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The Winner of the "Happiness" Photography contest is Clayton Reitzel  Congratulations Clayton, on winning the Interesting People photography contest with your image titled "Happy Chef". The subject of the photograph gives the entire image an unbelievable warmth and charm that simply exudes happiness. Images are judged on their technical quality, impact or impression and on how they relate to the theme of the competition. In this particular competition, we gave less emphasis on the them since it is not up to us to judge what makes someone happy. The only thing that really matters is that the amazing photographs make us happy to see them. There were plenty of excellent entries. In fact, this contest had the most ever images entered in any contest the Burwell School has ever held. It was difficult but we were able to narrow down the field to 6 finalists. After deciding that Clayton's Happy Chef was the winner, we additionally awarded Honorable Mentions to Photographers Julie Cork and Kelly Rombough. Shirley Laibida and Diane Sieswerda were our other two finalists. All finalists receive a snazzy, frameable certificate and will have their photographs displayed in the Burwell Newsletter, Facebook, Instagram and Blog. A printed copy will be framed and displayed at the Providence Renewal Center. The winner also receives a $200 gift certificate to any class the Burwell School offers. Honorable mentions will receive a $50 gift certificate.

Congratulations to Kristian Wolowidnyk recipient of the 2024 Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship an award of $500 sponsored by the Images Alberta Camera Club The Burwell School of Photography and the Images Alberta Camera Club received some excellent submissions for this years scholarship. The selection committee consisted of; Chris Stambaugh, administrator of the Burwell School of Photography, Susanne Pawliuk and Tarra Kongsrude, directors of the Images Alberta Camera Club. Kristian earns a $500 cash prize which will be awarded at an upcoming meeting of the Images Alberta Camera Club. Kristian is also invited to make a presentation to the club where he will showcase his photographs and discuss his creative process. The Images Alberta Camera Club is a wonderful and active group of amateur photography enthusiasts. For more information on the IACC. please visit their web site https://www.imagesalberta.ca/ Along with the portfolio of images, applicants for the scholarship must also submit a written biography. Please take the time to read Kristian's touching story. Finding Purpose I Thought I’d Lost In the spring of 2003, I made my way into the recruiting center in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves. Leading up to enlisting, I barely graduated from high school, while flirting with trouble and struggling to find something I could do well. Within days of starting basic training, I knew I had found my place in the world, and I threw all the energy I had into life in uniform. Little did I know at the time how a life in uniform would alter my life’s trajectory. During the spring of 2006, I was faced with the choice of switching to a different college engineering program in Toronto, starting a photojournalist diploma, or going full time in the army. I chose to join the regular force army as a combat engineer. During the next two and a half years I was continuously given opportunities to act in positions above my rank and experience level. I was quickly promoted to the rank of Master Corporal. If someone were to tell me this would have happened when I first enlisted back in Thunder Bay, I wouldn't have believed them. I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. Most of the deployment I spent leading soldiers on operations. When I returned from my deployment in Afghanistan, the train I had been riding on started to run off the rails. Fortunately, my wife is extremely stubborn, and she convinced me to reach out for help, and I was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after my return to Canada. When I was first diagnosed, all the momentum I had in life seemed to hit a brick wall. I spent the next 10 years in a very dark place, feeling like I was navigating perpetually stormy seas in a boat that had holes in it. In early 2015, I was medically discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces. About 2 years ago my wife started a hobby and bought a camera. After a few months of acting as a glorified sherpa by carrying her tripod from place to place, as well as keeping her company while she took pictures of sunsets/sunrises, I bought a camera of my own. Once I took my first photos, I knew that the camera was going to be a instrument to change my life’s current trajectory and get me back on track. After I was released from the Armed Forces, I did not think that I would find something that gave me a sense of purpose and a challenge. Thinking back now, I always had an interest in documentary photography. If I were to pinpoint where this interest came from, it would be growing up as a latch key kid. In my basement there was a huge bookshelf with the top shelves full of military books, and most importantly when you opened the bottom doors there were well over a hundred National Geographic magazines. In all honesty, I never read an article from the magazine until recently. But I did spend hours upon hours poring over the pictures and captions with copies spread around me. For the first year after getting my camera, I worked at developing my skill set through various subject matters but mostly wildlife. Despite this, I still felt like I was trying to navigate while not having anything solid to orient my compass to. While visiting the UK in 2023, I took my son to the Natural History Museum in London. On the way, I thought about maybe focusing more on street photography rather than nature. Unbeknownst to me in advance, there was an exhibit for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest they held. After handing over $70 Canadian for entry to the Exhibit, I experienced a transformative moment when I came face to face with the giant prints. The word that best describes the experience is awe. The quality of the work, the composition, and the story involved, had me completely blown away. The one photo that stood out was a drone shot over a fish market in India. Hundreds upon hundreds of swordfish were laid out on the beach. There was a thought that I couldn't shake from seeing the photo which was: “this is unsustainable”. It dawned on me that I could use photography to do something positive. Something I believe in is service, even though the uniform has been taken off and handed in, the service doesn’t need to stop. My photographic interests involve creating visual stories, and I am inspired by a wide range of subject matter. I apply CrossFit methodology to photography: where I develop a wide range of skills to allow me to tackle any opportunity. Since picking up a camera, I have made the effort to have a diverse experience base. I have photographed a wide range of nature photography, street photography, macro, photographed various sporting events, protests and rallies. I also recently volunteered as an event photographer at the “All is Bright Festival” in Edmonton, AB Canada. My future goals and aspirations are to continue building my photographic skill set, and to apply it to documentary photography and photojournalism. I recently joined the Images Alberta Camera Club and look forward to being involved with them going forward. Outside of photography, my interests are travel and adventure with my family, raising my son, training CrossFit, reading, and spending time with my family. I cannot be anything but thankful that I picked up a camera and had an overly supportive wife backing me up. It would be a lie to say that I don’t often think of the period I spent in uniform. Immersing myself in photography has not only filled the void I had been searching for since my release, but it has also helped me look forward to a life with my family, with new challenges and goals to tackle. When I do look back to my time in uniform, I now focus on the lessons I learned, but can close that door and move forward into a new and exciting phase of life as a documentary photographer. Connect with Kristian on instagram at veteranshot_photography A selection of images from Kristian's submission is below:

