Congratulations to Winners of the Smith Photo Contest

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is proud to announce the winners of the Smith Photo Contest. More than 500 submissions were received this spring and winners were selected in six categories – landscape, portrait, campus, architectural, action, global – by a combination of online voting and a panel of expert judges. The photos were judged using the following criteria: creativity, appeal, composition/technical quality, and overall impact. Twelve additional photos that had the next highest scores in the judging process have been selected as "honorable mentions."

“I'm really happy with the quality of photos that we received for the contest,” said Tony Richards, a judge and photographer/videographer for the Smith School. “In addition to some fun local photos there were a wide variety of exciting images from all around the world. We truly have some great photographers within the Smith community.”

Kiati Plooksawasdi, a 2010 graduate of the Smith Executive MBA program said, "It was an honor to be selected as one of the winners of Smith's first photo contest. As an alumnus, it was particularly rewarding to win the ‘Campus' category and have my photograph displayed in Van Munching Hall."

"I am thrilled that my entry won the Smith Photo Contest, and am so excited to see it in the halls of Van Munching Hall,” said Megan Burkhart, winner of the “Action” category and MBA candidate 2013. “It is one of my favorite images from my life in Tanzania; it immediately brings back the sights, sounds, smells, and excitement of the fish market in Dar es Salaam and leaves me longing for some fresh mango ceviche!"

All 18 winning entries will be displayed on the first floor of Van Munching Hall and will be unveiled at an opening reception scheduled for the evening of Thursday, September 13, 2012.

Portrait
Winner: Oki Daniar, MBA ’13

While trying out his new Canon lens, Oki Daniar ’13 snapped this photo of his son, Aldo, and his wife, Indah. “My wife and son were cuddling and joking around in the morning, so I just took some photos of them. They are my biggest motivation, especially now studying abroad far from home.”

Global
John Hammond ’12

“I was conducting an independent research project on Glacial Lake Outburst Floods as part of my semester abroad in Nepal,” John Hammond ’12 explains about his photo. “The photo was taken above the town of Dingboche in Sagarmatha National Park close to the base of Mount Everest. I was out walking just after an afternoon blizzard had blown through leaving fresh snow. The Yaks came from further up the valley and walked right on by.”

Action
Megan Burkhart, MBA Candidate 2013

“This photo was taken at the Kivukoni Fish Market in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where we would haggle over prices for fresh fish and marvel at the occasional oddities pulled from the sea,” Megan Burkhart, MBA Candidate 2013, says about her photo. “I lived and worked in Tanzania for four years, and was always charmed by the colorful yet chaotic beauty of East African culture, which is captured in this moment at the fish auction.”

Architectural
Brian Vandergrift, Jr. ’13

Senior marketing and psychology major Brian Vandergrift, Jr. ’13 took this photo of McKeldin Library on a spring day while walking across the campus. “I was simply walking to class and decided to take an extra couple of minute to admire the Mall and the library.”

Landscape
Yohsuke Ikebuchi, MBA ’12

“This photo was taken from the observation deck of Empire State Building,” Yohsuke Ikebuchi, MBA ’12, says. “A beautiful sunset made the city stunning. I edited this photo with a blue tone so the photograph looks ever cooler.”

Campus
Kiati Plooksawasdi EMBA ’10, ’98

“This shot was taken with Nikon D300s with 70-200mm lens. I was invited to the UMD/WVU tailgate EMBA alumni networking event, so I brought my two little girls to their first football game,” Kiati Plooksawasdi EMBA ’10, ’98, explains about his photo. “I was taking some shots throughout the game and this particular one was taken after we scored — the crowd came alive and I was able to capture this picture of the fan waving the Maryland State flag. In a sea of red and black I decided to just highlight the flag in the final edited version of this piece.”

Honorable Mention:

• Alexandra de Sibour - Eiffel Tower
• Allison Smith - One of these things is not like the others…
• Fatih Koca - Kids of the Favella
• Gordon Gao - Firework of July 4th
• Hansi Liu – Rainbow Fountain
• Janet Cavanagh – Jelly Fish
• Jared Weiss – Tivoli Gardens
• Jeff Woodard  – Mountain Reflection
• Jonny Polster – When in Rome
• Kwang Huh – London Street Scene
• Tracy McClair – Untitled