MROSD announces photo contest winners

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has announced the winners of its first annual digital photo contest.

Fifteen honorable mentions were also chosen from over 400 entries that spanned a wide range of perspectives on nature from minute details to sweeping vistas. View the finalists’ photos at: .

Using web tools like Flickr™, the contest provided a new way for the District to engage the public with its open space preserves and gave contestants an opportunity to explore the diversity of nature through photography. The only contest rule was that entries had to be taken on District land.

Grand prize winner Alex Stoll and second-place winner Eric Lew, both graduate students at Stanford University, heard about the contest through the Stanford Photography Club. "We like any excuse to go out and shoot photos," Lew said. Stoll captured his prize-winning shot at sunrise in the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. "Photos are always more interesting with people in them," he said. "You can identify with the picture more."