Four winning photos in 2022 Architecture Master Prize
Dec 08, 2022
I stopped entering most photography contests a few years ago, since the publicity value is generally pretty low. However, every once in a while I enter one for fun, especially if I have new images that seem like a good fit.
That was the case this year with the Architecture Master Prize, which recognizes outstanding images of exteriors, interiors and cityscapes from around the world. I entered four images, including two taken in 2022 that I particularly like. I was pleased to find out that all four were recognized, two as Winners and two with Honorable Mention.
This image of the Donner railway tunnels was a winner in the “Historic Interior” category. The Donner tunnels run above Donner Lake in Truckee, California. The tunnels were built by Chinese immigrant laborers, completed in 1867. The tunnels were constructed by hand drilling and explosions, leading to an uncounted number of deaths. They were used until 1993, when a new route was opened. Today the tunnels are filled with graffiti and are a popular hiking destination. I took this image of my brother during a winter hike, when the tunnels are filled with snow and ice. I leaned against a tunnel wall to steady my camera in the low light and took three exposures to capture the full range of light.
I took this image of a man at a traffic light in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 2018. This was taken on the first night of a family vacation. We arrived in Tokyo to a rainy night and I convinced the kids to take a walk with me. As we walked around Shinjuku, I was struck by the reflections of the neon lights on the rain-covered streets. The kids waited patiently as I stood at this corner for three traffic light cycles, waiting for the crowds to thin enough to get this image. This image was a winner in the “Cityscapes” category.
When I checked into my 19th floor room at the Moxy NYC Downtown hotel in April 2022, the view from the bed gave me vertigo. I wanted to take an image that captured the feeling of rolling out of bed right into the New York skyline. Lacking a tripod, I balanced the camera on top of two stools to get the right angle, and steadied the camera on a t-shirt. I shot three exposures to capture the broad range of light. This image was awarded an Honorable Mention in the “Hospitality - Interior” category.
This last prize winner holds a special place in my heart. As a birthday present in 2019, my daughter offered to take me to her favorite spot to watch the sun rise in San Francisco, atop Corona Heights Park. We grabbed coffee and pastries before the sun came up on a September morning that also just happened to be my 23rd wedding anniversary. We spent most of the morning looking east, watching the sun come up over the east bay hills. After the sun crested the hills, we turned around to see the sun lighting up the houses just below Twin Peaks and I shot this image. It was awarded an Honorable Mention in the “Cityscapes” category.
