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Central Electric Members Showcase Region in Annual Photo Contest
By Courtney Cobb
Central Oregon’s beauty was on full display during Central Electric Cooperative’s 2024 annual photo contest. The wide-ranging submissions showed what it means to live, work, and play in the high desert.
The winning photo is “Central Oregon Sunrise,” sent in by Jan Howard. A shutterbug at heart, Jan has been taking photos since she was 14. She says she loves to capture everything, including animals, landscapes, people, and food.
“I do it as a hobby,” Jan says. “I feel you can never have too many pictures—and believe me, I have a lot!” Jan captured the winning photo with her iPhone 14 Pro. She also has a nice SLR camera, although she admits to rarely using it.
Jan loves to capture the world around her and appreciates this quote by photographer Elliott Erwitt: “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
The day she took the photo, Jan was on her way to jury duty around 7:45 a.m. As she was leaving her driveway, she saw the frosty sunrise.
“My husband, Marty, and his dog Belle were out doing the chores and checking the horses’ water,” Jan says. “I knew right away that this was going to be an amazing shot, so I immediately stopped, got out, and yelled over to him to stay right there!”
Jan says if it had been a typical morning, she would have missed this beautiful scene.
“I’d be in the house, out doing chores on the other side of the house or working out,” she says. “I’m so thankful my name was selected for jury duty.”
Jan says she is grateful, excited, and honored to be selected as this year’s Central Electric winner.
“I still can’t believe it,” she says. “I’m very blessed indeed.” Jan has a quick tip for other shutterbugs. “Always have your phone or camera with you,” she says. “You never know when that next incredible shot will appear. Believe me, I’ve missed a few here and there, wishing I had not left it in the car or at the house.”
The second-place winner in the contest is Jane Lindquist, whose photo of sunset at Phalarope Lake at Black Butte Ranch captures amazing sunset colors foiled with the Three Sisters. Sue Strater won third place with her photo showing off iconic Smith Rock with Mount Jefferson in the background.