“Working at the Edge” Photo Contest Winners

by The Editorial Board · Published January 30, 2018 · Updated October 12, 2019

In December, the Edge Effects editorial board sent out a call for our first-ever photo contest: “Working at the Edge.” Keeping with the ideas behind our magazine’s name, we asked readers to submit photographs that capture interactions between people and the environment and which represent boundaries crossed, lines of inquiry challenged, or barriers broken.

We are thrilled with the submissions. Below you’ll find the winners of the contest, as well as a gallery of some of our favorite entries. Thanks to everyone who shared your artwork with us, and congratulations to Jonas Stuck, Kasia Keeley, and Steve Rowell!

First Place: Jonas Stuck

In the center of the photograph a small white and brown building looks out over the ocean towards a cloudy horizon.

Jonas Stuck, “The Lookout,” Isle of Skye, Scotland, 2017. A former coastguard watch station sits atop the cliffs. Once manned around the clock, radio communication meant that the building was no longer required. It is now used for whale watching and functions as a simple shelter for hikers.

Second Place: Kasia Keeley

In the center of this photograph is a black metal gate and utility pole. The snow covered ground and grey sky make it difficult to see into the distant horizon.

Kasia Keeley, Hanford, WA 2016. Hanford, a 586-square-mile site in southeastern Washington, has been under government control since plutonium production began there during WWII. The boundaries around the site are simultaneously finite and arbitrary; civilian access is limited and visibility skewed by distance while nucleated materials and wildlife eschew blockades.

Third Place: Steve Rowell

The Mississippi River cuts horizontally across the image. The snow-covered scene is bisected by the pipeline.

Steve Rowell, Mississippi River Headwaters, production still from the film Midstream at Twilight, 2016. The Flint Hills Resources MINNCAN oil pipeline cuts across the Mississippi River headwaters in northern Minnesota between the White Earth and Leech Lake Indian Reservations, connecting the Athabasca Tar Sands and the Twin Cities.

Honorable Mentions