Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) Vice President of Communications Tracey Munson has announced that the museum will sponsor the first Best Maritime Photograph Award in the Plein Air–Easton! Photography Competition. An avid photographer and past president of the Tidewater Camera Club, Munson noted that sponsoring this competition fits right into the museum’s mission of capturing and preserving the allure of life on the Chesapeake.
The winner of the award will receive a contributor level membership to the Museum, valued at $100. The benefits of the contributor level membership include free general admission for two adults and children under 18 for a year, overnight docking privileges, free or reduced special event admission, and reciprocal admission to more than 70 major museums, including the Smithsonian and Mystic Seaport.
The museum is also planning a future exhibit of the winning and other maritime photographs from the competition.
Al Bond, executive director of Plein Air–Easton’s sponsor, the Avalon Foundation, said CBMM’s involvement will make this year’s photography competition bigger and better. “Talbot County is rich in maritime history,” commented Bond. “From beautiful landscapes of pristine farmlands sloping down to the rivers of the Choptank, to the maritime activities of waterman along our tributaries and Bay to the log canoe and sailboat races around St. Michaels—it’s just a great place to capture scenery in all art forms.”
With the photography competition running from July 1-24, photographers will have many opportunities to capture that ambience of the maritime community unique to Talbot County and the Chesapeake region.
Complimentary museum admission will be offered to pre-registered Plein Air-Easton! photographers. Photographers must register ahead of time at no cost and secure a pass at the Plein Air–Easton! headquarters on the second floor of the Avalon Theatre in Easton.
The photography competition will be judged by Tony Sweet, an award winning fine art photographer, author, and frequent workshop leader who often takes his students to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum for photo shoots.
The only requirement to enter the competition for Best Maritime Photograph Award is that the picture must be taken in Talbot County between July 1-24, 2011. The deadline to enter is July 29.
For Guidelines and more information on the Plein Air–Easton! Photography Competition, visit www.pleinaireaston.com.
The Plein Air–Easton! Photography Competition is the work of the Avalon Foundation, and is supported by the Talbot County Arts Council and the Easton Gallery of Photographic Arts. Contributors to the awards include aaubreybodine.com, the Tidewater Camera Club, Garden Treasures, the Carney Family, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
In photo: Photographer Marie Thomas takes photos of plein air artist Richard Dorbin at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD. The museum is sponsoring the first Best Maritime Photograph Award as part of the July 1-24 Plein Air-Easton! Photography Competition. For more information, visit www.pleinaireaston.com.