Pro Grand Prize Winner Kent Miller
Congratulations Kent Miller, Grand Prize winner!
Kent Miller of Bay City, Michigan has been awarded the Grand Prize in the Pure Michigan Photography Pro’s Competition. He was one of ten photographers from across the nation that competed for a $5000 cash prize by photographing in specific designated locations across the state. Kent photographed the Flint area.
“These photos help us tell Flint’s story and they show the Flint community is so much more than how it is perceived by many,” said Jerry Preston, President of the Flint Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’re excited that the photos of the Flint and Genesee County area won this contest. We appreciate photographer Kent Miller’s work and are looking forward to using them to help promote our area.”
The purpose of this photography competition was to capture stunning travel and scenic images of Michigan to promote, support and drive tourism in the State of Michigan and to further enhance the Pure Michigan tourism campaign. The mission of the Pure Michigan Photography Competition is to create an outstanding opportunity for photographers and Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB’s). Each year, for four consecutive years, the photo competition will focus on one distinct season. This year was our beautiful spring.
Kent Miller, contest photographer for the Flint and Genesee County area
Kent Miller holds a master’s degree in communication and multimedia from Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan. Miller is an assistant professor of photojournalism/new media at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Previous to this position, he served as staff photographer and intern adviser at The Flint Journal, photo editor at The Bay City Times. Miller’s photography has been published in numerous magazines, including Newsweek and People; in newspapers, including The New York Times, The Detroit Free Press, and The Flint Journal; and in books, including Tall Ships, A Day in the Life of Bay County and Jackson24.
He has given presentations on the subject of photography to the Society of Professional Journalists, the Michigan Press Association, and the Michigan Community College Press Association. Miller has also exhibited photographs in numerous venues in Mid-Michigan.
Website: www.kentmiller.com
Blog: www.blog.kentmiller.com
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- A Classic Time – Jessica Wang, 11, of East Lansing and Pamela Timmons of Bath, enjoy a 1932 Stutz DV-32 at the Alfred P. Sloan Museum, 1221 E. Kearsley Street in Flint. Historic automobiles and hands-on science are major features of the Sloan Museum. The Pierson Automotive Gallery presents major automotive exhibits featuring vehicles from the Sloan fleet of over 80 Flint-built automobiles.
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- A Whiting Smile – At the Whiting Auditorium in Flint, Julie Van Dyke of Lapeer, photographs her great nephew, Drew, 4, just after Baker College held its spring commencement.
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- Bathing Twinkles – Charity Bukoski of Ortonville sparys Twinkles, a Paint Welsh pony, after her daughter, Sandrah Bukoski, 9, right, competed in the Genesee County Horse Association open show series at the Genesee County Fairgrounds.
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- Beach Flip Fun – Ishmel Tyler, 12, flips his brother Malik Tyler, 13, both of Flint, into the water on Mott Lake at Bluebell Beach in Genesee County
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- Bigger-Than-Life Art – A visitor to the Flint Institute of Arts views a painting titled, “Father to Son,” by Bryan Leboeuf. The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 7,500 works of art, many of which are by renowned artists from the past and present. In addition to installations of the permanent collection, eight to ten special exhibitions are scheduled each year. The FIA serves over 120,000 visitors annually.
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- Bonding on the Lake – A father and son enjoy the atmosphere at Mott Lake near Flint while taking a break from fishing.
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- Children's Museum – The Flint Children’s Museum is home to many fun activities for children of all ages.
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- Comedy Club – Janell Howell, center, and her date, Brett Klosterman, right, both of Flint, laugh hysterically at the jokes of comedian Mark Poolos at the Holly Hotel Comedy Club. At far left is Tera Poag who was celebrating her 30th birthday with her family.
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- Coming of Age – A young whitetail deer buck pauses while feeding in a meadow at For-Mar Nature Preserve in Burton.
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- Famers Market – Jessie Wood of Bay City smells tomatoes before purchasing them at the Flint Farmers Market. The market is open Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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- Fishing Derby – Anglers enjoy the 5th Annual Kids Fishing Derby held at Buegill Boat Launch in Genesee County. The event was free to the public. Fishing gear and expert help was provided.
