The Beauty in Our Own Backyard

A finalist in the "Wild and Scenic" category, Boyertown photographer "Martha," titled this shot "The Circle of Life..."

Paul from Phoenixville took this shot of Black Rock Sanctuary.
It is a finalist in the "Wild and Scenic" category.

So one thing I like about blogging is that it does allow me to be completely partisan at times.

This is one of those times.

This is the second year that the Schuylkill Action Network has conducted its "Schuylkill Shots" photo contest.

I'm afraid the notice of the contest slipped through the cracks here in the Digital Notebook's vast command center complex and its inherent bureaucracy, so I did not let our amateur (or professional) photographers out there know in time that they could submit entries.

Another entry from Paul, also in the
"Wild and Scenic" category is from the quarry
at St. Peter's Village.

Our apologies. Rest assured those responsible have been flogged and sacked.

But I can let you know, thank's to kind e-mail nudge from Shaun Bailey at the Delaware River Estuary group, about voting, particularly when so many of the top entries are from our own area.

"I just wanted to let you know that, so far, four of the top-10 pictures in this year’s Schuylkill Shots Photo Contest are from Pottstown. Online voting ends just three weeks from Sunday, or Dec. 15," he wrote.

To see the photos, simply visit Facebook.com/SchuylkillWaters, click on the “Fan Faves” box, which also says “Photo Contest,” and then click “Vote.”


Fully four of entries are from a Pottstown photographer who goes by "Carol."

(THIS JUST IN!: Our vast network of confidential sources informs us that "Carol" is actually Pottstown High School graduate Carol Brightbill. Good show!)

There are also entries from photographers from Phoenixville, Boyertown and Douglassville.

Carol from Pottstown, took this shot of French Creek. It too
is in the "Wild and Scenic" category.

Other finalists are from Philadelphia and New Ringgold, but they can get their own blogger to promote their photos.

Last year over 6,000 people from Philadelphia to Pottsville voted on the final selection of winning photos from over 150 submitted. Winning photographers will receive prizes of gift cards ranging from $100 to $250 to REI, Amazon.com, or Calumet Photographic.

The deadline for entries was Oct. 30. A panel of judges affiliated with the SAN selected 10 finalists per category by Nov. 15.

Titled "The Fisherman," this shot by Carol is a finalist in
the "Fun on the Schuylkill" category

The public now has until Dec. 15 to vote for their favorites to determine the winners. The judges will also vote for their favorite photos in each category to determine the “Judges’ Choice” Awards. Followers of the SAN on Facebook can also watch and comment on each entry as it is uploaded to the internet.

The Schuylkill River travels 130 miles through the cities of Pottsville, Reading, Pottstown, Norristown, and Philadelphia. In 1978, it was the first river included in the state’s Scenic Rivers Program. Today the Schuylkill is a source of drinking water for millions of people and a critical source of fresh water for the Delaware Estuary, where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the Delaware River.

This shot by Karen, from Douglassville, is also in
French Creek in St. Peter's Village. It is a finalist
in the "Fun on the Schuylkill" category.

The Schuylkill Action Network is a collaboration of agencies, companies, individuals, and nonprofit organizations founded to help clean up the Schuylkill River and the many waterways flowing into it. The SAN does this by collaborating on projects in Berks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill counties, among others.

In this way, it helps to protect nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians, all of whom depend on these waterways for safe drinking water. 

Since 2003, the SAN has grown to include dozens of local, private, and public members, in addition to its five founders: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3; Philadelphia Water Department; Delaware River Basin Commission; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

Another offering by Pottstown's Carol in the "Wild and Scenic" category is titled "Valley Forge Park in summer time."

Carol, from Pottstown, named this finalist in the "Wild and Scenic" category "Mr. Blue Eyes."