Lomita Railroad Station Featured in Winning Photo Contest Image
When Brian Mitchell learned of their existence, he decided the industrial looking red, black and white antique train cars at the Lomita Railroad Museum were just the objects he wanted to capture for his class assignment at Creative Photo Academy at Paul’s Photo in Torrance.
“You are in this residential neighborhood and then, boom, there are trains there.” Mitchell said. “It’s pretty impressive. There are full-scale trains of all kinds. It’s a great photo opportunity.”
Mitchell’s photo captured the attention of voters in the South Bay Cities Council of Government’s (SBCCOG) second annual “Why I Love the South Bay Photo Contest.” The contest invited the community to submit their best photographs of South Bay landmarks. Registrants of SBCCOG’s 23rd General Assembly were invited to a vote for their favorite image, prior to the event through online voting. The winning photo was announced at March 23 event.
“We received a nice variety this year representing points of interest from many of iconic South Bay locations, ranging from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the Redondo Beach Historic Library.” said Jacki Bacharach, executive director of the SBCCOG. “It’s fun to see what inspires the creative imagination of our community’s residents.”
The SBCCOG received more than 65 entries. With the help of Kevin Cody, publisher and founder of the Easy Reader newspaper, it narrowed them down to 10 finalists. Another of Mitchell’s images, featuring the Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro, also made the top-10.
Mitchell has been a South Bay resident for more than 50 years and is a retired landscape architect. He has worked to develop a few notable South Bay landmarks himself, including Wilson Park in Torrance and The Home Depot Center in Carson.
Newly inspired by his contest win, he hopes to spend even more time pursuing his visual arts hobby in the future. To learn more about the Lomita Railroad Museum, built in 1966, visit www.lomita-rr.org. Scroll down to view the other nine contest finalist submissions.
Second Place: “Moon Over Vincent Thomas Bridge,” San Pedro. By Edmund Cheung
Third Place: “Epic Sunrise At the Port of Los Angeles,” Los Angeles. By Christine Ho
Additional finalists, in no particular order:
“Future Unlimited at Carson City Hall,” Carson. By Ernie Santos
“The Korean Bell of Friendship,” San Pedro. By Santos
“Neptune Fountain,” Palos Verdes Estates. By Michelle Jones
“Point Fermin Lighthouse,” San Pedro. By Brian Mitchell
“Redondo Beach Historic Library,” Redondo Beach. By Daniel Lefranc
“Vincent Thomas Bridge,” San Pedro. By Arturo Garcia-Ayala
“Wayfarers Chapel,” Rancho Palos Verdes. By Michael Caulfield