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- Flint Night Lights – Arches light up downtown Flint on Saginaw Street during a warm spring evening.
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- Flushing Fair – A ferris wheel and the Scrambler light up the sky in this time exposure at Riverview Park in Flushing. Skerbeck Brothers Midway provided the rides for the Flushing Festival. The event originated in the 1940’s and is sponsored by the Flushing Area Chamber of Commerce.
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- Goodbye Kiss – A couple kiss goodbye at the MTA bus station in Flint.
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- Lawn Statues Galore – Krupp’s Novelty Shop, which specializes in home and garden decor, has an abundance of lawn statues as well as just about every type of tchotchke you can imagine. The unique store is located on Corrunna Road west of Flint
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- Lone Angler – A lone angler tries his luck off the coast of Bluebell Beach in Genesee County in the morning before visitors arrive at the beach on Mott Lake.
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- Moonrise over Flint – A lit sign greets drivers to downtown Flint on Saginaw Street as the moon rises. At right is the Citizen’s Bank weather ball at 328 S. Saginaw Street. The symbol was built in 1956. The Weatherball poem goes like this: When the weatherball is red, higher temperatures ahead When the weatherball is blue, lower temperatures are due Yellow light in weatherball means there’ll be not a change at all. When colors blink in agitation, there’s going to be precipitation.
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- Mother Goose – Canadian Geese protectively keep their goslings in between them on a pond at Brookwood Golf Course in Burton.
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- Old Fashioned Welding – Blacksmith Michael Millar of Saginaw, forge welds a fire poker using a technique from the 1870s during a demonstration at Crossroads Village in Genesee County. Crossroads Village, 6140 Bray Road, is an attraction that takes you back to the 1800s. It also features a train ride aboard the Huckleberry Railroad or a cruise on Mott Lake aboard the paddlewheel riverboat, Genesee Belle.
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- Renovated Drive-In – Jennifer Hanson puts the finishing touches on the marquee at US 23 Twin Drive-In located at 5200 Fenton Road near Flint as Amanda Smith looks on. The newly renovated drive-in has two screens with nightly double-features and FM sound.
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- Roping Rider – Curtis Gregg, 16, lassos a steer while practicing team roping at Blue Ridge Stock Farm near Argentine. Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted cowboys or cowgirls. The first roper is referred to as the “header,” the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns; the second is the “heeler,” who ropes the steer by its hind feet. Team roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally-sanctioned competition, in both single gender or mixed gender teams.
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- Scenic Sunday – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 711 S. Saginaw Street in Flint was built in 1873. The Gothic revival structure houses some of the finest stained glass in the Flint area. The building was built with limestone from a nearby quarry in Flushing.
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- Silver Lake Skier – Connor Brancheau does acrobatics off a ramp on Silver Lake in Linden. Brancheau is a member of the Silver Lake Ski Club.
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- Slapshot – Lara Pittman, center, of Swartz Creek celebrates a goal scored by the Red Wings during game 6 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals at Joe & Lewie’s Penalty Box sports bar, 400 Owen Road in Fenton. The Red Wings lost 2-1 which tied the series at 3 games each.
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- Snapping Turtle – A female common snapping turtle lays eggs on a trail at the Genesee County For-Mar Nature Preserve in Burton. After digging a hole, the female typically deposits 25 to 80 eggs guiding them into the nest with her hind feet and covering them with dirt.
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- Speed Racer – John Fletcher of Flint qualifies in the Dart Modifieds at Auto City Speedway at 10205 N Saginaw Rd. in Clio.
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- Stepping Stone Falls – Stepping Stone Falls at 5161 Branch Road near Flint is a popular destination at the south end of Mott Lake.
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- The Fireball – The “Fireball” ride at the Holy Redeemer Fair in Burton features an upsidedown experience at its finest.
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- Welcome to Flint – Kylie Loffredi, 5, left, and her sister Katie Loffredi, 3, of Burton, take turns running around a suitcase at Bishop International Airport in Flint while waiting for a relative to arrive.
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- Wild Wheely – Daniel Angline, 18, of Mt. Morris pops a wheely through a mud hole at the Genesee County Mounds ORV Park at 6145 East Mt. Morris Road.
Meet the nine other Pros
