Images by Chris Stevens-Yu, Sue Borg, Cole Leahy, Julia Hallee Awarded in the 2025 Peninsula Photo C
Ellen Gilkerson | Published on 6/27/2025
Images by Chris Stevens-Yu, Sue Borg, Cole Leahy, and Julia Hallee were selected for inclusion in the exhibition of winners in the 2025 Peninsula Photo Contest.
The 2025 Peninsula Photo Contest was sponsored by The Palo Alto Weekly, the Palo Alto Art Center, and TheSixFifty. Amateurs and professionals; adults 18 and older, and youth 17 and younger (and 18-year-olds still in high school) who live, work, or attend school in the 650 area code were eligible to enter images. This year’s contest included images taken within the last five years in the following categories: Abstract, Landscapes, Moments, Portraits, Travel, and Wildlife.
Chris Stevens-Yu:
- Roller King of Venice was awarded Best in Show and First Place in the Moments category. [This is the second time that an image by Chris has been selected for Best in Show.] He says: I met Joshua when I was at the Venice Beach Skatepark last August and he was amazingly skilled on his rollerblades. I used a wide angled lens and got down low to the ground to get separation between him and the trees.
Chris Stevens-Yu: Roller King of Venice
- Girl Power was awarded Honorable Mention in the Portraits category. Chris says: I also made this image last summer at Venice Beach. I never met this skater, but was impressed with her tough nature and drive to keep going in spite of her apparent recent injuries. I used an 85mm lens, which provided good compression.
Chris Stevens-Yu:
Girl Power
Sue Borg:
- Cranes on a Wintery Morning was awarded Honorable Mention in the Wildlife category. Sue says: This image was made in New Mexico at the Bernardo Wildlife Refuge while on a Photo Artistry workshop with Lisa Langell.
Sue Borg: Cranes on a Wintery Morning
Cole Leahy:
- Renovation was awarded First Place in the Abstract category. Cole says: The geometric structure of this scene, captured outdoors at night on Market Street, called out to me. I enjoy the ambiguity of the image, which some viewers may see as an indoor scene with daylight streaming in from outside.
Cole Leahy: Renovation
- Pause was awarded Honorable Mention in the Moments category. He says: Upon reaching the top of a staircase, I noticed the beauty of this man’s posture and expression, which I captured in the brief moment before he rose from his seat.
Cole Leahy:
Pause
Julia Hallee:
- Frozen in Time was awarded Honorable Mention in the Abstract category. Julia says: On a bitterly cold winter morning at Taylor Creek, I looked down and noticed delicate bubbles frozen beneath the creek’s surface. Using a 600mm lens, tripod, and long exposure, I tried to capture the icy stillness and bluish tones to reflect how that quiet, frigid moment felt to me.
Julia Hallee:
Frozen in Time