Photo Contest: Talking with the Winners – Part Three

This week as we bounce around Missouri’s wacky winter weather of ice, fog, rain and maybe even a little sun, we wrap up our interviews with the 2016 Innsbrook Property Owner Photo Contest winners and finalists.

Each year, the photos shared by our Innsbrook families reveal the magic that is found in abundance daily on our more than 100 lakes, numerous hiking and equestrian trails, and on the decks and docks of Innsbrook homes, chalets, condos and cottages.

See all of this year’s photo contest submissions on our Facebook page.

Now, let’s hear from two more finalists!

Part Three:
It’s no secret that Innsbrook loves dogs and dogs love Innsbrook. And nowhere do we see that exemplified more than in each year’s photo contest. This year’s contest featured a bevy of barking beauties, and a few of them won top honors once the voting was tallied.

Lynn Stark’s cleverly titled “Golden Days of Summer” won second place in our “People, Family & Pets” category.

The photo offers a glimpse into a summer day that many humans would envy! Still dripping wet from a rousing swim in the lake, letting the warm sun rays soak up the water on the dock and hanging out with your buddies at Innsbrook.

“That’s Billy with the bumpers in his mouth, Silas in the middle and Wrigley on the other end,” Lynn identified. “They were all on the dock taking a forced break. Billy always loves to carry items and was playing keep away from his brothers in this photo.”

“They love their time at Innsbrook, especially in the summer when they can play in the water – maybe even more than us! The boys love jumping from the dock. I call them the flying red dogs of Wynnbrook.”

She’s not kidding – check out one of her other submissions to the 2016 photo contest, which she titled “Fall Flight over Wynnbrook”.

As with our other finalists, we asked Lynn what she enjoyed photographing most while at Innsbrook, as well as her favorite things to photograph in general.

“I love taking photos of the dogs in action, as well as nature photos on hikes and walks,” Lynn says. “At Innsbrook, I love photographing the trees and the changing seasons. It is easy to get lost in all of the natural beauty.”

We couldn’t agree more! Can’t wait to see what you have to show us in 2017, Lynn!

We end our Photo Contest Winner interviews with perennial participant Carolyn Mooney. Carolyn consistently dazzles us with her photos from the Fireworks Extravaganza and the lifestyle photos of her family taken on the water and at the Innsbrook stables.

In our most recent photo contest, her “Colorful Chrysanthemums in the Sky” took the crown in the Community Events category, which is no small feat. When it comes to fireworks photos, there is stiff competition every year! We asked Carolyn how she managed to capture such an incredible photo of a notoriously difficult subject.

“As far as fireworks photos go, I have made a concerted effort to learn how to photograph fireworks since we have such an amazing display each year!” she explained. “I have taken photography classes at Creve Coeur Camera over the years to learn new things and also worked with a great photographer, Tom Tussey, who has taught me a lot. They are challenging to shoot, but once you learn the techniques, it’s always fun to see what you can capture.”

We know that Carolyn has tried shooting the show from both land and water in various locations over the years, so we asked her to give us the story behind her winning photo.

“I shot the 2016 show’s photo from our friend Ron Snavely’s house. I originally planned to shoot from the Lake Aspen Dam, like I normally do, but with the cold and rainy weather we had I made a last-minute decision to shoot from his yard so I could be tucked under his tree to keep my camera dry,” Carolyn told us.

“I will have to say, my first choice would be to be on my boat with our family watching the fireworks, but I can’t resist the photographer challenge to see what kind of shots I can capture. Fireworks are so fun to shoot – but tricky – and working with a slow shutter speed, you never know what you’re going to get.”

“Sweet Summertime” by Carolyn Mooney

Carolyn is a unique Innsbrook photographer in that her favorite thing to photograph is the people here.

“I love to do portrait photography for others,” she says. “I consider it my small ‘gift’ to give to someone who enjoys being photographed. It’s something I enjoy and get much gratification from if I can capture a great photo of someone doing something they love. I have taken a lot of sports photography over the years and enjoy capturing an action shot of an athlete. I also enjoy landscape photography, and would like to try and capture more sunrises and sunsets in the future, as well as more candid shots.”

People may be some her favorite subjects, but at Innsbrook, no one can bypass the beauty of the nature and wildlife we live with every day, in every season!

“I love the stables and taking photos of horses, pastures the barn, etc.” Carolyn told us. “I also love the nature scenes such as the waterfalls, lakes and wildlife, along with pictures of people enjoying the beach or sailing.”

“American Beauties” – another of Carolyn’s submissions to the 2016 photo contest.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this three-part series of blog posts where we’ve learned more about photography, as well as those faces behind the lens. Perhaps they were able to give you some ideas as we head into the 2017 season. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a wedding, a round on the golf course or a round at the Clubhouse, you will have a front-row seat to the beauty of Midwest flora and fauna at its finest!

You can read the previous posts here:  Part I   |   Part II

Don’t forget that you can view all the incredible submissions to 2016 photo contest on our Facebook page.