High school students across California recently submitted entries to the LegiSchool Project’s “California Through My Eyes” photography contest. This contest tasks students with capturing images that are pertinent to California and accompanying them with a brief artist’s statement. Shared themes were California’s unique diversity, our stunning landscape, and post-drought shots of the snow!
This year was also a record breaking year! We ended up receiving 520 photos. A selection of judges were then required to narrow down the photos to the top 12% (featured below). Our top photos were judged by interim Director Elisia Hoffman, Sacramento State’s Media Production Specialist Jessica Vernone and Sacramento State’s Photographer and Design Coordinator Bruce Clark.
Many thanks to the 57 schools that participated in our contest! We also want to thank the district and legislative offices that did outreach to their constituents!
These photos will also be on display at the California State Capitol from July 10th-August 10th (originally June 15th-July 15th), located on the third floor of the annex.
And without further delay, the results:
Grand Prize Winner ($150)
Elysse’s winning photo, “Source of Activism” shows a mother and child marching for immigration rights in Los Angeles. Elysse, in her statement, notes how hard immigrants work and fight for what they believe in. “The mother represents the source of activism; the child is receiving a flag from his older sister and you can see the happiness it brings to be in that environment….people of different cultures came together fighting for many different issues in the community, which are all important to California.”
Runners Up ($100, in alphabetical order)
This year Kira and her class took a trip to Bishop, California and witnessed a two day Pow Wow. “The moment I saw the older Pow Wow Princess help position the crown on the tiny younger junior Pow Wow Princess’ head, I realized how luck I was to be able to be apart of this amazing American experience.”
Alejandro’s photo, “All It Takes…Is a Bench,” is of a park bench positioned between the trees with a beautiful view of the bustling city life. “Sometimes all it takes, is a seat at a park bench with a view–to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, here in California.”
Dante, in his artist statement, describes California’s rich history of lowrider culture, which first began in the Latino community and has since spread to other cultures. The subject in the photo is Dante’s father, who started lowriding in the 1970s. “Lowriding celebrates the families at the heart of California life. It is no wonder that California’s culture and style has been exported worldwide through music, art and fashion.”
Stephanie, accompanies her beautiful photo, “Golden Gate Bridge,” with a poem. Here just a few lines:
“It was first constructed 1937. San Francisco
Is the fourth most populous city in California
And which is the showpiece of the bay area”
Honorable Mentions
Megan went to visit her sister, who is studying diary production at Chico State University. She was lucky enough to capture a picture of this curious cow. Her photo, “Udderly Ammosed Californian Cow,” perfectly depicts California’s rich agriculture.
Stephanie, hoped to capture California’s unique beauty in her photo submission. “Everyone wants to come to California and see all the beautiful attractions and they fall in love with the state. Just as the rose attracts people, California does the same.”
“When people from other states talk about California, usually their first thought is of our beaches.” Megan’s photo, “Reflections,” perfectly includes all aspects when we think of a beach: sand, sunglasses and a lifeguard stand.
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
The LegiSchool Project 