Two-to-one Odds that Grand Haven Lighthouse Will Be on Budweiser Coasters

Aug. 26, 2008 - PRLog -- More than 85 amateur and professional photographers entered over 220 photos in the 2008 photo contest sponsored by Budweiser and the Chicago-based Great Lakes Forever. Budweiser will use one amateur and one professional photograph on educational beer coasters to be distributed throughout eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces.

Judging is now down to the final round—and of the three professional photograph nominees, two are of the lighthouse in Grand Haven, Michigan. Both were taken by Grand Rapids-area photographers who became friends through entering juried competitions. Rockford resident Stacy A. Niedzwiecki took a tranquil photo of the Grand Haven lighthouse on a June evening. “I was waiting for a sunset that fizzled out but decided to try a longer exposure, she says.  Steven Huyser-Honig shot a dramatic view of the Grand Haven lighthouse during a November gale.

Now it’s up to you. Go to http://www.greatlakesforever.com/html/news/photocontestvote.php to vote for your favorite amateur and professional photo. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, August 29, 2008.

The winning photo in each category will be printed on the 2008 Great Lakes Forever/Budweiser beer coasters, along with fun facts on how you can protect the Great Lakes from pollution, groundwater depletion and invasive species. The coasters will be distributed to bars and restaurants throughout the Great Lakes region.

“This is a fun and friendly coincidence for us. We’ll both be pleased if either one of us wins,” Huyser-Honig said. He and Niedzwiecki became friends in early 2007, when their photos hung side by side in a juried competition. Since then they’ve alerted each other to photo opportunities from artist residencies to outdoor art shows. Both just learned their work will hang for a year in the Governor’s Residence—including Huyser-Honig’s “November Gale” piece.

Niedzwiecki, a graphic designer who owns Niedzwiecki Creative Solutions, sells her work online, in local gift shops and at local art shows. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Spectrum Health’s new Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion features 48 of her photographs.

Steven Huyser-Honig owns Great Lakes Editions and has photographs in the permanent collections of St. Mary’s Health Care Center, Muskegon Community Foundation, Calvin College, and Holland Community Hospital. He sells his work online and at art shows in Michigan and Chicago.

Great Lakes Forever, a program of Biodiversity Project, is a public education program meant to help our region’s residents enjoy and protect this “wonderful yet vulnerable” natural resource. “The Great Lakes are an incredible resource, not only economically, but also in terms of biodiversity, culture and personal identity,” said Jennifer Browning, executive director of the Biodiversity Project.  “We sometimes forget that despite their tremendous size, what we do in our daily lives can impact the future of the Great Lakes for generations to come.”  

“Great Lakes residents are proud of their beautiful and valuable lakes,” said Bob Fishbeck, Budweiser product manager.  ”The awareness this program brings sparks consumer interests about the Great Lakes and directs them to the Great Lakes Forever Web site where they can learn more about the Biodiversity Project and how they can get involved.”

CONTACTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY OR MORE INFORMATION

Steven Huyser-Honig, (616) 241-0931 x22 (office), (616) 443-3250 (cell), (877) 881-6630 (toll free), steve@greatlakeseditions.com, http://www.greatlakeseditions.com

Stacy A. Niedzwiecki, (616) 550-8107 (cell), (616) 863-9139 (home/office), info@stacyn.com, http://www.stacyn.com

Brenna Wanous, Great Lakes Forever, (773) 496-4020, bwanous@biodiverse.org, http://greatlakesforever.org/html/media/bud2008imagebank.htm

Tony Paraino, Anheuser-Busch, (314) 577-3453, anthony.paraino@anheuser-busch.com

# # #

Steven Huyser-Honig's Great Lakes Editions landscape and lighthouse photography showcases beauty worth preserving. 5% of every Great Lakes Editions print you buy goes to nonprofits that help preserve the beauty of this unique region--for you, for me, and for future generations.