Medical Imaging
winners of our photo contest
St. Paul photographer Steve Wewerka, who served as one of the judges for our photography contest and regularly takes photos for Minnesota Medicine as well as national publications, says that taking a good photograph is a combination of finding an interesting subject and bringing your own artistry to it. For him, that means looking high and low at the subject to find a new perspective that will make the shot fresh.
As a challenge to himself, Wewerka began doing just that last January when he launched a year-long project called “Wandering I,” in which he takes a photograph a day using the camera in his iPhone. “I use a minimal amount of equipment,” he says, “which forces me to have to use all of my artistic and visual skills to create compelling, unique, fresh imagery.”
Those photos can be viewed on his website www.wewerkaphoto.com and on Facebook, where he posts a photo a day on his Wandering I page.
Fresh, unique imagery is what Wewerka was looking for when he helped pick the winners of our first annual photography contest. Last May, we challenged medical students and physicians to “Give Us Your Best Shots.” They responded by submitting 47 photographs.
In addition to publishing the winning photos, we’re also sharing what the photographers said about their images as well as Wewerka’s comments about what made the winning photos so compelling.
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1st place
John Valesano, medical student,
University of Minnesota Canal Park, Duluth
This was taken March 23, the day after an incredibly windy storm blew spray from Lake Superior on the trees and the street lights all night. Nothing says “Duluth, Minnesota” like a street lamp covered in frozen water from Lake Superior.
Steve Wewerka says three things stood out about John Valesano’s first-place photo of the ice-encrusted street lamp: “The fact that it was unique subject matter, the fact that the photographer broke that golden rule of always having the sun behind you and did it successfully, and the fact that he added in the human element really made that a successful picture.” He notes that including the child in the shot gives the image “a quirky feel.” |
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2nd place
Ann Vogt, medical student,
University of Minnesota
A butterfly caught in the water, Mabira Forest, Uganda I was initially startled by something moving in the usually calm water. Then I realized it was a butterfly flapping its wings, trying to free itself and at the same time distorting the image of everything around it.
Second-place winner Ann Vogt’s photo was “absolutely all about color,” Wewerka says. But he also liked the fact that the butterfly is slightly off-center. “It wasn’t this perfect bulls-eye picture of a butterfly on the water,” he says. He also noted that the ripples in the water suggest “great movement” and make the photograph seem three-dimensional.
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3rd place
Sean O’Brien, medical student,
University of Minnesota
Getting back to the water after a rain-filled portage, Boundary Waters Canoe Area The scene was stunning. The photo captures some of the beauty of Minnesota.
Wewerka says third-place winner Sean O’Brien’s photo is all about composition. He notes that a number of elements suggest scale and distance. “There’s the canoe on the shoulders of the people going into the water. It’s angled just right so that it leads you into the picture. And it’s almost pointing exactly at the other canoe that’s out in the lake.” He also says the ripples in the water near the person carrying the canoe give the photograph “a decisive moment” feel.
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Honorable Mentions
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Rachel Steckelberg, medical student,
Mayo Medical School
The Pagoda, Patterson Park, Baltimore, What inspired her to capture the image: The lighting at the time of day I took the shot, and the unique architecture of the structure.
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Amanda Weinmann, medical student,
University of Minnesota
The Sentinel and Three Patriarchs, Zion National Park, Utah
I decided to treat myself to a vacation at the Grand Canyon and Zion. I am trying to learn photography but only had a small point-and-shoot, and this landscape gave me the idea to practice “stitching.” This photo is really 15 small photos made into one. I was able to capture the Virgin River and all of the Three Patriarchs, something I could not otherwise have achieved with my small camera.
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