Puebloan wins gold medal at international photo contest
Out of 5,000 entries submitted internationally, Puebloan Jayme Benabides was named one of 46 gold medalists at the 2022 International Photographic Competition hosted by Professional Photographers of America.
As a gold medalist, two of the four photographs Benabides entered into the competition were accepted into the PPA Loan Collection, which is displayed at photographic exhibitions, conventions and other photography events. Her photos will be displayed all across the country including at the 2023 Imaging USA convention from Jan. 22-24 in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I feel like I am a small fish playing in the ocean," Benabides said. "To be considered one of the best in the industry, I truly don't even have words at this point."
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"Tail Spin," a photo of an orange betta fish on a black background, not only was accepted into the loan collection, but also nominated for a 2023 Grand Imaging Award. Grand Imaging Award winners will be announced at the Imaging USA convention and will go on to compete in the World Photographic Cup.
The fish featured in the Grand Imaging Award-nominated photograph was found at PetSmart, Benabides said.
"We were walking by the betta fish and I decided to buy a couple of them ... I photographed them and that was one of the resulting images that I just absolutely fell in love with," she said.
"Resident Alien," the other photo taken by Benabides and accepted into the PPA Loan Collection, is a surrealist black-and-white photo of Benabides' niece, Roxie Rodriguez-Benabides.
"True Blue Royalty," another surrealist entry, also features Benabides's niece as its model. Working with Photoshop, "Resident Alien" and "True Blue Royalty" took 16 and 57 hours, respectively, to complete.
Benabides' fourth entry into the competition, "WATCH OUT!" was taken at the Runyon Field Sports Complex and features a youth baseball catcher chasing a ball headed for the fence behind home plate. While the ball appears to be heading toward the camera, Benabides said she made a "split-second decision" to get the shot.
"If it's going to the fences, it's generally not something that's going to hit the camera but it is something you flinch at," Benabides said.
Born in California, Benabides, who co-owns Photography by Jaylynn, 406 N Santa Fe Ave., moved to Pueblo at an early age. She attended Risley Middle School, Pueblo East High School and Colorado State University Pueblo. While mourning the death of her newborn son, Cylas, in 2008, Benabides developed an interest in photography.
"We had a group called 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep' come in and do the infant bereavement photography ... that helped me throughout the entire grieving process, just to have those photos," she said. "It was at that moment I knew just how important a photo was."
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Puebloan wins gold medal at international photo contest
