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FLIGHT OF FANCY
Katie Foggs photo wins 1st in state fair
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Nile Garden School fifth grader Katie Fogg, 10, is shown with the hand-me-down 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot digital camera that she used to take the photograph which won first place in the 2011 California State Fairs Youth Art & Design Expo. - photo by ROSE ALBANO RISSO

Katie Fogg’s photograph of a bee gathering pollen in her front-yard garden has won first place in the 2011 California State Fair.

The Nile Garden School fifth grader’s “Bee on the Blossoms” captured the eye of the judges who gave her  top scores in the judging criteria: “Great” for originality & imagination, and “Excellent” in composition. “Composition is strong with great color and mix of textures” was the judges’ comment on the criterion, technical skill and mastery of media.

The two other photographs that Katie submitted to the state fair competition also won honorable mention. “Beauty on the Outside” is a macro close-up shot of the tiny flower of a weed in the garden. “Lion Mane Tulip” is a close-up picture of a tulip whose vivid orange color is cleverly juxtaposed with the vibrant green leaves of the plant. The floral portrait is further enhanced by the dainty droplets of rain water glistening on the petals of the flower. These were not lost on the judges who noted the “beautiful composition” of the picture and how the photographer’s skill “captures (the) color and texture of (the) subject.”

Katie won the awards in the Youth Art & Design Expo Media Show Exhibit of the 2011 California State Fair.

Her photographs will be on display in Expo Center #1 of the Cal Expo fairgrounds in Sacramento during the state fair to be held July 14-31.

The 10-year-old budding photographer is the daughter of Kenneth and Heather Fogg of Manteca who also have a son who is artistic in his own way. She said this is the first time she has entered her photographs in a contest. All of her three entries were taken “about a month or two ago in our yard,” she said.

“The picture, ‘Beauty on the outside,’ is a weed that I liked. The tulip picture was taken after it had rained in late February. I took the winning picture of our ice plant in the front yard. I like to take pictures of bees and I thought it looked cool on the bright pink flowers.”

She took her winning pictures using a 4-megapixel Canon Digital PC1032 PowerShot which, she said, was “a hand-me-down camera I got from my Uncle Ed.”

But it was her father who got her started in photography when she was about 7 or eight years old.

“I remember him being in the back yard taking pictures of some flowers that we had growing on a vine. I asked him if I could try. That is what started it all,” said the creative 10-year-old.

And once she got started, she was hooked. “I like when you take the pictures and you get really close, you can see how detailed plants are. Like the weed – if you look at it in the picture you can see the little bits of pollen on the stamen,” she said.

It’s still early to tell if she wants to pursue photography as a profession, but she said that if she were to do that, “it would be as an artistic photographer.”

However, “If I choose to go another direction in my career, I’m sure I will keep taking photos as a hobby,” she added.

Katie’s artistic talents are not just in photography. She has also appeared in a number of plays at the Stockton Civic Theatre.

“I also like to act and participate in the summer program SCT, Jr.,” she said.

Heather Fogg said they are not sure if her daughter’s first-prize photograph will have any cash award. She said they will probably find out more when they bring Katie’s photographs to the fair on May 14.

For more information about the State Fair, visit www.bigfun.org.