March 28, 2024

Picture perfect

James Breckenridge has ‘What’s Up’ photo selected for Iowa State Fair

It is often said a picture is worth a thousand words. James Breckenridge, of Monroe, hopes his photograph, which was selected to be displayed at the Iowa State Fair, conjures up that and many more during its 11-day stay in the Cultural Center.

The photo, which features a courtyard ceiling from the well-known Biltmore Estates in Asheville, N.C., was one of only 38 photos selected out of almost 300 submitted. Breckenridge traveled to the area last fall while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“I knew the theme was ‘What’s Up’ so I tried to find anything I could that kind of fit that category and so that was one of the courtyards inside,” Breckenridge said. “There is a lot going on so I thought it was pretty interesting.”

The symmetry of the architecture was appealing to Breckenridge and he applied several photography techniques to capture the photo.

“There is a lot of balance. You look at the rule of thirds is one thing with photography so you have the bottom, the dome in the middle and then the top really balances everything with the great grid work there,” Breckenridge said. “You also look for repeating patterns and there are a couple of things going on with this one.”

This isn’t the first photo Breckenridge has had on display at the state fair. He said about every other year he has had one selected. He was even awarded first place for a black and white photo in 2008.

“That was pretty cool to get a blue ribbon because it is hard to do,” Breckenridge said.

To enter a photo in the fair, Breckenridge must first narrow down his selections to four, the amount of categories there is to enter. Only one photo is allowed entrance per category with no guarantees of being selected for display.

From there, he gets the photos printed at Costco, a simple and effective printing location Breckenridge said.

“I don’t retouch my photos, I take them as they are, there is no Photoshop,” Breckenridge said.

He does the mounting himself before bringing his selections to a two-day entrance event in June at the fair. Following judging, photographers are notified about four weeks before the fair if their work will be on display.

While Breckenridge has been successful with his photography, he said it is mostly a hobby.

“I have done a few senior pictures, a couple of weddings, but mostly I just do it for fun,” Breckenridge said.

While Breckenridge is enjoying having his work displayed at this year’s state fair, he is already looking at what he shoot to enter in 2018.

“They already have the theme for next year, which is ‘Music’, so I already have a lot of ideas going on for that, it should be fun,” Breckenridge said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com