The Photographic Society at Blue Ridge Arts Center is pleased to present our National Photography Exhibition. Over 160 photographs were submitted by artists across the country for this year’s exhibition. In the end, our juror, Peter Essick, selected 75 photographs to be included in this year’s show. Award winners are pictured below, along with the full list of accepted entries.
Exhibition on View: March 21 – April 25, 2025
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 1-4pm and Saturday, 10am-1pm
Closing Reception: Friday, April 25 from 5:30-7:00pm
Award Winners
1ST PLACE – “Starry Sky” – by Werner Bonitz
2ND PLACE – “Waiting for the Light” – by Larissa Heimlich
3RD PLACE – “Miles To Go Before I Sleep” – by Debbie Biddle
MERIT AWARD – “Ironclad Melodies” – by Brittany Fyffe
MERIT AWARD – “Pileated Louisiana Landing” – by Anna Gallant McIntosh
MERIT AWARD – “Sweet Hydrangea” – by Nanine Hartzenbusch-Fox
MERIT AWARD – “Subway” – by Janice Espie-Steffen
MERIT AWARD – “Haystack Rock” – by Larry Bennett
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – “Trees – Number 11” – by Michael Ritzie
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – “Boykin Portrait” – by Susan Stamey
ACCEPTED ARTWORKS
Laury Beesley – MAGnificent
Laury Beesley – Swirling Colors
James Belling – Golden Arch
James Belling – Surf Watch
Larry Bennett – Cypress Trees
Larry Bennett – Haystack Rock
Debbie Biddle – Miles To Go Before I Sleep
Werner Bonitz – Starry Sky
Werner Bonitz – Tectonic Plates
Sal Campanaro – The Cooper
Russell Carlson – Hoodoo Nightscape
Adam Cross – Beach Days are the Best!
Suzette Cross – Royal Peacock
David Day – Hopelessly Lost
David Day – Moose With Dog and Chicken
David Day – Perils Along The Road Less Traveled
Diane DeMont – Banyan Forest
Diane DeMont – Historical Moment
Larry Druffel – Da Vinci Doorway
Larry Druffel – Eagle
Sean Eikman – Black Eyed Suzie
Sean Eikman – Ikebana
Janice Espie-Steffen – Subway
Ted Fisher – Guardians of the Ancestral Dawn
Ted Fisher – Journey Through Time
Ted Fisher – Transcendent Flow
Chris Funkhauser – Threading the Needle
Brittany Fyffe – Ironclad Melodies
Brittany Fyffe – Serpentine Path
Carolyn Gibson – Graffiti
Rick Haley – Bird Rock Sunset, Carmel, CA
Imtiaz Haque – Alpine Beauties
Imtiaz Haque – Bath Time
Nanine Hartzenbusch Fox – Sweet Hydrangea
Larissa Heimlich – Waiting for the Light
Joanne Heintz – Tiny Dancer
Christopher Hepler – Are You My Mother?
Christopher Hepler – Breakfast
Christopher Hepler – Countdown
Sophia Hepler – One Way Road
Amanda Johnson – Tundra Swans
Katie Johnson – Pea Island Life Saving Station
Brian Kelley – Sante Fe #1
Helga Kleinert – Mom, She’s Looking At Me
Helga Kleinert – The Queen
Bonnie Lamarand – St. Michael’s Seeking
Julie Lamp – Edisto Beach Girls
Scott MacInnis – Emptiness
Cathy McAlpine – Moonrise Over Dunnottar
Anna Gallant McIntosh – An Avian Rest Stop 1
Anna Gallant McIntosh – Ocean Front
Anna Gallant McIntosh – Pileated Louisiana Landing
Dave Miller – Crown of Sagebrush
Dave Miller – Lake McDonald
Jason Miller – Iced Cullasaja Falls
Lisa Richardson – Hungry Fledgling
Michael Ritzie – Eclipse at the Edge of the Earth
Michael Ritzie – Stardust Over Rust
Michael Ritzie – Trees – Number 11
Kathleen Santilli – Foggy Morning
Kathleen Santilli – Rose
Kathleen Santilli – Sedona Mountains
Christy Schwartz – Resting Blue Swallowtail
Susan Stamey – Boykin Portrait
Susan Stamey – Summer Hummingbirds at the Zinnia Field
Greg Starnes – Firefall
Dennis Stefani – Brevard Busker
Dennis Stefani – Relaxing Smoke
Brigitte Warren – I Made It!
Ken Weaver – 21st Century Cowboy
Ken Weaver – Praying Cowboy
C.T. Weiss – Kirchturm
C.T. Weiss – Reflecties
Barbara Whitney – Flamingos of Graph
Barbara Whitney – Lion Love
EXHIBITION ON VIEW
- OPENING RECEPTION:
- March 21 (5:30-7:00 pm)
- ON VIEW: March 21 – April 25
- Wednesday-Friday: 1:00-4:00pm
- Saturday: 10:00am-1:00pm
- CLOSING RECEPTION:
- Friday, April 25 (5:30-7:00 pm)
ARTWORK PICKUP
- Friday, April 25: 7:00-7:15pm
- Saturday, April 26: 10:00am-1:00pm
Blue Ridge Arts Center cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss to artwork that has been left for longer than 30 days following the posted deadlines for pick-up. Artwork left longer than 30 days becomes the property of Blue Ridge Arts Center.
QUESTIONS
- Susan Stamey (864-710-0328)
- Larry Bennett (561-889-9215)
ABOUT THE 2025 JUROR: PETER ESSICK
Peter Essick is a photographer, teacher, and editor with 30 years of experience working with National Geographic Magazine. He specializes in nature and environmental themes. Named one of the forty most influential nature photographers in the world by Outdoor Photography Magazine UK, Essick has been influenced by many noted American landscape photographers from Carleton Watkins to Robert Adams. His goal is to make photographs that move beyond documentation to reveal in careful compositions the human impact of development as well as the enduring power of the land.
Essick is the author of four books of his photographs, The Ansel Adams Wilderness, Our Beautiful, Fragile World, Fernbank Forest and Work in Progress. He has photographed stories for National Geographic on many environmental issues including climate change, high-tech trash, nuclear waste and freshwater. After 30 years travelling the world as an editorial photographer, Essick decided to focus his work on a more personal documentation of the environmental and cultural changes in his hometown of Atlanta.
Essick’s photographs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the Booth Western Art Museum and many other private collections. He is represented by Spalding Nix Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.