Air Force Services Activity announces 2017 Photo Contest winners

  • Published
  • By Steve Warns
  • AFIMSC Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Five photographers recently won their respective categories in the 2017 Air Force Photo Contest, sponsored by the Air Force Services Activity.

“More than 2,000 entries were submitted and judged by a panel of photography experts,” said Darlene Johnson, AFSVA community and leisure branch chief.

Entrants submitted up to two original images. Gift cards were awarded to the top three winners in each category with first place winning $300; second place, $200; and third, $100.

First place winners in each category were Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany (adult accomplished); Maj. William Hildebrand, Hill Air Force Base, Utah (adult novice); John Bleichroth, Royal Air Force Base Alconbury, England (youth 13-17 years); Dawson Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (youth 9-12 years); and Ava Overton, Fairchild AFB, Washington (youth 6-8 years).

The photo contest, part of the AFSVA arts and crafts program, allows Airmen and their families to share their creative abilities with others, said Jon Grammer, AFSVA director of programs.

This year’s theme “Travel Destinations” showcased the photographers’ talent, and in Maj. Hildebrand’s case, readiness, and resilience.

Hildebrand, a range threat program manager, has been taking pictures for five years on his digital single lens reflex camera.  His winning photo “Malian Boy” was taken while he was deployed to Mali with the United Nations as a Peacekeeper for the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization in a country that is regarded as the deadliest U.N. mission in the world.

“I had traveled to Mopti, Mali, from my base of operations in Timbuktu, Mali,” Hildebrand said. “I was invited onto a rooftop to gain situational awareness of the area. After my area reconnaissance, I traveled back to my vehicle through the kitchen where my contact’s child was getting some water. That's when I took the photo. The sun light coming in through the unkempt roof and the smoke from the kitchen is what created the effects on the light.”

When Hildebrand talks about his deployments, he finds his photographs aid and enhance his experiences.

“It’s hard to explain to people back home what life and the mission is like, and photography for me is the easiest way to start,” he said. “Talking about deployments and what transpired is important for coping and resilience.”

Snyder, a photojournalist with the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, has been taking pictures since high school, but it wasn’t until he joined the Air Force that he began to hone his craft.

Snyder’s winning entry “Icelandic Light Show” came when he was TDY to Iceland to cover the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Airmen participating in the Northern Challenge. He set up his camera in a national park and started taking photographs from 10 p.m.-5 a.m.

“My first duty station was Eielson AFB, Alaska, so I had a lot of practice photographing the aurora borealis,” Snyder said. “During my trip around Iceland, I would check the aurora activity level every day, but it wasn't until my last day there it was going to be active and a clear sky.”

Being a photojournalist in the Air Force, Snyder says he’s fortunate to be able to tell the Air Force’s story of resilience through his lens.

“I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have without the many friends and mentors along the way,” Snyder said. “The camaraderie in both the civilian and military photography community is amazing.”

To view the winning entries, click here.