Aquatic Artistry

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"Illusion" by Lauralee McKay COLOR Category: 1st Place

How many ways can you depict a water lily? Lots. Just ask Claude Monet, whose water lilies series included 250 oil paintings of the vibrant aquatic flowers. 

It took Monet the last 30 years of his life to complete the task, but photographers have the luxury of capturing the beauty of Nymphaeaceae on a slightly shorter time frame. This year, photographers submitted 128 stunning photos, all varying in color and style, to the annual water lily photo contest held by McKee Botanical Garden in conjunction with its 13th Annual Water Lily Celebration. The photos could be in film or digital format and the only rule was that the water lilies must have been photographed at McKee in 2016 or 2017.

On the day before the celebration, three accomplished photographer judges selected a first, second and third place winner, as well as an honorable mention, in the following adult categories: color, black and white, and manipulated. A youth category for pho-tographers 17 years old and younger was also judged, and a first, second and third place winner was selected. The majority of the winners hailed from Vero Beach.  

During the celebration on June 17, the public was given the opportunity to cast their votes for a “People’s Choice” award and chose “Into the Looking Glass,” by Dawn Currie, which also won first place in the black and white category. 

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