By Matthew Laurrie
Assistant Features Editor
Life can change in a flash – of a camera, that is.
Perched atop the university Facebook page is a coveted spot of real estate reserved for winners of St. Bonaventure’s Photo of the Week contest.
Bona fans are encouraged to upload a snapshot of anything on campus they feel may be worthy of recognition to the school’s Facebook page. Winners receive a $20 Amazon gift card and have their images digitally framed as the page’s cover photo for all to see.
Mark Inman, assistant director of print and electronic communications, oversees the page and contests.
Inman captured the essence of how the Photo of the Week contest came to fruition.
“I basically wanted to engage our Facebook community in a Bonaventure-themed way,” Inman wrote in an email. “Since Facebook is great with photo sharing, it made sense to ask for Bona photos people could take (each) week or just share a great photo they took a while ago.”
Inman shared some candid insight about how photos are judged and how winners are chosen. Participants can submit only one photo per week.
“Winning photos typically show something obviously Bonaventure-related and fit the cover photo space,” Inman wrote. “Most photos tend to be scenic, but photos of people and events are strongly encouraged. We also consider the number of likes for each photo.”
Briana Perkins, a junior psychology major, said she took a walk one day and decided to snap some shots of the statue of the Virgin Mary near the Allegheny River Trail on campus.
“One day, I was bored, so I just went out and took my camera with me, and I had taken a bunch of pictures, (and) I ended up over by the Mary statue,” Perkins said. “I was just playing around with the different shots and angles and everything.”
Perkins noted she didn’t plan on entering her photo in the contest, but after doing so she was surprised to learn her first submission won March 8.
“I thought it would be different, something to try,” Perkins said.
Dylan Stebbins, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major, won March 1 by capturing a picture of the landscape visible through the archway in Devereux Hall while experimenting with his new iPhone. He said the contest gives students, faculty and alumni a chance to experience campus in a unique way.
“It felt nice to have my name on something that looked that nice and have people appreciate it,” Stebbins said. “There’s a lot of great views, so I think it’s nice to show that off, as well as a chance to win some money. It’s something that I think more people should do.”
Perkins and Stebbins agreed with a campus like Bonaventure, it would be wrong to turn off their cameras.
“We have a beautiful campus,” Perkins said. “Why not capture pictures of it?”
A picture is worth 1,000 words, so Inman said he hopes the Photo of the Week contest zooms in on the sights and experiences of past and present students with a keen eye for the beauty of the community.
“The shared experiences and places students and alumni have at Bonaventure are very powerful,” Inman wrote. “To have our community share those with each other by capturing small parts of it on a weekly basis is a great way to strengthen that Bonaventure bond.”
laurrimr11@bonaventure.edu
