Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
Skies Magazine is thrilled to announce that Toronto-based photographer Dennis Benett has been named the Grand Prize winner of the 2020 Skies Photo Contest.
Benett’s winning photo features U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds opposing solo #5 flying an F-16C Fighting Falcon during the final performance of the 2019 Rochester International Airshow.
“While most focused on the four-ship, I tracked the solos waiting for their sneak passes,” said Benett, as he described the moment he captured his winning shot. “Dark clouds rolled in north of the airfield, providing an awesome backdrop.”
The result captures Thunderbird 5 tearing across the show line at nearly the speed of sound.
As the Grand Prize winner, Benett has won $750, and his photo appears on the cover of the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Skies, which is now available to read online.
Benett’s photo was one of over 1,200 submissions from amateur and professional photographers throughout North America.
“We continue to be blown away by the quality of the submissions we receive for our annual photo contest,” said Mike Reyno, Skies‘ publisher. “This year’s entries highlighted all corners of aviation, bringing new perspectives, angles, and ideas. It’s our favourite issue of the year to put together, and we hope our readers enjoy taking a look through the winning photos as much as we did.”
The 7th annual Skies Photo Contest had three categories for entries: Commercial, General Aviation, and Military.
The category winners were Alvin Man (Commercial), Simon Blakesley (General Aviation), and Vijay Mistry (Military). They have each won $500 for their winning photos.
The runners up were Jan Jasinski (second place, Commercial), John Chung (third place, Commercial), Eric Dumigan (second place, General Aviation), Stacy McCue (third place, General Aviation), Krystal Wilson (second place, Military), and Joe Letourneau (third place, Military). The second-place winners have each won $250, while the third-place winners take home $125.
All the winning photos can be seen in the December ’20/January ’21 issue of Skies.
“We receive so many great photos each year, but we only get to share a small selection in Skies,” said Reyno. “To make up for that, I’m proud to announce that this year we’re planning a very special bonus issue of the magazine, dedicated to showcasing more of the spectacular photos that were entered in this year’s contest. This issue will be available to download just in time for the holidays!”
The Skies team would like to thank all the photographers who entered this year’s contest. And, of course, we would like to give a shout out and say thank you to our six contest sponsors — Bose, Columbia Air Services, Daher, FlightPath International, Innotech Execaire, and Levaero Aviation — for supporting the 7th annual Skies Photo Contest.
