THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507210560
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLINGTON HARBOUR, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
When 11-year-old Casey Bradshaw snapped a picture of her younger brother and cousin at her grandmother's house during an afternoon of crabbing, she didn't think much about it. She's always clicking her camera at family gatherings.
But the 2-year-old photograph now has special significance to the rising sixth-grader at First Flight Middle School.
Lands End, a national clothier famed for its mail-order catalogs, awarded Bradshaw's picture second prize in its Kids' Photo Contest. The picture, one of nearly 1,000 submitted, appears on page 33 of the Fall 1995 Kids' Catalog.
``I'm pretty excited about winning,'' Casey said. ``It's neat to see something that you've done in print.''
The contest's theme was ``Best Friends.'' Casey's photo of her 6-year-old brother, Alex, and 5-year-old cousin, Christopher, smiling with arms around each other in front of the Albermarle Sound, definitely fit the theme.
Winning was a surprise because an aunt had secretly submitted the photograph.
Casey, who wants to be an interior designer and a photographer, said taking pictures has always been a hobby.
``I just think it's so neat to, like, capture the moment. It takes so much longer to remember things, and you don't get every detail unless you capture what is happening.''
Casey said she even thinks in pictures.
``If I'm over at my friend's house down the street, her cat will be sitting in a position, and I'll go, `That's the perfect picture.' ''
Casey's mother, Teresea, has only one criticism about the contest - she thinks her daughter's photo deserved first place, not second.
But Casey's not complaining. She will gladly take the second-place prize, a $200 Lands End gift certificate, over the first-place prize, a trip to Wisconsin. It took Casey only 30 minutes to jot down her wardrobe wish list: ski clothes, two shirts and pants.
``I'm so proud of her,'' Teresa Bradshaw said. ``Casey is a really sweet-natured child. She's a very giving person.''
Ticia Valentine, the art teacher who has worked with Casey since third grade at First Flight Elementary School says she has the qualities to be a good photographer.
``Casey is incredibly conscientious about everything she takes on,'' Valentine said. ``She's got a very creative mind and has a great eye for detail.''
The photo is not only an accomplishment for Casey, but also a memento for the whole family.
``We come from a very big, close family,'' Teresa Bradshaw said. ``Whenever we get together with everyone, we have so much fun. The cameras are always snapping.''
And every time family members look at the ``Best Friends'' winner, she said, ``we are going to remember these summers with my parents and how lucky we are for family.`` ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CASEY BRADSHAW
Amateur photographer right, took this prize-winning picture of her
younger brother Alex Bradshaw and cousin Christopher Sanborn.
by CNB