8th Place: Memorial
Cheryl Oehler, Coopersburg
Coopersburg resident Cheryl Oehler and her family have always been drawn to the activities in Bethlehem—volunteering for Musikfest, taking classes at the Banana Factory and enjoying the events at SteelStacks. So on Memorial Day weekend, Oehler and her family took a walking tour of the Bethlehem Steel site that begins and ends at SteelStacks. When they finished the tour, they decided to check out the view from the balcony.
“As we approached the railing, the flag that was hanging from the railing started to billow in the wind. I thought the flag made a perfect frame for the SteelStacks in front of me. I knew as I took the picture that it could be a potential entry in the Life in the Valley Photo Contest,” she says.
9th Place: Winter Swans
Philip Kresge, Macungie
The morning after the first snowfall of the season Philip Kresge said that he wanted to drive around taking pictures of “snow on the trees against the blue sky.” His trip led him to the Pine Brook Hollow Tree Farm in Macungie.
“I went to Pine Brook Hollow to capture the pine trees in snow, as well as maybe get a few good shots of families picking out their Christmas trees. It was then that I remembered the swans. They were a wedding gift to Greg and April, owners of Pine Brook Hollow. There was just something about the white swans against the backdrop of snow-covered trees that spoke to me,” says Kresge, who enjoys shooting wildlife and landscapes. “I’ve taken many photographs over the years, but Winter Swans is one of my favorites.”
The Boys of Summer
William Childs, Allentown
Inspiration can happen anywhere and it was during the national anthem at an Iron Pigs game when William Childs witnessed a Little Leaguer and a special moment. There were several Little League teams in attendance that night, and members were allowed to run onto the field and stand next to the players.
“The little guy in the photo went running over to home plate, jumped up in the air and landed squarely in the middle of home plate. The umpires and the catcher all looked at each other and shared a little laugh, and it was at that moment I decided that I needed to capture what I had just witnessed,” explains Childs, who enjoys telling stories with his photographs.
“I feel like the photo captures a little boy’s love of baseball. On this night, this little guy got to feel very special standing directly on home plate at Coca-Cola Park…I like to think he was imagining what it would feel like one day to be a big league catcher on his favorite professional baseball team.”
People's Choice: School Bus
Sandy Gelatt, Coopersburg
