City names winners of photo contest

Charlie Dickerson and Mitch Ridder took first place in the youth and adult categories, respectively, in the My Laguna photo contest.

Laguna Beach received 159 submissions between May 22 and June 12 from 63 photographers who live, work or exhibit in the city. Tom Lamb, who owns a Laguna Beach studio that specializes in ethnographic, landscape and architectural photography, reviewed the entries and selected the winners.

The contest was designed to find photographs that can be used as art on the city’s new website, which is set to debut in August.

Ridder, a former Laguna Beach lifeguard who is a photographer for the Laguna Beach Independent, captured fireworks over the city on July 4, 2013.

Ridder said he stood on lower Temple Hills Drive and used a telephoto lens to include Hotel Laguna in the photo.

Dickerson could not be reached for comment, but his photo of a sea lion was taken at Crescent Bay Beach, Jennifer Chapman, the city’s digital communications director, wrote in an email.

In the adult category, Allard van der Graaf placed second, and Cheyne Walls took third. In the youth division, Chloe Mansour placed second, while Deja Whitney took third. The top three photographers in each category will receive $150, $75 and $50, respectively.

Several photographers also received honorable mention.

Winning photographs will be presented at an upcoming City Council meeting and are now on display on the city’s website, lagunabeachcity.net.

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce