Rivers are the subjects of the latest Readers Photo Challenge.
Rivers can be great photographic subjects. You can use them as a compositional element to draw the viewers eyes into the scene. A slow moving river can reflect the landscape around it. And rivers can be habitats for animals, which makes them great for wildlife photography.
Not many people decided to dip their toes into the waters for this task, but those who decided to get their feet wet sent in some great images. Five readers sent in 11 photos. Here are the top picks.
Tom LaBounty of Stockton gets first place with his photo of the Washington Monument near the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.
You might say that the basin is more of a lagoon than a river but it is connected to the Potomac River to the north and the Anacostia River via the Washington Channel to the south.
Using an Olympus Olympus OM-1 Mk II 3/4ths DSLR camera, LaBounty framed the monument with a blossoming cherry tree in the foreground. A row of flowering trees and the waters of the basin complete the framing at the bottom. The obelisk-shape of the monument stands at the center of the frame, resolute against an amorphously cloudy sky.
Mary Nakamura of Stockton went to great heights to get her river photo, literally.
While a trip with friends she crossed the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge near Cañon City, Colorado. With her Apple iPhone 16 she photographed the Arkansas River, which was a dizzying 959 feet below her own feet. The distance made the river, the country’s sixth longest, look like a small stream. The eroded and weathered walls of the craggy canyon provided a wonderful texture to the entire scene.
Joseph Hey of Stockton photographed a sunrise on the San Joaquin River from Twitchell Island near Rio Vista.
With a Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphone he photographed the rising sun and its orange glow breaking just over the horizon. A levee snakes its way into the frame at the middle of the frame. To the right flows the mighty San Joaquin. To the right, tule fog fills the low-lying island. As you visually make your way upwards into the frame, the warm glow of the sunrise gradually gives way to blue sky with morning clouds and contrails criss-crossing the heavens.
Peter Corsun of Stockton shot during the opposite time of day. With an Apple iPhone 11 he photographed the setting sun as it sinks low near the horizon at Buckley Cove in Stockton. The sun’s warm color is fills a portion of the sky and is reflected in the waters of the Stockton deep water channel.
For first LaBounty receives a 16 x 20 print from UlmerPhoto and a gift card to a local restaurant. Second goes to Nakamura with an 11x 14 print and Hey gets an 8×10 print for third place.
All of the entries can be seen in an online gallery at Recordnet.com. A new challenge will be issued on Apr. 15.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Wade in the waters: Readers send in their photos of rivers
Reporting by Clifford Oto, The Stockton Record / The Record
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