Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. recently presented awards to the nine winners in the Annual Essex County Parks Photography Contest.  

Winners were awarded in adult and youth categories and were recognized on Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland.

“We congratulate the winners of the Essex County Parks Photography Contest and thank all the contestants for sharing what they experienced in our historic Parks System,” DiVincenzo said. “Events like these encourage our residents to visit our open spaces and share their artistic talents. All these photographs capture the beauty, highlight the diversity and natural splendor of our parks, reservations and recreation facilities,” he added.

The artists, and the awards they received, are as follows:

Adult Category

∙   Cesar Avila from Nutley received first place in the Adult Category for “Yanticaw Park.”

∙   Janet Markman from West Caldwell received second place in the Adult Category for “Presby Iris Gardens.”

∙   Lynda Zarillo from Livingston received third place in the Adult Category for “Lions at Turtle Back Zoo.”

∙   John Evagelou from Cliffside Park received an honorable mention in the Adult Category for “South Mountain Reservation – Tree Swallows.”

∙   Joshua Goodman from West Orange received an honorable mention in the Adult Category for “Verona Park.”

Youth Category

∙   Niccolo McCormick from West Orange received first place in the Youth Category for “Verona Park.”

∙   Leonardo McCormick from West Orange received second place in the Youth Category for “Green Frog at Environmental Center.”

∙   Samantha Montague from West Orange received third place in the Youth Category for “Flowers, South Mountain Reservation.”

∙   Elise Linn from North Caldwell received an honorable mention in the Youth Category for “Grover Cleveland Park.”

The Essex County Parks Photography Contest was sponsored by the Essex County Environmental Center and judged by members of the Essex County Photo Club. Anyone with a camera was encouraged to participate. Entries were judged in two categories: Youth, for ages 17 years and younger, and Adult for ages 18 and older. All photographs should have been taken within the boundaries of the Essex County Parks System during the past year. Entries were judged on creativity, technical superiority, composition and the photograph’s depiction of the uniqueness of the Essex County Parks System.

All photographs were on display at the Essex County Environmental Center during September and October.