Winners of the 2005 “Picture Eagan” photo contest were announced Tuesday, February 7 to the Eagan City Council.  The amateur photo contest began in 2003 as a way to attract defining images of the City and the quality of life it affords its residents.

There were four categories for the 2005 contest:  best autumn view of Eagan, the best photo of an Eagan community facility or building, the best sense of neighborhood and community, and the best submitted historical Eagan photo.  On top of that a grand prize was awarded for best overall photo.

The 2005 winners were Kelly Storla, David Kreuter, Laura Hoeft, and Lynn Field.  From nearly 70 photos submitted, Storla won the grand prize of $100 for best in show for his infrared shot of historic Holz Farm.  The judging panel, which included a professional photographer, the chief photographer of Eagan Magazine, and the City Communications staff, said Storla’s photo showed great composition and good cropping.

Kreuter won for best autumn view for his shot of a Red Oak tree in the mist at dawn at Schulze Lake in Lebanon Hills Park.  The judges said the photo had an “ethereal quality capturing a fleeting moment.”  They noted that many people see a moment like this but often fail to capture it.  Kreuter says right after he took the photo, using what he calls “a fussy camera,” the mist was

gone. 

“I find a lot of photography is luck, but I tried to put myself in a place to be lucky

because it was warm the day before and I knew it would be a misty morning, so I got up early.”

Lynn Field won in the community facility category for her photo of the pond, gazebo and walking bridge at dusk at the Eagan Community Center.  The judges liked the lighting, composition and good leading lines of the photo.

Laura Hoeft, the youngest of the winners, won for her shot of fishing on Thomas Lake in the best sense of neighborhood and community category.  The judges said the photographer “establishes Eagan as a tranquil getaway.” Laura felt her photo depicts “living the good life in Eagan—a metropolitan city with the beauty of country living.”

There was no prize awarded in the category of historical photos of Eagan.  The Eagan Historical Society, however, would very much like to receive photos that show the Eagan area in earlier times, whether that be the 1940s and ‘50s, or in the ‘60s, 70s or 80s, as long as the photo demonstrates something about Eagan then or perhaps what has changed in family life or surroundings.

All of the photos submitted may be used by the City in publications or on its Web site.

Posted 2/6/06 

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