Four Fayetteville-Manlius High School photography students recently transformed everyday moments into images that have been recognized as among the best student photography in Onondaga County.
F-M High School seniors Catherine Jia, Aum Patel and Hali Seidberg and sophomore Kathleen Stevens were named finalists in the 2021 Bousquet Holstein Annual High School Photography Contest, which is open to Onondaga County high school students in grades 9-12.
For the first time, the top three images chosen by the judges were submitted by one student, F-M’s Aum Patel, who was recognized as the contest’s first-place winner as well as its grand prize winner. The firm featured Aum’s “The Empty Auditorium” on its 2021 Thanksgiving card.
In addition to being named finalists, Catherine received a sixth-place award for her image “The Essence of Time,” and Hali’s work, “The Taking of a Picture,” received a third-place award.
The theme of each year’s contest has been inspired by an exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art. This year’s theme was inspired by “Who What When Where,” which was on display at the Everson through August. The exhibition explored how each individual interprets an image through the lens of identity, place and time and was framed by “Who, What, When, Where, 1998,” a work first displayed at Carrie Mae Weems’ 1998 solo exhibition at the Everson. Weems is an internationally acclaimed Syracuse-based artist.
The Bousquet Holstein photography contest, which is in its 13th year, encouraged students to create images that reflect their lived experience, defined by the who, what, when and where of their life.
All contest finalist and award-winning images may be viewed online.
F-M finalist and award-winning images
