Worth a thousand words – LWSD students excel at statewide photography competition

There were nearly 5,000 entries in this year’s Washington State High School Photography Competition (WSHSPC). Of that number, five LWSD students and two teams finished in the top ten in several areas. Two Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students finished in first place in two different categories. Judging for the WSHSPC took place on Saturday, May 3, at Inglemoor High School. First, second and third from each of the nine categories will now be professionally matted and framed.

According to its website, the Washington State High School Photography Competition has a grass roots beginning in the mid 1980’s. Formed by a group of high school photography instructors as a way of elevating student photography, the early competitions included only a handful of high schools, a few hundred entries, passionate instructors and eager students. The images were collected and organized by the instructors and later judged by an impartial jury. Ribbons were awarded and the final images traveled throughout the year to be exhibited at the competing schools. It was small, informal and entirely volunteer.

In the 1990’s the event attracted sponsorship and public awareness rose due to exhibits at the Seattle Art Museum, featured articles in the Seattle Times newspaper, a segment on KING TV’s Evening Magazine and New Day programs, and a prestigious awards ceremony featuring Washington State Governors Mike Lowry and Gary Locke. In 2019, they received 3,506 entries from 66 schools. The 2019 exhibit was shown at Wallingford Frame Central from June and July and Seattle Art Museum in December.

Here is a list of students and school teams who finished in the top 10 (listed by category, name and school):

Traditional Silver Gelatin (Black and White) category

• Michael Nikitenko, Juanita High School, first and fourth place

Animal category

• Maya Witriol, Lake Washington High School, first place
• Abby Han, Tesla STEM High School, third place
• Eashan Gadhiraju, Eastlake High School, fourth place

Still Life category

• Katerina Strand, Juanita High School, sixth place

2025 Top Ten Team Placement

• Juanita High School, sixth place
• Lake Washington High School, seventh place (tie)