Joey Johnson won First Place with “Lobster Boats, Peggy’s Cove.” Photo courtesy of Joey Johnson

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Moments in Focus, the latest exhibit at the MACC is made up of Northern California photographers’ images of a myriad of subjects in a variety of styles. Cheryl Gleason, MACC Art Director and Curator, announced the prize-winning photographers at the reception on March 6. Rebecca Gregg was the juror.

David Nasater won Best of Show for “Writer’s Block.” Nasater was working on his computer when a leaf fell onto the keyboard.

“The leaf stopped me from typing,” Nasater said, and he took a picture of it. Nasater lives in Woodland and heard about Moments in Focus from a friend who wanted him to print one of her photos for her. She told him she might enter her photo in Moments in Focus. And he replied, “Oh, that’s that show!”  

“The leaf stopped me from writing, so, ‘Writer’s Block,’ ” said David Nasater on choosing the name for his Best of Show photo. Photo courtesy of David Nasater

Joey Johnson earned First Place for “Lobster Boats, Peggy’s Cove.” 

Cheryl Gleason told the guests at the show, “Everybody has tried to guess where that is. So far nobody has guessed correctly, but they’ve gotten close.”

Johnson later said that she was on a cruise with friends in the northeast United States and Canada, and one of the excursions was to Peggy’s Cove.

“Peggy’s Cove is just a delightful little spot in Halifax, Nova Scotia . . . I was really taken by the colors of the boats that were docked,” Johnson said.

When Natesa Richardson took photos for her work with a plant research company she realized, “I really, really like photography.” 

Natesa Richardson’s photo, “Suspended,” won second place. She says, “Appreciate life and enjoy life every moment. Everything that we do, there’s always something you can look on and appreciate and pass on that knowledge to others.” Photo courtesy of Natesa Richardson

Gleason said about “Suspended,” Richardson’s Second Place photo, “It is the piece where the diver is coming down, the swimmer is in the water; it is stunning.”

Rick Sloan, well known in Rancho Cordova for his photography, especially for public events around Rancho Cordova, took Third Place for his photo, “Boy with Bird.” He currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Cordova Recreation and Park District. Sloan’s 4-year-old son found a baby bird while they were hiking in Folsom.

“We assumed it was injured and couldn’t fly,” Sloan said. “He picked it up and they stared intensely at each other just long enough for me to snap this photo. Afterwards, the bird flew away.”

Four entrants in the show received Honorable Mentions. They were Carol Clark for “McWay Surf,” Terrie Gray for “Bison Journey,” Lucille van Ommering for “Reverie in the Rain, Magnola Plantation,” and C. Inez for “The Clouded Dragon.”

Todd Damiano’s solo photography show, “Before the Light Changes,” is upstairs at the MACC while Moments in Focus runs. 

“As all of you do know,” Gleason said at the end of the awards ceremony, “it’s really nerve-wracking and hard to be a juror and judge, because you want to accept everybody and you want to give everybody an award. But there are some kinds of absolutely beautiful photography in here and thank you all for participating.”

The Moments in Focus exhibition is at the MACC, 10191 Mills Station Road, Rancho Cordova. It runs Thursdays & Fridays from 2 to 7 p.m., and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from March 5 through March 21. 

Photographer Sam Stott in front of his home photo wall. Stott had two photos in this show, though he did not win a prize. “If you’re asking what’s one of my goals in photography, I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland.” Photo courtesy of Sam Stott