The best from Blue Ridge: See photography on display from contest through Aug. 25

An image of a woman walking her dog on a quiet street in Tuscany has earned top honors in the 2019 BRMAA National Juried Photography Show.

Now a 10-year tradition for the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association, this year's contest drew 236 submissions, with 120 accepted, says Nichole Potzauf, executive director of the association. The works are on view through Aug. 25 at the BRMAA Arts Center in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Tom Reed won Best of Show, and a $750 cash award, for his painterly portrait, "Florence, Italy."

Al Levine won first place in the Digital Art category for "Still Open." / Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association contributed photo

First-place winners, earning $400 each, were Al Levine for "Still Open" in the Digital Art category; Debra Vanderlaan for "Sun Beached in Radiant Black and White" in the Fine Art category and Cheryl Tarr for "Ocean's Artwork" in the Nature category. Second- and third-place finishers won $250 and $100 respectively, for a total of $3,000 awarded to the winners.

David Akoubian, owner of Bear Woods Photography in North Georgia, judged the entries. Potzauf says he took "a very knowledgeable, thoughtful and thorough" approach to the task.

Akoubian, a career photographer since 1992, says he was impressed by the photographers' skills.

Cheryl Tarr won first place in the Nature category for "Ocean's Artwork." / Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association contributed photo

"I thought the overall quality of the images was excellent," he says. "I have judged numerous shows before, and the biggest thing I look for is visual impact. Does the image 'draw me in' is important. Tom's did that the best for me. I loved the lighting and elements in his frame."

The annual show is open to all photographers, both amateur and professional, and all original photographic media, including film and digital images. Potzauf says categories have changed occasionally over the years, but the Digital Art, Fine Art and Nature divisions have been consistent the past three years.

The contest typically draws entries from about 10 states, primarily from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, but also as far away as Texas and California, she says.

Next year's show deadline is April 10. Applications will be available on the website, www.BlueRidgeArts.net.

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.

Debra Vanderlaan won first place in the Fine Art category for "Sun Beached in Radiant Black and White." / Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association contributed photo