JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) —  

The Department of the Air Force announced the winners of the 2022 Air Force Photo Contest Nov. 7.

With a theme for 2022 of “Celebrating Traditions,” program managers at the Air Force Services Center honored the Air Force’s 75th birthday and gave photographers a chance to share their family and cultural traditions to highlight the diversity of military families, said Susan Lear, AFSVC photo contest coordinator.

“Both the art contest (in the spring) and photo contest allow our military families to experience different things by giving them an opportunity to learn something new or fine tune their craft or skill through creative expression,” Lear said.

“Art is a work in progress, always striving for perfection,” she said, “but it’s the flaws that give it beauty. Creating something reminds us we are a work in progress too, always learning new ways and accepting that some of our flaws are perfection in the end.”

James Compton, AFSVC’s Community and Leisure Programs Branch chief, sees photography from a different perspective.

“Anytime we’re able to see the world through someone else’s eyes, it not only helps us understand them, but it also allows us the opportunity to be a better, more rounded individual,” Compton said. “I think photography is an excellent way of doing just that. I have seen many photos that were absolutely beautiful, whether it was sad, moving or just truly beautiful.

“I have to admit, I doubt if I were in the moment that the photo was taken, I wouldn’t have recognized the beauty for what it was. Seeing someone else’s views of the world through photography allows us to see things we might have missed otherwise,” Compton said.

Nearly 400 photographers submitted entries to this year’s photo contest with each evaluated by three judges for impact, creativity and technical excellence before awarding first, second and third place in five categories.

“We had a broad range of artistic and technical skill levels of participants from accomplished photographers to novices, with photographers as young as 6 years old,” Lear said.

Deciding on the winners wasn’t easy, added Kevin Watt, one of this year’s judges.

“The quality varied but amongst those I judged to be the best in each category, I had to really look closely to separate the very best from the rest,” he said. “Many of the photos gave you that ‘Oh wow!’ moment upon first seeing them and those photos immediately rose to the top of my scoring list.”

Here are this year’s winners: