Two Christian Students Win National Awards in Photography

In the 186-year history of photography, more than 3.5 trillion photos have been taken. Nowadays, people snap pictures with ease from their smart phones, but some take photography a little more seriously. For two Christian students in Georgia, their photos are leading them to great opportunities.

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, a college-preparatory day school in Atlanta, GA, won its first two national awards for photography in this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that senior Emily Ann Betts and junior Libby Bulley are the first students in Holy Innocents’ history to win medals in the national scholastic art competition.

The medal-winning piece that Betts shot was taken last summer while she was in Iceland. The piece is called, “Bathing Beauties,” and features two women in shallow light blue water talking to each other.

Bulley’s piece, “Mirror, Mirror,” was originally shot for a presentation at the 2015 Speaker Series. The piece features a woman floating below the surface of a pool while her reflection ripples with the water.

Both Betts and Bulley have been invited to attend Scholastic’s national celebration in New York City in early June. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the students will receive their gold medals at the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall on June 2.

The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers partners with more than 100 organizations across the U.S. to bring the Awards to local communities. Teens in grades seven through 12 and participate in the visual and literary arts can apply to 29 different categories of art and writing.

To honor the 2016 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, during the ceremony on June 2, the Empire State Building will be lit in gold. All Gold Medal Portfolio recipients will present their pieces to the crowd during the awards ceremony.