Granite Ablaze by Marc Davis http://www.MarcDavisPhotography.com.
A STUNNING PHOTOGRAPH OF SNOW-COVERED PINE TREES IN FRONT OF YOSEMITE’S EL CAPITAN
Marc Davis’s winning photograph, “Granite Ablaze,” will be permanently displayed at the U.S. Forest Service headquarters in Washington, D.C.
DUBLIN, Calif., Nov. 4, 2011 – Marc Davis has won this year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree art competition with “Granite Ablaze,” a beautiful winter sunrise photograph of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
Davis, a Dublin-based electrical vehicle engineer with a passion for photography, wins a free trip to Washington D.C. as a result of his efforts, and will attend a reception with the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service as well as the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 6th.
His winning contest entry will be hung at the headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service.
“It’s an enormous honor that I’m thrilled to have,” said Davis, who frequently travels to Yosemite and other scenic locations throughout the Sierra Nevada to pursue his passion for nature photography.
“My understanding was that the winning entry was supposed to depict what a Christmas tree from California might look like, so I hoped the combination of the tall snow-covered trees in front of El Capitan, certainly an iconic symbol of California, would have a good chance,” he said, adding, “The Stanislaus National Forest, from which the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will be cut, borders Yosemite to the northwest so I felt these trees were highly representative.”
Other judges beyond those affiliated with the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Art Contest have been impressed with “Granite Ablaze” as well. The photograph has also won awards this year from the California State Fair, the Alameda County Fair, the Firehouse Arts Center PAL Show and was a semifinalist in last year’s Official Federal Recreation Lands Photo Contest.
Davis traces his passion for photography to Mooreland Hill School in Kensington, Conn., where he was a student from 6th to 9th grade. “I was extremely fortunate to have a teacher with a photography hobby, and was therefore able to develop and print in a darkroom at school. With his encouragement and direction, I fell in love with photography as art, and that passion burns stronger than ever today, three decades later,” he said.
Davis said he’s looking forward to traveling to Washington D.C. with his wife, Annette, and children, Zachary, 9, and Mackenzie, 7. “We’d been thinking of planning a trip to DC anyway, as we feel the kids are the right age for a first visit. Now we view the trip as a once in a lifetime opportunity that we
wouldn’t miss for anything,” he said, adding, “I can’t wait to see the look in my children’s faces when
those 10,000 lights are illuminated for the first time.”
You can see more of Davis’s photographs at http://www.marcdavisphotography.com. Information involving the
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is available at www.capitolchristmastree2011.org.
Maria Benech NEWS RELEASE
2011 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Coordinator
Stanislaus National Forest
(209) 532-3671, Ext. 263
[email protected]
