People’s Choice honors to be decided on basis of voting on Big Waters’ Facebook page
Whispers of Dawn by Susan Beausang has been honored with the Best in Show award for Big Waters Land Trust’s fifth annual Summer Photo Contest, the nonprofit organization announced this week.
That photo was entered in the It’s A Wild Life category, a news release notes.
Photographers of all ages and experience levels were invited to submit to Big Waters their original works showcasing the beauty of natural Florida, the release adds. More than 130 photographs were entered in the competition, which was online only, the release points out.
This year’s jurors were photographer and writer Mary Lundeberg; “renowned photographers Harry Sayer and Barbara Banks”; and Darcy Kelly-Laviolette, executive creative director of Sarasota Scene Magazine, the release says.
When making their selections, the release continues, the jurors evaluated the submissions on the basis of composition, color, contrast and point of view, as well as whether the image told a story and how well the image fit the category.
In addition to selecting the works that would be included in the exhibit, the release notes, the jurors honored a winner in each category and then chose the Best in Show photograph. The photographers’ names were hidden during the selection process, the release points out.
The exhibit may be viewed at bigwaterslandtrust.org/spc2026gallery or by visiting Big Waters Land Trust on Facebook.
The jury-selected winners for each category are as follows:
- In Love with The Land — Breath of the Prairie by Jennifer Jones; Best Representation of Mission, Honorable Mention.
- The Art of Nature — Nature’s Calligraphy by Jennifer Jones.
- Beautiful Waters — Emerald Green Waters by Andrew Furness.
- Youth Perspective — Cuddle Time by Harper Cook.
People’s Choice voting will take place through, July 31 on the Big Waters Land Trust Facebook page, the release notes. At the end of the voting period, the release continues, “the photo with the most likes/loves in each category will be deemed the People’s Choice Category Winner. “The image with the most likes/loves overall will be the People’s Choice Best In Show, the release adds.
“All voting will take place on Facebook and the likes/loves must be on the original image in the Big Waters Land Trust 2026 Summer Photo Contest gallery to be counted,” the release stresses.
The People’s Choice winners will be announced on Facebook throughout the day on Monday, Aug, 3, the release says.