West Island Gazette Photo of the Week

Summer Vacation (So Far) winner:
Silvia Flynn and Gregory

To see all of the photos entered in the contest so far, click here.

"Using shadows and reflections effectively in pictures can be difficult, but when it works, it works well," says Gazette photographer Phil Carpenter, who picked Silvia Flynn's winning photo called 5-Year-Old Shutterbug. "The black shadows against the rich green backdrop work well, and balances nicely with the line of the hedge (the third element) running diagonally across the top of the frame."

"And it was taken by a 5-year-old!"

Silvia, who lives in Kirkland, submitted the photo taken by her young son, Gregory.

She writes: "This photo was taken in June in our backyard by my 5-year-old son,
Gregory. It was taken in the morning after playing basketball. Gregory was impressed by the shadows on the grass.

"The photo was taken with his Olympus digital camera, which was given to him by Santa last Christmas. Gregory has taken a thousand pictures and we have the used batteries to prove it! He loves experimenting with settings, angles and zooms."

Over the last ten weeks, we've received almost 1,000 photos from across the West Island area of celebrations, familiar neighbourhoods and all kinds of animals. To see all of the photos entered in the contest so far, click here.

Last week's winner was Jennifer Frezza for her picture of two young friends hanging out by the pool. Richard Morsink took home top prize for his Zsa Zsa Gabor-styled dog. Nancy Rouse won for her School's Out photo. Debbie Austin won for her shot of kids playing at Seigniory Park. Shaun Abbott's photo of his kids playing with bubbles at St. Jean's celebrations in Dorval was a top photo and James Cimenera won for his photo called Springtime in Centennial Park. Tom Blahovici took home top prize for this photo, Great Grey Owl of Ile Bizard. Keith Ewenson won for his photo, Heat of the Action, and Anne Jeannet of Pointe Claire was the winner for her up-close tulip photo called Radiant Beauty. Previous winners were Nancy Rouse, of Dollard des Ormeaux for Squirrel Invasion and Terry Williams of Beaconsfield, for his picture of kids jumping rope here.

This week's theme is From the Sidelines. Summer is a time for parents to hang out by the soccer pitches and baseball diamonds watching their kids play. They bring their own chairs and cheer on the players. They also take a
lot of photos. Why not share those pics with us? Send in your best shots of the action as seen from the sidelines.

A Gazette photographer will pick the lucky winner, who will be announced Wednesday. Your photo will be featured in Thursday's printed West Island Gazette section, as well as here at westislandgazette.com.

Photos must be uploaded to the website by Tuesdays at noon. You may submit a maximum of three (3) entries per week.

Read more about the Photo of the Week contest, including how to post, and check out Gazette photo editor Lynn Farrell's tips for great photos, by clicking here.

Good luck and happy snapping!