Axel’s Shoot Out salutes three Vermont photographers

February 20, 2025 | By Gwenna Peters | Correspondent 

Photographers from Enosburg, Stowe and Waterbury were declared the winners in the 6th annual Shoot Out photo contest at Axel’s Gallery and Frame Shop. 

First Prize by Justin Highet, “Platform 5 1/2” shot at Victoria Station in London. Courtesy photo

First place went to a black-and-white photograph by Justin Highet of Enosburg titled “Platform 5 ½”  taken at Victoria Station in London, England, and printed on fine art fiber paper.  

The second-place award was presented to George Jackman of Stowe for another black-and-white image titled, “The New, Reflecting on the Old,” made on the Highline Trail in New York City. 

Waterbury photographer Belva Haydon’s photo titled “Highline during the Annular Eclipse” took the People’s Choice Award, selected based on votes by gallery visitors. The color image shot in Moab, Utah, during a 2023 eclipse is printed on metal. 

Gallery owner Whitney Aldrich reported that 13 photographers submitted 22 entries to represent the theme of “Contrasts.” The theme was chosen by Sherry Knudsen, the Waterbury photographer who took first prize in the 2024 Shoot Out. Knudsen was one of the judges of this year’s contest along with Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, a longtime Central Vermont professional photographer who has worked as chief photographer for the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. 

The third judge was Sonja Lunde, executive director at the Fleming Museum of Art at the University of Vermont. 

Judging took place on Feb. 7 and gallery staffer Kristen Santucci said the process involved lengthy conversations among the judges about the great quality of the photographs and the challenges of choosing one first-place image.

The art depicted in the winning entries represents contrasts of calmness/motion, adventure in nature, and old and new architectural features, Aldrich noted.

Highet confirmed that his long-exposure image on the London platform is a nod to the Platform 9 ¾ in the Harry Potter stories. He described shooting the photo with his Nikon Z6 camera with a 28-300mm lens. He took an 8-second exposure of his wife standing still, taking in the location amidst many others going about their day. The motion alongside the stationary figure created an interesting contrast, he said. Highet is also a woodworker and framed his piece in his workshop.

Second Prize by George Jackman, “The New, Reflecting on the Old” on the Highline Trail in New York City. Courtesy photo

The location in Jackman’s photo is a trail running along a disused section of elevated train line that’s surrounded by a wide variety of city architecture -- some very modern and some decidedly not so. He explained that he first printed the picture in color but found distraction from the blue sky reflected in the glass, and the colored facade of the old building lost the focus of the lines, angles and shapes that were better depicted in the black-and-white version he entered. 

Jackman was thrilled for the recognition as this was his first time winning any award for his photography.

Hayden’s photo owes its genesis to the fact that she is part of a rock climbing team that traveled to Utah in 2023. She said extensive planning went into finding a perfect location for the eclipse image shot with her Canon R5, with a RF 110-500 mm lens on a Benro tripod along with a NiSl solar filter. Hayden described the solar filter as “eclipse glasses for the camera.” 

Hayden is a self-described adventurer-photographer. “I have climbed mountains in the Dolomites, shot brown bears in Alaska, and followed lemurs in Madagascar,” she said. 

Her photo also won first place for Outdoor Adventure in Nature’s Best International Photography Awards in 2024. 

People's Choice Award winner by Belva Hayden, “Highline during Annular Eclipse.” Courtesy photo

Many of the photo entries in the contest were sold as part of the contest show. 

First-place winner Highet will have the opportunity to present a show of his photographs at Axel’s in November. He also will get to select the theme for the 2026 Shoot Out. Prizes for the contest winners also include gift certificates from Axel’s and Lezot Camera.