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The 29^th annual North Shore Challenge, held March 2, was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by over 300 audience members. The Challenge Trophy, hard sought by twenty-eight clubs from BC and the Yukon, was won, once again, by the host club, North Shore Photographic Society, giving them (us) a hat trick of top honours in three consecutive competitions! (It’s a bit embarrassing. But rest assured, the fix wasn’t in. Really.)

Delta Photo Club and Comox Valley Camera Club were tied for third place with 205 points. Lions Gate Camera Club placed second with 213 points. North Shore received 218 points.

Images were of outstanding quality, and covered a broad spectrum of subjects and styles. The variety was reflected in the top three individual winners. “Out of the Mist” by Kasandra Sproson of the Langley Camera Club, which took third prize with 24 points, shows an iconic, almost supernatural wild white horse galloping breakneck towards the viewer. David Laronde’s “A Quiet Moment,” an idyllic portrait of Japanese snow monkeys bathing communally, placed second, also with 24 points. And Gary Cotter’s exquisitely lit dance shot, “Floating on Air,” earned 25 points to win Best in Show. David and Gary both represent the North Shore Photographic Society.

At half time, the audience voted for the People’s Choice in the Print Competition. This years, top honours were shared by Jason Duncan and Debbie Webb. The sensible choice of cookies with a beverage as refreshments made the intermission go smoothly, giving people time to spend with sponsors at the lobby tables.

A large number of photography-related door prizes were taken home by audience members whose ticket stubs had the lucky numbers: an Epson Stylus R2000 photo printer, courses in photography, merchandise, gift certificates, and a day with the firemen of the District of North Vancouver for five lucky photographers, were among the most longed-for items. NSPS is grateful to all our sponsors for their continued support, and we strongly encourage our members to patronize these businesses and organizations:

Abbotsford Photo Arts Club

Beau Photo

Burnaby Photographic Society

CAPA

Cotton Carrier

Daymen Photo (LowePro)

District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services

Epson Canada

Kerrisdale Cameras

Langara College

Lens & Shutter

Mountain Equipment Co-op

Photo Expert

Sheena Wilkie Photography

Tilley Endurables

Vancouver Photo Workshops

Once again, the show was technically flawless, thanks to the able work of Bill Kearney. Merilyn Hicks was the spirited MC; Jason Duncan announced titles and scores. The judges—Allen Bargen, Chris Harris, and Russel Kwan, with Larry Breitkreuz as backup—were appreciated for their ability to combine openness to innovation with consistent fairness in their demanding, high-pressure role. As always, a goodly number of NSPS volunteers pitched in to make the evening work. Special thanks go to Ray Rogers who brought in the sponsors with help from Rick Shapka, Carol Coleman, who organized the People’s Choice print competition, Margo Dornan, who recruited the judges, Victoria Low, for organizing the runners, Gordon Cornwall, who handled promotions, Peter Owens for selling tickets to almost everyone in the West Van Seniors Club, and especially Norah Corbet, the lead organizer of the event.

Click here to see the Event Reportage Gallery

Gordon Cornwall

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