Michigan Photographer Vying to Have Image of Empire Beach on Budweiser Coasters

Sept. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- More than 225 amateur and professional photographers entered over 550 photos in the 2009 photo contest sponsored by Budweiser and the Chicago-based Great Lakes Forever. Budweiser will use one amateur and one professional photograph on more than 120,000 printed 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 photographs featured in the fifth annual competition — one was taken by Grand Rapids-area photographer Stacy A. Niedzwiecki. The photo Niedzwiecki submitted was captured during her 2007 Glen Arbor Art Association Artist-in-Residency program. The peaceful scene of Empire Beach and the Sleeping Bear Dunes was taken on an early October morning. “The sunrise lit the dune grass along the shoreline in a way that just seemed magical,” Stacy says. “While photographing the scene, I was hoping the viewer could almost hear the lake breezes blowing and feel the sway of the grass.”

Now it’s up to you! Go to http://www.greatlakesforever.org/node/add/vote to vote for your favorite amateur and professional photo. Voting ends on 12:59 am EST on Sunday, September 13, 2009.

The winning photo in each category will be printed on the 2009 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. The winners also will receive terrific prizes such as a tandem kayak, a GPS system or a backpack.

About The Photographer

Niedzwiecki is a second-time finalist in the Great Lakes Forever competition. Her photo of the Grand Haven lighthouse landed second place in the 2008 professional division. A graphic designer who owns Niedzwiecki Creative Solutions (http://www.stacyn.com), Stacy sells her work online, in local gift shops and at local art shows.

Stacy’s work has earned much recognition throughout West Michigan over the past year. Sixty-four of her images are part of the permanent art collection inside of Spectrum Health’s new Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion. Two of Niedzwiecki’s images were recently featured in Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Lansing residence. In August, she placed second in the Pure Michigan Photo Contest, a highly-competitive, professional juried event. One of ten photographers from across the nation who competed for a $5000 cash prize, Niedzwiecki was assigned the Muskegon / White Lake area to photograph over a four-month time period. The images Stacy captured will be published in a book, Pure Michigan-Spring Scenic Places, due out in early 2010.

The artist will maintain a very busy schedule throughout September. In conjunction with this exciting Great Lakes Forever contest, Niedzwiecki is competing in ArtPrize 2009, the world’s largest art competition, which begins on September 23 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. More than 1,200 artists from 24 countries will compete for $450,000 during this unprecedented new art competition. Stacy’s Michigan Moments series will be exhibited at SanChez Bistro & Café, an extremely popular downtown Grand Rapids restaurant. The public is encouraged to support and vote for the local artist – who aims to showcase Michigan’s natural beauty to the multitude of visitors pouring into Grand Rapids during the 18-day event (http://www.stacyn.com/artprize).

Niedzwiecki also has body of work from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park exhibited at the Grand Rapids Public Library. The Picture Michigan's National Parks exhibit opened September 1, 2009, and runs through December 31, 2009. The display is part of several local West Michigan celebrations honoring the September 23, 2009 release of Ken Burns’ upcoming PBS documentary on the entire National Park System.

About Great Lakes Forever

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 natural and economic resource and have played a defining role in this region’s history, identity and vitality,” said Jennifer Browning, executive director of Biodiversity Project.  “But, they are not an infinite resource. Despite their tremendous size, our daily actions can make a big impact on the future of the Great Lakes.”

Anheuser-Busch first partnered with Great Lakes Forever and the Biodiversity Project in 2005 to distribute beer-branded coasters in Minnesota and Wisconsin that contained information on how consumers can help protect the Great Lakes. In 2006, the partnership expanded to the eight states surrounding the Great Lakes to increase the reach of the important conservation messages, with consumer photos featured on the coasters in 2007. In addition, Anheuser-Busch supported important awareness and conservation efforts of Great Lakes Forever.