Finch Paper Photo Competition Awards $5,000 in Prizes

Finch Paper has announced the winners of its first annual photography competition. The top three winners have been awarded cash prizes totaling $5000, and a total of 25 selected photos will be featured in Finch's 2004 calendar, which will be mailed to designers, art directors and ad agencies in December.

Monika Merva, a photographer based in New York, won first place and a prize of $2,500 for her black-and-white portrait of a young girl. Second place, and a $1,500 prize, went to Boston photographer David Foster for his photo of surfers leaving a New England beach. Christina Triebert of South Newfane, Vermont, won third place and a $1,000 prize or her black-and-white photo of kayakers on a misty lake. The three top photos, and 22 merit winners, were selected from several hundred entries received from around North America.

The judges for the contest were Leslie Twitchell, art producer at Jager Di Paola Kemp Design in Burlington, Vermont; photographer Marc Hauser and yours truly. The judging took place the weekend of October 18 at the Finch's rustic lodge in New York's Adirondack mountains, a site usually enjoyed by Finch executives and clients who spend their time deer-hunting rather than talking about photography. When we were done poring over the entries on large computer monitors (all entries were submitted as digital files, 72 dpi) and debating the merits of our favorite images, we got to enjoy a spectacular view of the snow-capped peak of Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in the Adirondack range, and a little canoeing on Boreas Pond before cocktail hour.