From foggy landscapes to winged wonders, these photographers captured Savannah’s vibe.
Savannah magazine brought back its friendly photo competition for a third year. Inspired by the city’s inimitable beauty and creative spirit, we once again called for professional, amateur and student (under 18 years of age) photographers to share their best original images that capture the essence of the Savannah area in exchange for cash prizes.
Between January and March, hundreds of photos were submitted, and our panel of esteemed judges went to work choosing first, second, and third place, as well as honorable mention. Then we chose our staff favorites in each category, along with some other stand-outs.
Now we’re asking you to participate by voting for your favorite of the bunch. Cast your vote for Reader’s Choice by Aug. 1, 2025. The winner will be announced in our September/October issue and receive a $200 prize! Only one ballot per person will be accepted, and only online ballots will be counted.
Professional Category
FIRST PLACE
“Savannah’s Veins” by Micah Turner
SECOND PLACE
“Playground” by Joseph Shields
THIRD PLACE
“Forsyth Fountain” by John Alexander
HONORABLE MENTION
“Under the Stars” by Jesse Adams
EDITOR’S PICK
“Step Lightly” by Caitlin Webb
Amateur Category
FIRST PLACE
“Foggy Bridge Run” by Nicholas Hennig
SECOND PLACE
“Gaston” by Kim Huffman
THIRD PLACE
“The Fisherman on a Foggy M0rning” by Luis Lopez
HONORABLE MENTION
“Blue Heron” by Linsey Radcliffe
EDITOR’S PICK
“Reflections” by Beverly Goldschmidt
Student Category
FIRST PLACE
“Shadows of the Pier” by Charles Grant
SECOND PLACE
“Tree-butary” by Brendan Edgecombe
THIRD PLACE
“Blacksnake Looking for its Prey” by Lennon Popp
Stand-outs
Thank you to the many photographers who entered our contest! Here are a few more images that stood out to our Savannah magazine staff.
“Now Showing” by David Monroe
“Amazing Grace” by Diane Campbell
“Curtains on Bull” by Kim Huffman
“Osprey Catch” by Linsey Radcliffe
Vote for Reader’s Choice
Cast your vote for Reader’s Choice by Aug. 1, 2025. Only one ballot per person will be accepted, and only online ballots will be counted.
Meet the Judges
EMILY EARL
Emily Earl (b. 1985, Savannah) is a photographer, designer, and the founding director at ARTS Southeast, an arts nonprofit based in Savannah. She received a BFA in photography in 2007 from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Earl co-founded Sulfur Studios, a community artspace in 2014. She led the transition from Sulfur Studios to the nonprofit ARTS Southeast in 2021, and now acts as ARTS Southeast’s executive director. Earl is also the co-founder and editor of IMPACT Arts + Culture magazine. In 2017, Earl won the Portfolio 2017 High Museum Purchase Award at the APG Gallery in Atlanta. In 2020, work from her Late Night Polaroids series was displayed at the High Museum as part of the exhibit “In Between: Adolescence Through the Camera.” From August 2020 to April 2021, her solo exhibition, “Late Night Polaroids, Photographs by Emily Earl,” was on display at Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center as part of the Jepson Center’s #art912 program. Her first monograph, “Late Night Polaroids,” was published in conjunction with the exhibition. Earl’s work is included in the Permanent Collections of Atlanta’s High Museum and Savannah’s Telfair Museum, among others. Her work has also been featured in The New Yorker and by Polaroid.
BEN TOLLEFSON
Ben Tollefson (b. 1985, U.S.) is an artist and curator in Savannah. Tollefson pursued painting and sculpture in his undergraduate studies and subsequently worked at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. While working toward his M.F.A. in painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, he served as director of Non-Fiction, a contemporary art gallery in the city’s Thomas Square neighborhood. He currently serves as curator at the SCAD Museum of Art where he has organized exhibitions by Zanele Muholi, Nina Chanel Abney, Lee Bul, Marcel Dzama, Izumi Kato, Roxy Paine, Emily Mae Smith, Lily van der Stokker, and others. He has contributed to a publication on artist Wong Ping and coordinated the exhibition catalog “Ring Redux: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection.”
DANIEL WHITE
Daniel White (b. 1991, High Point, North Carolina) is a Savannah-based photographer who specializes in portrait, documentary, music, and brand photography. Outside of that, he’s traveling around the country capturing life in the moment. White’s work has been featured in AMPLIFIER magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Yes! Weekly, News and Record, Eater Carolinas, Life and Thyme, and The Savannahian.
PARKER STEWART
Parker Stewart (b. 1992) is a photographer based in Savannah. A native of North Carolina, Stewart arrived in Savannah in 2011 to study photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Stewart’s work is focused on the notion of place, and he uses photography as a tool to record the moments and scenes that move him the most. Currently, Stewart is making photographs of the landscape and culture of the wild Georgia coastline and the rural Savannah River Basin, as well as working on extensive bodies of work in Coastal Maine, Western North Carolina, the Oregon Coast, and the Mojave Desert.
