Reach Out Columbia

Photo Contest Winners

September 2011 - Community
by Various

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First place
“Babushkas”
Irina Ponomarev

Irina took this photo inside a Protestant church in the Ukrainian village of Gorodische. Through the Ministry of Outreach to Slavic Tribes, Irina and her husband, Alex, make frequent trips to Russia and Ukraine assisting in nursing homes, orphanages, Bible camps, and village churches. Irina says the women photographed are “incredible prayer warriors and when they sing, I reach for Kleenex . . . Many of these ladies have survived persecution for their faith, loss of their loved ones during war, and the crush of the economy in the 1990s.”
With no formal training, Irina chronicles the development of their ministry’s overseas projects through photographs. She uses a Canon PowerShot SX 110 camera.

Second place
“A Lovely Startle”
Kari Pait

A Wal-Mart parking lot full of seagulls and one adventurous little girl composed just the right shot for Newberry College student Kari Pait. That’s her three-year-old niece, Lily, trying to join the flock. Kari says she’s never without her camera, a Canon PowerShot SX130. “I am always looking around, and in my head, when my eyes pass by something that is camera worthy, it is like the scene just freezes in time.” She uses a Canon PowerShot SX 110 camera.