The 2021 Georgia's Rural Center Photo Contest has officially come to a close. With 223 photos entered into five categories, photographers across the state shed light on rural Georgia in a new and exciting way.
The contest opened on Feb. 1, 2021, encouraging participants to enter their photos into five categories, including:
Water Tanks
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Communities, Organizations, Leadership in rural Georgia
Downtown in rural Georgia
People of rural Georgia
Voting of the People’s Choice allowed entrants to share the links to the photos on Facebook and other social media platforms and encourage others to vote. Over 4,500 total votes were cast among this year's entries.
This year's guest judges, Pete Smith and Berrie Smith, were tasked with selecting the best overall photo, best of rural Georgia photo, and category winners.
Berrie Smith has a 40-year career working for Vivitar, Eastman Kodak, and Nikon. He spent also 30 years representing Nikon with Nikon Professional Services worldwide. He has been a professional photographer for over 40 years.
Pete Smith has been a working professional for the past 45 years with the last 35 being in television news. He is a six-time regional Emmy-winning photographer/editor.
The judges used the following criteria to judge the entries:
Artistic merit/creativity
Composition/photographic quality
Overall impact
Now that the 2021 Georgia's Rural Center Photo Contest has come to an end, we are excited to officially announce the winners.
2021 Georgia's Rural Center Photo Contest Best Overall
"Chicka Little" | Photo By: Nicoda Brown
2021 Georgia's Rural Center Photo Contest Best of Rural Georgia
"Just Hanging Out" | Photo By: Lindsey Head
Agriculture and Natural Resources Category Winner
"Paradise" | Photo By: Kim Lee
Communities, Organizations, and Leadership Category Winner
"Waiting on Snail Mail" | Photo By: Sharon Crenshaw
Downtown Category Winner
"Downtown Cedartown in the Spring" | Photo By: Aimee Madden
People of Rural Georgia Category Winner
"She's an American Girl" | Photo By: Kadie Matthews
Water Tanks Category Winner
"Snowy Railway" | Photo By: Joshua Chumley
People's Choice Winner
"Quitting Time" | Photo By: Kevin Owens
People's Choice Winner
"Sunny Side" | Photo By: Kevin Owens
People's Choice Winner
"Cow" | Photo By: Kayla Kelley
People's Choice Winner
"That's my Papa" | Photo By: Dawn Irvin
People's Choice Winner
"A Last Pick" | Photo By: Lindsey Head
Thank you to all who submitted photos, engaged in people's choice voting, and spread the views of rural Georgia. We are extremely excited about all the great pictures we received showcasing rural Georgia. Be on the lookout for your photo as the next "photo of the week," "wallpaper Wednesday" on Instagram, or other places throughout the website. Winners will be contacted in the next couple of weeks.