Jim Schrimpf of Kino Springs won the Nogales International/Green Valley News Discover Magazine photography contest with his photo of a little girl standing at a doorway at the San Xavier Mission.

The Top 40 of the more than 140 entries will be on display today from 6-9 p.m. at the newly opened Nogales Cultural Arts Center on Western Avenue (Please see notice on Page 12A). The photos will be exhibited at the Green Valley-Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce at a date to be announced.

“This is our first photography contest and we were not sure what to expect,” said NI Editor and Publisher Manuel C. Coppola. “We certainly did not expect that more than 30 photographers would submit entries.

“From some of the comments during the selection process, and from the more than 140 entries, no doubt there is plenty of talent in and around the Santa Cruz Valley,” he said. “I want to thank all those who participated.”

Second place went to Van Brollini of Tubac, and Carl Sparfeld of Green Valley took third place.

Judging criteria

The photos were judged on originality, composition, use of light and color, and subject matter. Photos had to capture and represent the essence of life in the Santa Cruz Valley and border area.

The judges were all photographers in their own right, including Scott Taras from Green Valley; Tom Bell of Nogales; Noel Weatherbie of Nogales; and Roger Conroy of Rio Rico.

The judges brought a wealth of experience to the contest. Conroy, 63, spent 15 of 20 years in the U.S. Army as a photographer/photojournalist, ran a successful wedding photography business and has almost 50 years of photographic experience.

Taras, 41, of Green Valley is an award-winning photojournalist and has been involved in photography for 29 years. While in Somalia he carried a Nikon point-and-shoot in his cargo pocket and learned to capture that "decisive moment." He has been published in several daily newspapers including the Chicago Sun-Times, Joliet Herald News, Aurora Beacon, Arizona Daily Star and many magazines including Sports Illustrated. This fall, Taras took First Place for "Best News Photo" in the 2009 Arizona Newspaper Association/Associated Press Managing Editors Competition.

Bell, 68, of Nogales, has been an amateur photographer since boyhood. He has completed workshops in photo judging under the auspices of the Des Moines, Iowa, Camera Club. Among other exhibitions he has won ribbons at the Iowa State Fair, has done shows at the Phoenix Trinity Cathedral Art Museum, Hilltop Art Gallery and currently has a black-and-white exhibition at the Crossroads Mission in Nogales. His work has been published in newspapers and on-line.

Self-taught, 41-year-old Weatherbie has been practicing photography for about five years. Last month, he attended courses in Cave Creek as well as a workshop on landscapes and still life last year. He has exhibited in two shows at the Hilltop Gallery.

Review process

The judging process began with a review of all the photos. Edgardo Munoz and David Ramirez of the Nogales International graphics department presented the photos in 11 groups of 11 or 12 photos. After a run-through of all photos, the entries were brought up again, one at a time, to allow judges to mark score sheets.

Each photo was rated on a scale of 3-1, with three being the best.

After rating the entries, the judges chose the top photos, and then narrowed the list to seven finalists.

With a final run-through, the four judges were able to select first, second and third-place winners.

It wasn’t easy narrowing the field down. While all four judges agreed on the top place, the girl at the mission, the No. 2 and No. 3 spots took consideration. There were two landscapes that vied for the second place, but only one was chosen. The rodeo shot was chosen for the action, composition and human element.

The best

In the end, the four photographers judging the entries selected only the best photos for consideration for top awards. Some of the issues with several photos involved composition, poor lighting or inappropriate use of flash.

Overall, though, judges said it was a good display of talent that well-represented the area.