Central Bucks West Student Wins $1,000 Scholarship for Artwork

The following is a press release courtesy of Rebecca Felton:

A new graduate of Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown, Pa. has earned a $1,000 college scholarship awarded by the Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition for an image she submitted for the secondary school portion of the annual show that runs through June 26 in Solebury Township.

Molly Smith’s winning image was selected from among 97 submitted from students at 14 schools. Thirty-eight photographs were chosen for the exhibition, putting the total number in the show at more than 170.

From Lower Moreland, Alaina Trentalanga, Gabby Greco, Jarrett Gellman and Kristen Nichols all had their work accepted to the prestigous show.

Juror for the student exhibition was Frank Majore, an award-winning photographer from New York City whose work has been exhibited around the world. 

Majore said his first impression of Smith’s photo – a sepia tone image of a young woman paging through a fashion magazine sitting atop a clothes dryer - “was it could have been the work of a professional fashion photographer.” It has, he said, “striking composition, with excellent lighting, strong darks and highlights.”

He noted that the work he selected for the student exhibition “demonstrates the fundamental skills required to create a successful photograph: proper exposure, good lighting and composition…the basics necessary to bring out the best of the photo’s content or subject.”

Earning Judge’s Awards for their entries were: Alexa Seiler from The Pennington School, Pennington, N.J.; Swathi Gorle, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro, N.J.; Colleen Dugan, William Tennent High School, Warminster, Pa.; and Maria D’Amico, George School, Newtown, Pa. An Honorable Mention went to Emily Formica of Princeton Day School, Princeton, N.J.

Other students whose work was accepted for the show, some with multiple entries, and their schools are:

• Lenape Middle School, Doylestown - Kelsey Butler and Zach VanRijn
• The Pennington School, Pennington, N.J. - Emily Seymour, Rebecca Reidy, and Patrick Alford
• Pennsbury High School, Fairless Hills - Kate Power, Meghan Gallagher, Carolyn Brandy and Alexa Oliveti
• West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro, N.J. -  Niel Bedi and Dan States
• The Hun School of Princeton, Princeton, N.J. - Brooke Bevans and Zoe Zabor
• Northeast High School, Philadelphia -  Ashley Taylor, Ashley Morales, Natajah Hawkins and Crystal Gonzalez
• William Tennent High School, Warminster -  Ryan Ross, Jessica Miller, light, Rachael Benedetto, Andrea Kurnat and Colleen Dugan
• Princeton Day School, Princeton, N.J. -  Rachel Cantley and Corinne Urisko
• Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Jamison - Steve Ewing and Andrea Histand
• George School, Newtown, Pa. - Emily Eichert and Leah Liu Neshaminy High School, Langhorne, Pa., Heather Adessa
• Princeton High School, Princeton, N.J. - Eva Galastro,
• Neshaminy High School, Langhorne, Pa. - Heather Adessa

Chairing Phillips’ Mills student exhibition was Kristen King, a photography teacher at William Tennent High School, Warminster. All student work is for sale during the exhibition.

The 19th annual Phillips’ Mills Photographic Exhibition is held at Phillips’ Mill, a 1756 grist mill listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located at 2619 River Road (Route 32), two miles north of New Hope.

Exhibit hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The show is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission is free, however donations are welcome.

For additional information, call 215-862-9568 or visit www.phillipsmill.org.