Arizona School Boards Association
Announces Winners of the
Annual Student Photography Contest
Sedona Red Rock High School sweeps color category, Prescott High School takes two-of-three top places in black-and-white competition

PHOENIX— When considering Arizona’s rugged beauty, one’s thoughts may quickly turn to the distinctive hues shading the majestic rocks of Sedona.  The natural beauty of the desert landscape has been recorded on countless post cards, travel brochures and painters’ canvases.

A fair number of photographers have also chronicled the region’s beauty. 

With that in mind, it should be no surprise that Sedona would serve as a hotbed for talented young photographers.  That proved to be the case recently, as for the first time in contest history, four students from a single school – Sedona Red Rock High School – swept the Color Photography category of the 2007 Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) Jack Peterson Photo Contest.

Junior Danielle Holman captured first place in the category for her entry “Rock Snow,” which narrowly beat out freshman Callie Kittredge’s, “Secret of the Trees.”  Sophomore Brandy Bigler and junior Samantha Juda completed the sweep for Red Rock High School, finishing tied for third for their entries “CR Ranch” and “Grand Canyon” respectively.    

While Red Rock High School dominated the Color Photography competition, students from Prescott High School took two-of-three top places in the Black-and-White Photography competition, with sophomore Sara Miller taking first place for “Grand Canyon,” and junior Jessica Kissel finishing third for “Balancing Boulder at Watson Lake.”  Phoenix Central High School senior Megan Thomas prevented a Prescott High School sweep, placing second for “Secret of the Trees.”

The contest is open to all K-12 students from the 240 Arizona school districts and charter schools represented by ASBA’s member boards. Photos are judged in two categories: color and black-and-white. The theme of this year’s contest was “Arizona Landscapes.”

The Arizona School Boards Association promotes community volunteer governance of public education and continuous improvement of student success by providing leadership and assistance to school governing boards. More than 240 school boards and charter schools from across Arizona, representing 1,200-plus school board members and over 1.12 million children, belong to ASBA.