Manchester Library Holds Reception for Photo Contest Award Winners

Last Friday afternoon, the honored the award winners of a creative photo contest they held over the summertime, where entrants had to design photographs based around the titles of their favorite books.

The contest was open to anyone in three separate age categories: 8-12 years old, 13-17 years old, plus 18 years old and older. However, no entries were received for the 13-17 year-olds group, so the winners were limited to those in the younger and older demographic categories.

In order to be considered a valid entry for the contest, photos had to be submitted by Aug. 3, be digital prints measuring at least five inches by seven inches in size, and hold the same title as the book that the photo subject was meant to represent.

Harvey Katz, who took first place in the ages 18 years old and over category for his photograph representing James Patterson’s “Along Came a Spider,” said that he is an avid photographer.

“I saw this spider outside on my front porch and just decided to shoot a photo of it,” said Katz, adding that he has many of his photographs framed and displayed inside his home.

In the case of the younger entrants, a similar amount of creative ingenuity was used on their parts and several also described their photos.

Patrick Wac had paper-made versions of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader engaged in lightsaber combat for his honorable mention-winning photo, while Cedric Derecho’s second-place winning entry showed a piece of melted grilled cheese on a stone surface for “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.”

Library staff stated that the contest had something to offer for all generations, and plan to hold the contest again next year, hoping to receive even more entries.

A full list of winners is below:

Ages 8-12 years old

1st Place — Abigail Rauch, “Found the Missing Book”, 10 years old

2nd Place — Cedric Derecho, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, 12 years old

3rd Place — Isabella O., “Fancy Nancy & the Posh Puppy”, 10 years old

Honorable Mention —

Cameryn Derecho, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, 8 years old;

Dayna Mignosi, “Cool Careers: Wildlife Photographer”, 9 years old;

Patrick Wac, “Darth Paper Strikes Back”, 10 years old;

Giovanna O., “Love You Forever”, 9 years old;

Tziporah Fund, “Cam Jansen & the First Day of School Mystery”, 8 years old;

Chloe (Last Name Unavailable), “Little Bird, Biddle Bird”, 11 years old

Ages 18 years old and over

1st Place — Harvey Katz, “Along Came A Spider”, (Age Unavailable)

2nd Place — Jeff Sayre, “Under the Tuscan Sun”, Age 69