Hamilton Man Places Third in Essex Heritage Photo Contest

A Hamilton man’s sunset image captured in Essex earned him a third-place prize in the ”Go Coastal” category of the 2015 Essex National Heritage Area Photo Contest.

Brad Bradshaw’s “Rock Wall and Marsh at Sunset, Essex” earned him the prize in this year’s contest. First place in the category went to Laura Ganz of Danvers for her “Rainbow, Rockport” image.

The annual photo contest encourages photographers of all levels to “capture” the living landscapes, unique places and interesting people of Essex County, MA. The contest is presented by Essex Heritage in partnership with Hunt’s Photo & Video, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, and the National Park Service at Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Sites.

Thirteen of the 14 winning images were selected by a panel of judges that included special guest judges John Andrews, owner of Creative Salem and Social Palates, three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Stanley Forman, and 20-year veteran Boston Herald photographer, Mark Garfinkel. The “People’s Choice Winner” was chosen by 1,117 public votes via Essex Heritage’s Facebook page. All of the photographs were taken within the Essex National Heritage Area and represent one of three contest categories: “This Land Is Your Land”; “Downtown”; and “Go Coastal”. Youth, ages 5-17, were also encouraged to enter the Photo Contest to win a “Youth Entry” prize in any of the contest categories.

The public is invited to attend the 2015 Photo Contest Reception on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 at 6 p.m., in the gallery at Hunt’s Photo & Video in Melrose (located at 100 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176-6104). At the reception, photographers will be presented with their awards and visitors will have a chance to meet the photographers as well as view the 2014 Photo Contest Exhibit. The reception is a free and open to the public; please call Essex Heritage at (978) 740-0444 to RSVP.

The 14 winning images will be exhibited for one year at the National Park Service Visitor Center in Salem (2 New Liberty Street, Salem, MA 01970) and at the office of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (160 Main Street, Haverhill, MA 01830).