On Monday, Oct. 17, New Times' general manager looked at the sparse number of entries for this year's photography contest and was a little worried.

"Is this usual?" he asked.

I myself was beginning to sweat a bit. Could this be the year the photo contest "jumped the shark"? Michael, the office receptionist and a vital member of the contest team, assured me that the photo entries were going to start pouring in. Throughout the rest of the week, and especially on Friday afternoon as deadline approached, the photos did indeed stream in - 556 by closing time, setting an all-time record.

Once again the great eyes of this county swept out over hill and dale to bring back riveting accounts to share with our readers. Each year we are amazed by the beautiful imagery discovered and created by the talented community of photographers.

True to tradition we changed up the categories and divisions to keep the photographers on their toes; this year we brought back the Professional and Amateur divisions and added the category of Morro Rock.

The judging duties were performed by the gifted group of Forrest Doud (last year's Best of Show winner), Marta Peluso (photography instructor at Cuesta College), Frank Scotti (partner and Chief Idea Officer at the Advertise Here agency), and Colleen Rosenthal (award-winning local photographer).

The tired cliché of "a picture is worth a thousand blah-blah-blahs" still holds true, so to save space and get to the good stuff, let's look at the images!

 

 AMATEUR - Open

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Anastasia Kontaxaki FLAG: First Place #

Prem Ananda AGED FEET: Second Place #

Matthew Reed HIGHWAY 101 PUBLIC RESTROOM: Third Place #

Dave Coronel THE TRAIN: Honorable Mention #

AMATEUR - Flora

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Judith Hildinger SLO ESPALIER: #

Catherine A. Sheel KISSING PODS: Second Place #

Susan Morasca EPIPHYLLUM ILLUMINATED: Third Place #

Karan Peterson THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: Honorable Mention #

AMATEUR - Animals

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Carl Sepulveda UNTITLED: First Place #

Samson Pinto SEASCAPE: Second Place #

Samson Pinto UNTITLED: Third Place #

Wes Weems ARACHNOPHOBIA: Honorable Mention 1 #

James Little HOVERING GULLS: Honorable Mention 2 #

AMATEUR - Kids

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Lisa Maksoudian CALEB: First Place #

Anastasia Kontaxaki JOEL: Second Place #

Lisa Maksoudian JACOB: Third Place #

Leslie Rugebregt EMILY: #

Angela Henderson DES PETITS MIROIRS: Honorable Mention 2 #

AMATEUR - Land/Seascapes

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Angela Henderson YOUVE GOT MAIL: First Place #

Anastasia Kontaxaki SAND DUNES: Second Place #

Willi Figg SUNDAY MORNING SUNRISE: Third Place #

Susan Pyburn HIGHWAY 46: Honorable Mention #

AMATEUR - Rock

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Samson Pinto UNTITLED: First Place #

Susan Pyburn MORRO MIST: Second Place 1 #

David Phillips MORRO LIPS: Second Place 2 #

Troy Boynton THE ROCK: Third Place #

Professional - Rock

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Donna Johnson MISTICAL MORRO VISTA: First Place #

Janice Peters CLOUD RAINBOW: Second Place #

Marlin Harms STORM MORNING: Third Place #

Trevor Povah UNTITLED: Honorable Mention #

Professional - Land/Seascapes

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Donna Johnson SA REAL COW: First Place #

Cris Mitchell BETWEEN LIGHT & SHADOW: Second Place #

Eric Meader THE GRAND STAIRCASE: Third Place #

Professional - Flora

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Marlin Harms EDGE OF THE WOODS: First Place #

Dorothy Cutter AGAVE: Second Place #

Marcy A. Israel SEAWEED #2: Third Place 1 #

Nancy Koren WET CACTUS: Third Place 2 #

Oak MARCY A. ISRAEL: Honorable Mention #

Professional - Animals

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Marlin Harms PHALAROPE & REFLECTIONS: First Place #

Lynda Roeller HORSE SILHOUETTE: Second Place #

Janice Peters BEST FRIENDS: Third Place #

Professional - Kids

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Donna Johnson BRANCHING OUT: First Place & Judges Pick #

Jeff Newsom LOGAN: Second Place #

Marcy A. Israel MARK: Third Place #

Miss Lindy MY SECRET GARDEN: Honorable Mention #

Professional - People

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Barry Goyette BECKY: First Place #

Jeff Newsom NOPE TO DOPE: Second Place #

Marcy A. Israel NANA: Third Place #

Jeff Newsom DAVID: Judges Pick #

Marcy A. Israel WOMAN: Honorable Mention 1 #

Jeff Newsom ROCK LOBSTER: Honorable Mention 2 #

Professional - Open

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Deborah Denker UNTITLED: Professional, First Place and Best in Show #

Marcy A. Israel HANDS #1: Second Place #

Barry Goyette UNTITLED: Third Place #

Michael Utin BARN OWL ON DUTY: Honorable Mention #

New Times Photographer Christopher Gardner is a good judge of character but not a judge of the contest. He can be reached at [email protected].