The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce has selected the winner of a $250 cash prize in its 2020 photo contest. The contest was conducted from mid-October through the end of November. A panel of Chamber members reviewed the entries during December.
The Chamber was looking for the best photos of the fun, frolic, iconic buildings, and distinctive scenery from Oregon’s Coastal Playground—an area up to 20 miles in any direction of Florence. More than 100 photos were entered.
Joyce Korbein-Rennie of Florence entered the winning photo, titled “Fun at Sunset,” taken on September 2, 2020, on the beach below Heceta Head Lighthouse.
“I was out doing some sunset photography and saw these people at a distance playing, running around the beach and in the waves. It was a beautiful night. The beach at Heceta Head is one of my favorite places to shoot,” she said.
Korbein-Rennie used her Canon 80-D set at f\5.6, ISO 200, and a 320 shutter speed with no filters.
The photo will be featured in the Chamber’s Visitors’ Resource Guide and other printed marketing pieces, on the Chamber’s website, and in social media.
“Joyce’s photo really captured a fun “playground” moment. It expresses how great of a destination Florence is for families vacationing in Oregon’s Coastal Playground,” said Bettina Hannigan, the Chamber’s president and CEO. “We received scores of entries and it was a close decision, made all the more difficult by the fact that we received such a variety of outstanding amateur and professional photos. Each showed different aspects of the best of our area’s scenery, iconic buildings, natural wonders, and with families having fun in and around Florence; but Joyce’s showed best why we call this place Oregon’s Coastal Playground.”
“It’s fun for me to take photos, share them, and see someone enjoy the image as much as I do,” Korbein-Rennie added. “I like shooting nature, the dunes and ocean, closeups, wildlife, and night photography of Christmas lights and fireworks. I probably have millions of photos of the Siuslaw River Bridge. Many people take it for granted, but it is truly a beautiful bridge. We live in such a beautiful place. It’s not difficult to take beautiful shots anywhere around Florence.”
Korbein-Rennie, an amateur and hobbyist, has exhibited at Siuslaw Public Library and on Lost In Oregon, a photographer’s group on Facebook. She also won first place with a waterfall photo in the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts “Where Art Thou” contest through Backstreet Gallery in Florence and was exhibited at the Florence Events Center.
“This is so exciting to be recognized by the Chamber and to have my work featured on their website, in their Visitors Guide, and in local media,” she said. “I entered several photos in this contest but particularly liked this one because of how it showed people enjoying our beautiful coastal weather at sunset in September and captured the Chamber’s theme of ‘Oregon’s Coastal Playground’.”
Korbein-Rennie moved from Michigan 35 years ago. She has lived on coast for 18 years, most recently in North Bend, and the last four in Florence. She is a recently retired registered nurse who ran the Fresenius dialysis clinic in Florence.
“I’m an amateur, but I’ve been shooting all my life. I started with a Kodak Instamatic as a girl. I loved my line of work but I needed to retire to take pictures,” she added.
For more information on what the Chamber can do for you and your business, or how to join or volunteer with the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, call 541-997-3128 or visit FlorenceChamber.com.
