After three months of looking through precious pictures sent in by our readers, the panel of judges have reached a decision on who wins the grand prize — a free portrait session with photographer Lisa Mac of Lisa Mac Photography AND a huge 16 x 20 inch wall portrait.
Drumroll please….
The photo sent in by Kathleen Villar, seen above, is the grand prize winner of our photo contest! This sweet photo of her 18-month-old son, Joseph, hugging the legs of the 87-year-old great-grandpa he calls “Opa”, melted the hearts of our judging panel, who evaluated photos based on emotional impact. This is a great illustration of that special connection between babies and the grandparents who love them so much. The story behind this picture makes it extra sweet.
Joseph is actually named after his Opa, so they share a name as well as a wonderful loving bond. They live very close to one another and see each other almost every day. Kathleen says of Joseph, “He squeals with joy walking in the door and cries when it is time to leave.”
She adds: “I have always wanted to have children that they could enjoy and I realize how lucky I am. The spring before Joseph was born in 2007 my grandfather, who struggles with dementia, had a stroke that has taken away his ability to speak clearly. Since then, life has been very different, but Joseph became the family’s little ray of sunshine. Watching Joseph and Opa play and seeing how their faces beam when they see each other shows us how this relationship brings complete joy to both of them and the entire family.”
Kathleen, who’s pregnant with baby #2, will soon be enjoying a free portrait session with Lisa Mac (who is a new Mommy, by the way! Her son Josiah was born about five weeks ago, and he is SO cute.) Kathleen will also get to choose her favorite shot which will be printed as a 16 x 20 inch wall portrait. What a treasure for any mom to have.
If you didn’t win this photo contest, don’t worry because we’re doing it again! You can submit up to 5 photos each month, which will be placed in our online photo gallery. (Browse through our online photo gallery by clicking on the Polaroid at the top of the page or by scrolling down to the gallery located at the bottom of each page. Click on any photo to enlarge it.)
Congrats to Kathleen on snagging the grand prize, and thanks so much to each of you who shared your wonderful photos with us and the judging panel. Thanks also to photographer Lisa Mac for sponsoring our photo gallery and for donating such a generous grand prize for the snapshot contest. (Click here to visit Lisa’s website and blog to see more examples of her work.)
Picking just one winner was such a tough decision because there were SO many great pictures to consider. Keep those cameras clicking, and show off your great kid pictures here on nwaMotherlode.
