Commentary - Maryland 20878 - A magazine of Archetypal Towns and Villages of Country and City™

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Growing Up In Gaithersburg

Snow

By Marien Helz

Snow was a very special thing when I was growing up in Gaithersburg. I remember one day when schools were closed because it was snowy early in the morning, but we were playing basketball in the driveway by noon with not a flake of snow in sight. Snow at Christmas time was the exception, not the rule. I really like that kind of weather: Winter just enough to make you love Spring all the more.

Since then, however, snow has been a much bigger part of my life. I made the dubious decision to attend college in Wisconsin, graduate school in Iowa, and have actually lived the majority of my life in the snow-notorious Buffalo area. I lived though the Blizzard of ’77 during which houses were covered with snow and there was a driving ban in the city for days. I’ve walked by dog beside snow piled so high by the curb that when he climbed on top, his feet were at the level of my shoulder.

When I went to graduate school in Iowa, the biggest problem was cold rather than snow. It took me decades to learn and internalize what dressing for winter was. I had a comparatively thin coat which my mother had gotten me for the winter—but that was far superior to anything else I had. The first year, I was staying in the dorm—back in the time when women’s dorms were locked at night, but graduate students could stay out until 2 am. I studied in the library where it was quieter than the dorm. One night I left just in time to get back to the dorm before it was locked. Everything ... click to continue

Aurora Artisans^® 2009
High School Photography Contest

Sponsored by Maryland 20878^®with additional sponsorship provided by Main Street Café

Dr. Armin W. Helz 1^st Place Award: Vanessa Berruetta, A Glimpse of Fall. Judges comments—Good composition and use of light. Nice mood and atmosphere Nicely printed.
2nd Place Award: Lanyi Zhao, Yesterday. Judges comments—Good use of depth of field; makes subject pop.
Honorable Mention: Sabrina Szymczak, Midnight Orchids. Judges comments—Nice use of depth of field and light to enhance the subject.
Honorable Mention: Miranda Johnson, Doggy Days. Judges comments—Creative angle, wonderful to get down to the subject's level and wait for an expression that reveals so much personality.
Honorable Mention: Jessica Konecke, The Benchwarmers. Judges comments—Nice job layering; captures depth with different layers of action. Nice composition with four players.
Honorable Mention: Sharon Kim, Heart Shadow. Judges comments—Nice interplay. Use of shadow is creative and adds interest.
Honorable Mention: Katerina Prodromon, Piano Lessons. Judges comments—Nice detail shot. Interesting composition, adds interest to shoot at an angle; eye travels nicely through photo.

Judges Rachael Spiegel and Stan Alster