The Winner of the "Interesting People" Photography contest is Barry Alloway Congratulations Barry, on winning the Interesting People photography contest with your image titled "Pushkar Camel Herder". The subject of the photograph is certainly visually interesting and the fine detail is enhanced by the choice to present the image in Black and White. There were a large number of excellent entries but we were able to narrow down the field to 6 finalists. We additionally awarded Honorable Mentions to Photographers Alan Myles and Dennis Birkholz. All finalists receive a snazzy, frameable certificate and will have their photographs displayed in the Burwell Newsletter, Facebook, Instagram and Blog. A printed copy will be framed and displayed at the Providence Renewal Center. The winner also receives a $200 gift certificate to any class the Burwell School offers. Honorable mentions will receive a $50 gift certificate.

The Winner of the "Flowers and Insects" Photography contest is Miriam Stanisavljevic Flowers and insects seemed to just go well together when we decided on the theme of the contest. In the end, it was very difficult comparing great floral images to great insect photos. Images are judged primarily on their initial impact (does the photo have a "wow" factor when you first see it), technical quality and composition. When all aspects were considered, Miriam's photograph of wildflowers set against a backdrop of flowing water stood out as a genuine work of art. Miriam will receive a $250.00 gift certificate towards any class the Burwell School offers. Additional gift certificates of $100.00 will be awarded for Honorable Mentions. All finalists will receive a snazzy certificate and have their photos featured in our newsletter, on Facebook, Instagram and our blog. These images will also be printed, framed and displayed at the Providence Renewal Center. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. There were many really great photos entered.

The Winner of the "Travel Photography" Photography contest is William Brose Congratulation to William Brose for winning the Travel Photography Contest with his image of Lora's Plantation, Louisiana. The winner was selected by special guest lecturer and renown travel photographer Yasser Alla Mobarak. William wins a $250 gift certificate from the Burwell School. How photo will be featured here in the BSOP newsletter, and on Facebook, Instagram and the BSOP blog. A printed copy of the photo will be displayed at the Providence Renewal Center. Honorable Mention was awarded to Berkley Johnson for her image titled "Jua Nzuri" of the sunset on the Massai Mara National Park in Kenya. All finalists will receive a certificate from the Burwell School.

Congratulations to Jordana Maginnis recipient of the 2023 Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship an award of $500 sponsored by the Images Alberta Camera Club The Burwell School of Photography and the Images Alberta Camera Club received some excellent submissions for this years scholarship. The selection committee consisted of; Chris Stambaugh, administrator of the Burwell School of Photography, Susanne Pawliuk and Tarra Kongsrude, directors of the Images Alberta Camera Club. The committee had a lively debate as there were four very credible applications. Congratulations also go to Cassandra Barata, Darlene Crawford, and Katherine Page for their very strong submissions. Jordana earns a $500 cash prize which will be awarded at an upcoming meeting of the Images Alberta Camera Club. Jordana is also invited to make a presentation to the club where she will showcase her photographs and discuss her creative process. The Images Alberta Camera Club is a wonderful and active group of armature photography enthusiasts. For more information on the IACC. please visit their web site https://www.imagesalberta.ca/ Jordana enr o lled in her first class with the Burwell School in 2017 and earned her diploma in Portrait Photography in 2020 and a diploma in Wedding Photography in 2022. It has been a pleasure to have known Jordana and everyone at the Burwell School is thrilled to see what a wonderful photographer she has become! Jordana's Biography reads as follows: My name is Jordana Maginnis, but beyond my name I am a photographer - an artist, storyteller and preserver of memories. I started taking courses at Burwell School of Photography in 2017 and let me tell you the growth since taking my first course has been huge. Before taking my first course I didn't know the first thing about shooting in manual mode, composition or editing. Now camera settings are second nature, posing flows naturally which allows me to be more creative and capture images that bring my vision into focus. When I first started taking pictures, I really had no idea what I was doing but the passion was there. After learning what I was actually doing, I was then able to figure out what was my favourite subject matter and develop my style. I discovered landscapes were boring and predictable for me. Portraits quickly became my preferred subject matter, but it still took me a couple years longer to really find what I was passionate about within the portrait world. I have come to love photographing boudoir. Helping show women their beauty that often times they have a hard time seeing for themselves brings me joy. It's so amazing watching women come into their session nervous and timid but as the session progresses their nerves fizzle away and their inner model shines bright. Another subject area that I have discovered I love are weddings. I get to be a story teller for couples by capturing details, candid moments and families that have all come together. Each wedding is unique and its really exciting to learn about each couples vision and style allowing me to create images that match their personalities and capture special memories. Lastly, I always really love a creative conceptual concept that comes together the way I envisioned it. Ten of my creative concepts have been published and I hope to showcase some more in 2023. In the future I would like to progress with more storytelling in my images using prompts to capture natural candid interactions. I would love to capture a wedding in Scotland and New Zealand some day. This year I hope to be able to begin mentoring newer photographers. I would like to share the knowledge that I have gained over the last few years on my photography journey and bring it full circle just as others have done for me along the way. To see more of Jordana's photography, visit the Burwell School Blog or her web site at JER Photography A selection of images from Jordana's submission is below:

The Winner of the "What I Did Last Summer" Photography contest is Chris Morphy We asked you to submit a photo depicting "what I Did Last Summer" and received an overwhelming number of entries. It was a difficult task selecting the winners, but the following images managed to stand out from the crowd. Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo. If you would like to see some of the other images entered into the contest, check out the full gallery on our blog https://www.bsop.ca/blog The winner received a $250.00 gift certificate towards any class the Burwell School offers. Additional gift certificates of $100.00 were awarded for Honorable Mentions. Congratulations Chris!

Congratulations to Dennis Burkholz, winner of the The 2021 Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship An award of $500 Sponsored by the Images Alberta Camera Club The images Alberta Camera Club and the Burwell School of Photography convened a committee to select a winner from this years applicants and have awarded the Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship to Dennis Burkholz. Dennis has completed nearly every course offered at the Burwell School and has received a diploma in both Portrait Photography and nature Photography. All of us at the Burwell School are very proud to see how amazing a photographer he has become. Dennis says: I call myself a "Steward of Time". Time cannot be loaned borrowed or saved but it can be frozen for a glimpse later. Great images evoke the senses, human emotion and tell a story. We are fortunate as photographers to be able to stop time. We are then able as are people in the photo to go back in time and relive that special time if only for a brief moment. In the case of landscapes when viewed we can instantly be transported to that location or imagine we are there. Powerful stuff I'm sure you will agree. Dennis wins a $500 cash prize to be used to further his career by investing in new equipment, promoting his business or in any way she decides the funds can be best utilized. The following photos are part of his winning application.

The Winner of the "JOY" Photography contest is Adrian Crisp What brings a person joy is a very personal thing. It means something different to everyone. Not surprisingly, there was a great variety in the style and subject matter of the photographs submitted. One thing is certain, we had more entries to this contest than ever before! It was a difficult task narrowing the entries down to the 6 below. Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo. If you would like to see some of the other images entered into the contest, check out the full gallery on our blog https://www.bsop.ca/blog The winner will receive a $250.00 gift certificate towards any class the Burwell School offers. Additional gift certificates of $100.00 will be awarded for Honorable Mentions. Congratulations Adrian!