The results are in! In November, C-VILLE readers submitted the best photo they captured in 2023, each illustrating the theme “What a day!” Our judges—Ézé Amos and Stacey Evans—reviewed more than 80 submissions, and what follows are the best of the bunch. The final list features gorgeous landscapes, bustling wildlife, and captivating shots in and around Charlottesville. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated.
1. “Varied Interests” by Raman Pfaff
May 7, 2023. iPhone 14 Pro. Mona Lisa draws daily crowds at the Louvre, but in this photo some seemed more interested in other art. One seems to want the day at the museum to end.
2. “Rainy Day at Fourth and Market” by Steve Ashby
January 28, 2023. Canon-P. The intersection at Fourth and Market streets was glossy from a light rain as I waited for a shopper to exit the Market Street Market. Exposed at 1/8th of a second with a Canon-P equipped with a 53mm/2.8 Soviet-era lens and loaded with long-expired Kodak Plus-X film. Processed for 10 minutes in Kodak HC-110, dilution “H” (1:63).
3. “Alone Time” by Max Hoecker
October 1, 2023. Canon G7X. I was in Baltimore to see the Orioles. Meanwhile, there was an anime convention going on at the time. My family was at the food truck when I noticed this participant sitting by herself.
4. “White Pelicans Fish Buffet” by Stuart Scott
July 27, 2023. Olympus E-M1 MarkII with Leica DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3. While visiting Yellowstone National Park, I was surprised to see a group of white pelicans working as a team to herd small fish for their meal. I have a series of pictures as they stay in a line formation then curl around to trap their next meal. You can see the ripples in the water as they move in for a feast. I watched for over an hour as they repeated the fish herding.
5. “Labyrinth” by Carlton Carroll
May 20, 2023. Autel EVO 2 Drone. This new labyrinth was created at the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont by a local scout for her Eagle Scout project. The scout designed the labyrinth layout, and with the help of her troop, cleared, tilled, and placed the logs. This photo was taken as the project was completed.
6. “Fall Beauty in Aspen” by Laura Mark
October 1, 2023. iPhone 13 Plus. This picture was taken at the John Denver Sanctuary in Aspen, Colorado.
7. “Seaside Splendor” by Chloë-Ester K. Cook
May 28, 2023. Nikon L35 AF, Ektar 100 Film. This was taken at the Calanque d’En Vau in the Calanques National Park outside of Cassis, France, with my partner on my first-ever European trip. Calanques are beautiful steep-walled inlets of the Mediterranean Sea—and they’re worth every step of the slick, sharp, sweaty hike it takes to get there.
8. “A Few of My Favorite Things!” by Bill Shaw
January 7, 2023. Canon EOS 6D, EF50mm lens. Depicting my wife with a few of her favorite things. Raindrops on roses, bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens!
9. “Bonfire at Bagatelle” by Mike Powers
October 28, 2023. iPhone 13 Pro. The full moon rises over a majestic bonfire marking the end of a perfect fall day in Albemarle County, as teens relax while keeping an eye on social media feeds.
10. “Ferry to Vinalhaven” by Forest Veerhoff
August 21, 2023. Canon Rebel 2000, Portra 160 Film. I took this photo on a backpacking trip in Maine this summer. We began our journey here on a ferry to the island of Vinalhaven. I captured this moment because I was drawn to how each subject is in their own world, some of them even ignoring the beauty around them. We see here a sense of wanderlust and adventure and a question of who these people are and where they are going.
Our judges:
Ézé Amos is a documentary photographer and photojournalist who immigrated to Charlottesville from Nigeria in 2008, and now captures the unique spirit and energy of our city. His many photo projects include Cville People Everyday, Cville Porch Portraits, Witnessing Resistance, and his most recent and ongoing project, The Story of Us “Reclaiming The Narrative of #Charlottesville Through Storytelling and Portraits of Community Resilience.” Amos is also an affiliate photographer with numerous national and international media organizations, and his work has been featured by The New York Times, Getty Images, NPR, AP, CNN, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker, among others. Amos’ photo of the melting of Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee statue made Time magazine’s Top 100 Photos of 2023.
Stacey Evans is the imaging specialist and project coordinator at the University of Virginia Library Digital Production Group. She has over 25 years of experience as an artist, educator, and professional photographer, and her work has been published, exhibited, and collected nationally. Her art practice focuses on the intersection of the built environment and nature through topographic photography from moving vehicles. She previously taught workshops on digital photography through the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Piedmont Virginia Community College, and now privately. Evans graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a bachelor of fine arts in photography.