Laguna Bluebelt announces photo contest winners

The Laguna Bluebelt Coalition, which is dedicated to preserving the health of marine habitats, has announced the winners of its third annual photo contest. The contest focuses attention on Laguna’s marine protected areas to gain public support for their protection.

“We saw many more entries to the contest this year, which totaled almost 70 photographs,” said Patsee Ober, who served as a judge along with Mark Chamberlain and Mitch Ridder. “It was great to have photos representing the diversity of the marine life in our Bluebelt from the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, to a small sea slug in the tidepools.”

The photographs will be exhibited at the Gallery Q at The Susie Q senior center. An artists’ reception will be held this summer to honor the winners.

Winning photographs can be viewed at https://www.lagunabluebelt.org/3rd-annual-bluebelt-photo-contest-winners. All entries are posted on the Laguna Bluebelt Facebook page tinyurl.com/LagunaBluebelt-FB.

*

Underwater Winners

First Place:

Michelle Hoalton, “The Many Colors of the Kelp Forest”

Second Place:

Jean-Yves Couleaud, “Healthy kelp forest continues to grows off the coast of Laguna Beach”

Third Place:

Brook Peterson, “I dived in the sea to see what I could spy, and the fish were more wonderstruck than I”

*

Above Water Winners

First Place:

Mark Sanderson, “Crescent Bay for the New Year”

Second Place:

Kevin Roberts, “Reef Supports Life” or “It’s Alive!”

Third Place:

Taylor Osborn, “Piles Uncovered”

— Submitted by Charlotte Masarik