Darby Davenport’s photograph, “Into the Trees” was awarded the Best Photo of the Year by the Nevada County Camera Club at their annual awards presentation on January 14.
Davenport’s photo was selected by club members from over 676 photos submitted by members throughout the year. “We are pleased and excited that Darby’s photo won Best Photo this year” stated Mike Shea, president of Nevada County Camera Club. “Darby is a relatively new member – yet she is a very accomplished photographer with an amazingly artistic eye and tremendous skills. We are lucky to have her in the club and look forward to seeing more of her work,” continued Shea.
Davenport has lived in Nevada County for 35 years. “I’ve been wildly in love with photography for as long as I can remember and have been happily photographing people at Darby Allison Studios (boudoir, fine art nude, maternity, portraiture, branding and glamour) for several years,” she said.
“Into the Trees is a self-portrait combining rim lit, studio portraiture with a second image of the natural landscape. I saw the interesting tree while visiting my brother in West Virginia. I simply liked the look of the tree and thought it might make a lovely project when added to another image.
Photographing women and combining the human form with images of something from nature has become somewhat of a photographic style. Since I love working for women, and I deeply love and respect nature, this kind of portraiture just kind of evolved. Two of my other images using the female form coupled with photos of plants, bird nests or even finch eggs, have won international recognition in the past couple of years,” continued Davenport.
Also, on Saturday night, the winners of the club’s sixteen photo categories were announced. These awards included: for Best Assigned Subject – “Into the Trees” by Darby Davenport; Best Abstract – “Fall Reflections” by Georges Pelpel; Best Architecture – “Manhattan Bridge Last Light” by Bill Wages; Best Fauna – “Big Gulp” by Bob Free; Best Flora – “Calla Lillies” by Barbara Summers”; Best Natural Landscapes – “Winter in the Washington Ridge Forest” by Georges Pelpel; Best Night Photography – “Kilauea or Mt Doom” by Tom Quinn in a tie with Bill Wages’ photo “New York City Lights”; Best People – “Acrobatic Heights” by Douglas Hooper; Best Photojournalism – “Surfer Aids Baby Dolphin While Waiting for Marine Rescue Team” by Ann Westling; Best Travel – “Laundry Day” by Rachel Rosenthal in a tie with Ed Sylvester’s photo “Metora Monasteries Greece”; Best Creative Fantasy – Anything Goes – “New Birth of Venus with Red Mask” by Robert Arnold; Best Manipulated But Realistic – “After the Storm” by Dave McLellan; Best Black and White – “Seaside Creek Beach” by Dave McLellan; Best Color – “Buckeye” by Bob Free; Best Beginner – “Green Door” by Patricia Levitan; and Best Phone Photo – “Seaside Creek Beach” by Dave McLellan.
“We have about 150 members in the club and I am amazed at the technical and artistic quality of the photos that are submitted each month. And they keep getting better and better. The club is an educational organization. We seek to not only improve our photography skills, but also to take that next step by preparing, presenting and potentially selling our art,” said Shea. For more information on the Nevada County Camera Club and to see all the award winners – https://www.nccameraclub.com