Category A - "People and the Mountains" - Andrzej Kubicki Award - was won by Mike Trzecieski's picture "The chains of love? No, love after the chains!" depicting Andrzej Jędrych comforting his wife Beata after her scary experience with Mt. Yamnusca's chain section of the trail.
Mike also claimed Ania Kupnicka's Award for the Best Comment to Ela Tomczyk's photo "Freezing evening by Lake Louise:"
which read: "To me, this photo looks absolutely magical, like
a nice Christmas card. I especially like the rays of sunshine shining on the
little hut on an otherwise cloudy day. The trees in the front on both sides
offer a nice frame, giving depth to the photo."
Category B - "Mountain Landscapes" - Bożenna Pomorski Award - was taken by Ania Kulig's picture "Punta Trapecio Pass." According to Ania it was taken in Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru at the height of over 5000 meters. Are we lucky in this Club or what (to have women capable of reaching such heights!)?
Category C - "Mountain Humor" - Mike Trzecieski Award - was claimed by Andy Rutkowski for his photo "Flying on Coliseum Mountain," featuring Basia who was teaching Roman and Marek how to fly. So many talented women in this Club!
Category E - "Mountain Archives" - Yanek Wójcik Award - was claimed by Jacek Maciaszczyk for his work "On the way to the Bugaboos (2011)," featuring his lovely wife, Bo.
Mike also won in Category F - "Mountain selfie" - Ela Tomczyk Award - for his witty selfie "Not under the thumb. Under the hat!," featuring his lovely partner, Barbara. (Some uncharitable members of the club maintain that he is "under the thumb" as well). :-)
The first "Oscar category" - "Pretty Woman in the Mountains" - Bogdan Kulik Award - was claimed, this time solely, by Gosia Stróżyk. The competition was very close but eventually her photo "The rock broke down, I didn't!" prevailed. Congratulations, Gosia! And here is this photo:
The competition was also tough in the second "Oscar category" - "Sexy man in the mountains" - Bo Maciaszczyk Award:
... but eventually this picture of Yanek Wójcik prevailed:
It was entitled, and rightfully so: "Sun tanning Canadian style!"
Category I - The Monuments of Nature" - Barbara Walter Award - was taken by Agnieszka Królikowska from Calgary for her picture, nomen omen, "Amazing forces of Nature." On behalf of Agnieszka, the award was accepted by Bożenna Pomorski.
Then came film categories. The first one - "Video with a twist" - Beata and Andrzej Jędrych Award - was claimed by Holly Kostecki for her film "Celebrating winter in Canada," featuring ... Beata and Andrzej!
I think the moment Beatka jumped on that table the competition was virtually over! Some can ... twist!
Category N - "Full feature movie" - Boris Bokov Award - was claimed ... again ... by Andy Rutkowski for his movie "My legs are jello but my soul is full - Raspberry Ridge hike in Kananaskis" (25:24).
As Boris couldn't attend, Julian Castro-Rea did the honors in his stead.
Andy Rutkowski's own category R - "Reels" - was won this time by Mike, who altogether won the record four awards in the same competition! Congratulations, Mike! Again, some spiteful people were suggesting that having a model like Basia makes it so easy to win! Check it out!
Finally, it was time for the Grand Prix Prezesa - The President's Award for "The Best Picture of 2025" - which was taken by:
... Ania Kulig! for her stunningly beautiful picture "Punta Trapecio Pass." This was in fact the most popular photo in the competition, gaining the record 77 points.
But this was not the end to the pleasures of the day. After a lovely potluck (great thanks to all who contributed), there was a more relaxed, "artistic" part of the Gala, ran by Mike.
Joasia Dumicz read for us two of her "mountain poems" from the collection entitled "Idę" (I go).
I encourage you to visit Joanna's Facebook page to find out how you can purchase her excellent poetry.
Jacek Maciaszczyk showed us his excellent slides show with music, entitled "Rocky Mountains Odyssey." A nice, somewhat sentimental journey to the times when we thought we could ... move the mountains!
We also watched three films of Andy Rutkowski from the recent (Nov/Dec 2025) Club's Expedition to New Zealand (for the photo stories you can click here). From these three, I recommend the most dramatic "Sealy Tarns" movie:
... but all of them are worth your time. The Club members may also want to explore Andy's PMDKWE playlist, depicting a lot of the Club's social life.
So this would conclude my summary of this joyful event. Go to the mountains and discover their "good news" (John Muir). Keep taking pictures, movies and reels, and we'll see you again for the XV-th Photo Competition next year.
Your truly, Piotr Rajski.
No comments:
Post a Comment