Best entries in this artsy contest are trash
Turns out, Pennsylvanians are good at taking trashy photos. The Pennsylvania Resources Council — based in Media, Delaware County — reported “an enthusiastic response” to its annual Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Photo Contest for 2021. It recently announced those Lenson Litter winners.
In the student category, the winner of the $500 firstplace prize is Zoe Broyles, a 16-year-old 11th grade student at Fox Chapel Area High School. Her photo, titled “Rachel Carson’s Dream,” shows litter strewn under the Rachel Carson (Ninth Street) Bridge with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background.
The winner of the $500 first-place prize in the adult category was Richard Oberndorf of Franklin Park. His photo “Teach Your Babies to Respect Our Waterways!” shows a boating baby doll that has been pulled from LoyalhannaCreek.
Other student winners are: second place (and $250)
to Brendan Davis from Columbus, a 10-year-old sixth grade student at Corry Alliance Academy, whose photo, “Junk Exhaustion,” is a black-and-white depiction of a pile of automobile exhaust parts; and third place ($100) to Brianna Smithwick of Swissvale, a 10-year-old fourth grade student at Turtle Creek Elementary STEAM Academy, whose photo, titled
“Let’s Snap Up Litter!,” depicts a snapping turtle among colorful fall leaves and a carelessly disposed water bottle.
Other adult winners are: second place ($250) to Nancy Furbee of Sewickley, whose photo, “Barreling Along to Remove Trash on the Shenango,” depicts boats carrying the remains of barrels that have been salvaged from the Shenango River; and third place ($100) to Carye Bye of Pittsburgh, whose “Happy un-Earth Day!” shows a large bunch of Mylar balloons that have found their way into the Monongahela River.
The PRC says the point of the annual contest, started in 1984, is “to focus public attention on the problems of litter in Pennsylvania. Photos help to heighten litter consciousness by showing how it threatens public health and safety, scenic beauty, propertyvalues, the environment, pets and wildlife.”
To that end, PRC encourages students and adults to enter the 2022 Lens on Litter Contest, which is open for entries through October. For more information and to see all winning photos, visit https://prc.org/programs/ projects/lens-litter.