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Spring Lake Living cover contest winner Douglas Whiddon of Cleveland holds his photo of a sailboat in the sunset on Lake Lanier after Regional Publisher Alan NeSmith presented him with his prize. (Photo/Kimberly Brown)
by Kimberly Brown
CNI News Service
Douglas Whiddon of Cleveland has been named winner of the cover photo contest for the spring edition of Lake Living magazine.
Whiddon snapped his winning photo of a sailboat in the sunset at Lake Lanier after a weekly sailboat race.
Though he’s “not really a photographer,” Whiddon said, “I love taking pictures.” He took the winning photograph with his iPhone.
The sailboat in the photo belongs to John McCarthy, who had participated in the race, Whiddon said.
“They usually start about 6 [p.m.] and they go for about two hours,” he said, so the boat was returning right at sunset. “I took that on my way back into the marina.”
Whiddon, who works for the Gainesville Police Department, and his wife, Brandee, have a dream of retiring to sail around the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
“We purchased a boat about a year ago on Lake Lanier, to make it our proving ground, to learn everything we need to learn,” he said.
While the Whiddons spend a lot of time in their sailboat on Lake Lanier, he said, “I love Lake Burton. … We enjoy being on any of the mountain lakes. They’re very pretty, and we have some good times.”
Whiddon said he was “quite shocked” that he won the photography contest.
“I was very excited,” he said.
Whiddon received $100 for his winning photograph.
Lake Living magazine is published each spring, summer and winter. It is a combined effort of the region’s newspapers — The Hartwell Sun, The Franklin County Citizen-Leader, The White County News, The Clayton Tribune, The Dahlonega Nugget, The Northeast Georgian, The Toccoa Record and The Elberton Star. The magazine, on newsstands now, brings readers features and special stories of life in Northeast Georgia’s lake country.
“With about 140 terrific entries, choosing a winning photograph was tough,” said Regional Publisher Alan NeSmith. “Mr. Whiddon’s photograph perfectly captured the beauty of the lake in the sunset, after a day of sailing. We know folks in Northeast Georgia will enjoy reading the magazine, as much as we did producing it.”