April 18, 2024

Capture the Heart of America Photo Contest Winners

By Special to
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"Wagaman Mill" earned Scott Fairbairn of Prairie City a first-place award in the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area's Capture the Heart of America photo contest. Fairbairn also received an honorable mention for "Well Worn". (Submitted Photo)

Scott Fairbairn of Prairie City was among the first-place winners of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area’s Capture the Heart of America photo contest celebrating America’s agriculture story through agriculturally-related photos from throughout the nation.

This year’s photo contest brought in 421 photos from more than 135 participants representing 34 different states. Photos came from as far as Hawaii and New York as well as Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania.

During the last week of October, the top photo in each of five categories was posted online for the public to determine the Best of Show. Nearly 800 visitors voted for their favorite photo, with the photo Harvest Time taken by Lisa Hinzman of Guttenberg being named Best of Show. Voters also had a chance to "like" their favorite photo on Facebook, with Joyce Meyer's photo "Farm Living is the Life for Me" winning Best of Facebook. Additional entrants receiving recognition as determined by panel judges may be viewed at www.silosandsmokestacks.org.

Fairbairn also received an honorable mention for one of his entries.

“Each year we look forward to the photo contest and the array of photos we receive. This year it was great to have photos from all over the nation, we definitely had a wide variety of unique photos displaying America’s agriculture story,” said Don Short, SSNHA President.

The 2013 Capture the Heart of America photo contest will be announced this coming spring. For more information, contact Aaron Steinmann at asteinmann@silosandsmokestacks.org or (319) 234-4567.

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The Heritage Area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. Interstate 80 borders it on the south and Interstate 35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs and events, SSNHA interprets farm life, agribusiness and rural communities past and present.