Bruce Hartsell
Photography Club members voted for Mark Cohen’s image Chairs at Hostage Square as the best photo in the fourth quarter photography challenge on the theme “Textures and Patterns.” Mark explained that “Hostage Square is a space in downtown Tel Aviv that is dedicated to the 253 hostages taken by Hamas during the invasion and massacre of Southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The stack of yellow chairs represents the unfilled places at a dining table set waiting for their return. The image does not show the children’s highchairs waiting for the babies and toddlers also taken by Hamas at the beginning of the massacre.” Mark went on to comment that “83 of the hostages will never come back, as they were murdered by Hamas while in captivity. The remains of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, not yet returned, is the last of the hostages unaccounted for.”
Monte Hudson won second place with Ceiling Light, a ceiling treatment at a resort in Cancun. Monte said, “There’s no scale, but it was monstrous. I thought the presence of the canned lights above it added visual interest.” iPhone 14 Pro.
Shari Rodgers won third place with Seeing Spots. Shari said, “There’s nothing like a trip to the zoo for some fun and great photography. Animals are wonderful subjects, and this giraffe, I thought, would be perfect for the challenge. I went with black and white to enhance the detail and tones, enhancing the spots!” Nikon D3300, 240 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400.
The Photography Club has a quarterly photo challenge with a defined theme, and members vote for their favorite images. Additional information is available at www.pcqc.org.