, along with honorable mention.
“Honestly, the wall was kind of blank and we were just staring at it one day and thought it would be so neat to have photographs up there,” said Sue Garcia, administrative coordinator for the Pruett Gerontology Center. “And so how brainstorming works, one thing led to another – so we started the contest.”
The Gerontology Center hopes to add more photographs of aged hands and wrinkled smiles to the walls with the second contest. Thirteen students entered the contest last year and 53 photos were submitted from eight departments across campus.
Several works on the Gerontology Center’s wall are by Christian Burch, junior broadcast journalism major from Northridge, Calif. Burch earned first place in one category and honorable mention in another.
The Images of Aging Photo Contest encourages students to not only develop their photography skills but also to interact with older adults.
“I wanted to do this contest because I really missed all the people back home who went to my church,” Burch said. “I’m in my church choir and the average age is about 70 years old. I thought right away of this woman – this sweet little soprano – her name is Bev Wright. I just wanted to capture her inner and outer beauty.”
Burch won a combination of prizes worth $150, but that wasn’t all she took from the experience.
“It’s a really great chance to connect with that older generation and just to make friends with them – see what you have in common and appreciate their presence in their life,” Burch said.
Garcia learned he importance of connecting with the elderly long before she came to work at the Pruett Gerontology Center. Garcia grew up in a Navy family, so she rarely saw her grandparents. But she and her family made the best of the situation.
“I found that any time we went somewhere and were stationed in different places, we would adopt grandparents,” Garcia said. “It was really neat — I always had a great experience with older people.”
Photos must be of subjects 60 years of age or older. Each model must sign a release form. Entrants may submit up to three photos per category.
A panel consisting of faculty and staff will select the winners of the contest. Students who would like to participate but do not own a camera can check one out from the AT&T Learning Studio.
The Pruett Gerontology Center, the Department of Art and Design and the Learning Studio sponsor the Images of Aging Photo Contest.
For more information on the contest and rules, visit: blogs.acu.edu/imagesofaging.
