Ocean and Coastal Photo Contest: Viewers’ Choice Winners Announced

Joel Goldstein, 2012 Viewers’ Choice Winner

Dear Ocean and Coastal Community,

The Thank You Ocean Campaign, California Coastal Commission, and Fairmont Hotels are pleased to announce the “Viewers’ Choice” winners of this year’s California Ocean and Coastal Amateur Photography Contest. Joel Goldstein, a resident of Laguna Woods in Orange County, is the first-place winner of the Viewers’ Choice prize based on online voting. He took the winning photograph of McWay Falls in Big Sur during a road trip to the Central Coast with his wife and grown children. This was Mr. Goldstein’s first photography contest even though he has been taking pictures since he was nine years old.

The second-place Viewers’ Choice prize goes to Mark Singer, who captured an image of a snowy egret at Talbert

Photo credit: Mark Singer, 2nd Place 2012 Viewers’ Choice Winner

Marshin Huntington Beach, Orange County. Mr. Singer is a resident of Huntington Beach and started his photography hobby about four years ago. He has also been an enthusiastic bird watcher for over twenty years and belongs to the Sea & Sage Audubon Society. The walking trail at Talbert Marsh is raised higher than the water level, allowing visitors to see flying birds from above, as this picture illustrates.

To view the winning photographs as well as the other pictures entered in this year’s contest, please visit www.mycoastalphoto.com. “Judges’ Choice” winners for this contest are expected to be announced next month.

Thanks for helping us make this another successful contest!

Sincerely,

Matt Stout
Chief of Staff/Communications Director,
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Co-Chair, California Thank You Ocean Campaign

Amy Vierra
Ocean and Coastal Policy Analyst,
California Natural Resources Agency
Interim Co-Chair, California Thank You Ocean Campaign