10 winners announced for Pendleton photography competition
By Terry Murry on Monday, March 23rd, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON — The 54th Annual Open Regional Exhibition opened at the Pendleton Center for the Arts on March 12 with an awards ceremony that recognized photographs by 10 regional artists. Every other year the event is limited to the medium of photography, and the works that rose to the top beat out more than one hundred other submissions.
Judge Susan Seubert of Portland and Maui brought a wealth of photography experience to this year’s event. Seubert’s work spans both the contemporary art world and commercial photography. Her commercial work has earned her awards from the North American Travel Journalists Association, and she is a recent recipient of a Life Magazine Alfred Eisenstaedt Award. She is a National Geographic Photography Expert and travels with the National Geographic Expeditions aboard their ships.
Seubert awarded Best in Show to a landscape photo by Walla Walla artist Katy Rizutti. While the event does not allow digital manipulation of images, the piece, Lavender Sunset, was printed on Kozo, a thin but strong Japanese paper, creating a visual texture that gave it a painterly quality.
Richard Carnes’ Great Gray Owl was recognized with First Place in the adult category. In speaking about the piece, Seubert noted the dedication nature photographers must have to becoming familiar with the habitat of wild animals. The level of detail, the eye contact with the viewer and the scale of the work come together to truly engage gallery visitors.
Adult Second Place was awarded to Lora Elliott for her photo All the Time in the World and Hailey Kramer’s Summer Magic took Adult Third Place. Dan Wilcox and Jill Johnson each took home Honorable Mention awards.
In the teen category Ellen Hererra’s photo Grace won First Place. Instead of a camera, Hererra took the photo with a flatbed scanner, melding a self-portrait with flowers in a way that gave the piece a haunting quality.
Jaike Albitre’s Pride in Culture was awarded the Teen Second Place award, with Seubert praising the way Albitre had chosen to leave power lines that might otherwise have been cropped out to add movement and interest to the piece.
Briella McCrae was awarded Teen Third Place for her piece Black & White Light. Quay Vaillancourt was awarded an Honorable Mention for her piece Joyful Ripple.
Hererra and McCrae work with art teacher Jessie Street at Powder Valley High School in North Powder. Under Street’s instruction, students learn about studio lighting and often work on location during their “Walkabout Wednesdays.”
Albitre and Vaillancourt work with art teacher Abbey Prevot at Pendleton High School, where they learn about the fundamentals of good photography and how to capture special moments and interject a point of view into their work.
Each artist was presented with a cash award, made possible through the generous support of Banner Bank of Pendleton, a sponsor that has supported the community event for more than fifteen years. One more award will be presented on April 24, based on votes cast in the gallery. The Jacqueline Brown People’s Choice Award is presented by Kathryn Brown and Andrew Picken to honor Brown, who served on the Arts Council Board of Directors for many years.
The Open Regional Photography Exhibit will be on view through Friday, April 24. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public. More information is available by calling 541-278-9201 or visiting online at PendletonArts.org.
Lavender Sunset by Katy Rizzuti of Walla Walla won best in show at the Pendleton Exhibit
