Sometimes all it takes is the right motivation. Juan Ossa once saw an advertisement with an image of refracted gears inside a glass. He knew he wanted to try something similar one day, but hadn't given it much thought until he saw Creative Loafing's photo contest announcement online.
This year marks the second edition of our contest, of which we've so wittingly dubbed Filtered. The theme was "Delicious," with bonus points going to submissions not involving food.
Ossa, whose entry "Thirsty Queen" wowed our judges enough to give him first place and this week's cover, is a videographer and bassist for the Charlotte band Elenora Fagan. "I could tell the photo I saw wasn't photoshopped, and that it was actually a visual phenomenon, so I wanted to try it," says the 33-year-old. "I always had in mind to go to the parking deck near the stadium at CPCC."
Ossa has been taking photos for the last six or seven years, mostly to accompany his videography work, though he sometimes takes live music pictures, as well.
"The contest was the perfect reason to try something new," Ossa says. "I entered without any expectations, so I was really surprised when I found out I won."
Congratulations to Ossa and the other 10 finalists featured in these pages.
— Jeff Hahne
THE WINNER
THE FINALISTS