State’s Top High School Photographers Capture Beauty of Arizona Landscapes during ASBA Jack Peterson Student Photo Contest

PHOENIX - January 11, 2010 - Sometimes an award-winning photograph ends up tucked away inside the camera for literally months at a time – its magic left unseen by the outside world.  The art that would eventually wow contest judges becomes almost an afterthought – merely a reminder of a pleasant hike through nature.

In Matt Brewer’s case, the photo, “A Walk in the Park,” didn’t even catch the Prescott High School senior’s attention for at least half-a-year. Luckily Brewer eventually glanced at his photo, which recently captured first place in the black-and-white category at the 2009 Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) Jack Peterson Student Photography Contest.

The statewide contest, marking its eleventh year in 2009, features K-12 students from the 240 Arizona school districts and charter schools represented by ASBA’s member boards. The ASBA student photography contest originated to honor former ASBA executive director and amateur photographer Jack Peterson upon his retirement.

The theme for the 2010 contest was “Arizona Landscapes,” with competition taking place in both the color and black-and-white categories.  This year’s winners included:

Color Category
1st Place: “Havasu Fall,” Lauren Madden, Senior, Fountain Hills High School, Fountain Hills USD

2nd Place: “Elusive Superstitions,” Veronica Harrison, Senior, Desert Ridge High School (Mesa), Gilbert USD

3rd Place: “Frame the View,” Megan Thrall, Junior, Hamilton High School (Chandler), Chandler USD

Black-and-White Category
1st Place: “A Walk in the Park (Havasupai Nation),” Matt Brewer, Senior, Prescott High School, Prescott USD

2nd Place: “Windmill Sonoita,” Ron Lilman, Junior, Amphitheater High School (Tucson), Amphitheater USD

3rd Place: “Horses,” Leslie Schonhorst, Senior, Amphitheater High School (Tucson), Amphitheater USD

Brewer’s winning black-and-white photograph almost featured another subject – a young boy had accompanied him along the trail the day before.

 “That particular photo I took while I was backpacking in the Havasupai Nation,” Brewer explained. “The day before I was out backpacking, but I wasn’t that familiar with the trail so I didn’t even have my camera out.  I had seen a child out there, and he ended up walking with me about 200 feet….The next day I kept looking for him, but I couldn’t find him.”

That might have been a blessing in disguise. Instead, Brewer, a student assistant with a beginning wet photography class at Prescott High School, settled instead for taking a photo of the trail.  That decision eventually resulted in the award-winning black-and-white photograph.

While photography will definitely remain in Brewer’s future, another art form may become his primary focus.  Brewer said he plans on majoring in theater arts at Northern Arizona University.

For Lauren Madden, the first-place winner in the color category, photography still is a fairly new passion.  Madden, a senior at Fountain Hills High School, didn’t pick up a camera until she took a beginning photography class her junior year.

And even then, Madden’s class selection didn’t exactly reflect a burning love for photography.

“I never really thought I would like (photography),” Madden admitted. “I signed up for the class last year because I needed an art credit.  It actually turns out I really like it.”

Madden humbly claims she”…really wasn’t very good at first.” Obviously, improvement came quickly for the award-winning photographer, and now photography may play a vital role in her future plans.

“At first I wanted to go to college and study advertising or some other form of communications,” Madden said.  “But now I’m thinking I might want to become a photo journalist!’

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 million children, belong to ASBA.