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N O V E M B E R 1 3 - N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 0 8 • V O L . 2 3 , N O . 1 5 • 8 0 P A G E S • F R E E • W W W . N E W T I M E S S L O . C O M

Warm yourself with new tales for the season in our Holiday Guide

Seriously? [17]

Seriously? Shredder

Take a closer look at California, post-election [10]Lena Rushing pairs ladies with exotic beasts [32]Despite chef changes, Lido eats stay strong [54]

FILMSkyfall is tops [42]

Discover what local photographers can do

with our 17th annual contest [18]

HOLIDAY GUIDE

New Times’ annual photography contest

continues to showcase the best images

from Central Coast photographersBY STEVE E. MILLER

years of winners!

Judith Hildinger, Phantom Owl, Best of show and first Place, adult, animals

Bill Bouton, Mingling, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, ANIMALS

Dez Cobb, Untitled, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, ANIMALS

17

We received five hundred and ninety eight entries for the 17th Annual New Times Winning Images contest this year and the competition was fierce. This year, our staff decided to expand the contest to incorporate

the territory covered by New Times’ sister paper in Santa Barbara County, the Sun. The categories were changed slightly, but as in past years, the genres that received the most entries were Land and Seascapes, Travel, and People. As in past years, the entry fee of $5 per image was used entirely for a $3,000 prize pool for all the winners, which makes this contest unique amongst photo contests nationwide. Our cover shot is Poolside Perro by Daniel Kuras. Serving as judges were The Photoshop owner, Peggy Mesler; Cal Poly Art Gallery director Jeff Van Kleek; and local painter Lena Rushing. As an employee of the company, I don’t serve as judge, but I do coordinate the setup, assist the judges in the case of a tie vote, and tally the results. My go-to man for the night was the eminently capable jack of all trades, New Times employee Tadhg Morrison. Morrison and I laid out all of the images from each category and gave the judges post-it notes to tag five or six images each for consideration in a final judging. When the 15 or 18 images were selected, all of the other images were taken away to allow each judge to put a score of 1 to 3 on their favorites. The scores on the notes were not visible to the other judges and the names of the photographs were not visible either—purely blind judging with the winning image in each category being the one that received the most points. Everyone involved in the process picked one favorite picture out of the whole batch which did not win anything in any other category, and although Morrison and I were not judges, we’re calling all five favorite pictures “Judge’s Picks.” Enjoy the show!

Send comments to staff photographer Steve E. Miller at semiller@newtimesslo.com.

Teddy Llovet, Make Room for Me, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, ANIMALS

Winningimages2012

Christine Carole Harrison, Weeds, HONORABLE MENTION, YOUTH, OPEN

San Luis Obispo native Peggy Mesler is a photographer and owner of The PhotoShop in SLO. She shares her appreciation and knowledge of photography with customers, clients, and friends. Peggy graduated with a journalism degree from Cal Poly, and opened The PhotoShop in 1995. Her interests include gardening, hiking, and birding, and her favorite photographic subject is people. Jeff Van Kleeck runs Cal Poly’s University Art

Gallery. He received a master of fine arts degree in photography and has studied photography under Jerry Uelsmann, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Keith Carter, John Sexton, Jerry Spagnoli, Jim Stone, Christopher Burkett, William Neill, and Bruce Barnbaum. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, in such locations as New York, Madison, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Brazil. His work can also be seen in the book, Exploring Color Photography: From Film to Pixels, fifth edition, by Robert Hirsch of Focal Press. Formerly from southern California, Lena Rushing

has called the Central Coast home for 16 years. She is best known for her large-scale figure paintings. Lena’s aim is to connect with the public through art and she supports a variety of local nonprofit organizations by offering work for fundraising events, while volunteering her time sharing lessons in art with children at her neighborhood school. Her work has been showing in San Luis Obispo group and solo art shows for more than a decade. Honest and authentic, her intent is to create vibrant, intriguing works of art that encourage the viewer to engage in art related dialogue. ∆

PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

JUDGESJUDGES

Bob Canepa, So Raven, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, TRAVEL

Laura Dienzo, Under the Street Performer, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, PEOPLE

Skip Moss, Light, JUDGE’S PICK, ADULT, TRAVEL

Winningimages2012

Jonathan Shapiro, Center for Science and Mathematics, Cal Poly, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, ARCHITECTURE

Alice Cahill, Kitchen at the Lighthouse, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, ARCHITECTURE

Skip Moss, Mandala, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, FLORA

Spencer Caserio, Perty Flower, THIRD PLACE, YOUTH, OPEN

Mauria Nakamura, Under Pressure, SECOND PLACE, YOUTH, OPEN

Bob Canepa, Lily, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, FLORA

Jonathan Shapiro, Yurt With Aurora Borealis, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, TRAVEL

Donna Johnson, The Standout, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, FLORA

Cheryl Strahl, Waterfall on the Rocks, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, TRAVEL

Skip Moss, Templeton Feed & Grain, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, ARCHITECTURE Nancy Koren, Flower Dance, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, FLORA

Adam Paine, Face Time, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, PEOPLE

Bob Canepa, Hospital View, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, ARCHITECTURE

Lance Kinney, Late Spring Storm, AVILA BEACH, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, LAND/SEASCAPE

Donna Johnson, Lost Art, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, OPENDavid Lalush, Montana de Oro 1, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, LAND/SEASCAPE

Jen Olson, Untitled, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, OPEN

Sabina Miklowitz, Two Fridas, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, OPEN

Wade Moxley, Hot Air Balloon View, Creston, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, LAND/SEASCAPE

Alice Cahill, Misty Waves, SECOND PLACE, ADULT, LAND/SEASCAPE

Mary Anne Anderson, Musician, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, JUDGE’S PICK, ADULT, TRAVEL

Brenda Maltese, Spanish Eyes, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, PEOPLE

Sabina Miklowitz, Rosebud, JUDGE’S PICK, ADULT, PEOPLE

Donna Johnson, Shattered, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, OPEN

Dorothy Cutter, Before the Storm, JUDGE’S PICK, ADULT, TRAVEL

Noah Neva, Empty Airs, FIRST PLACE, YOUTH, OPEN

Donna Johnson, Shattered, HONORABLE MENTION, ADULT, OPEN

Sabina Miklowitz, Elegance, FIRST PLACE, ADULT, PEOPLE

Adam Paine, Central Park in Snow, THIRD PLACE, ADULT, TRAVEL