About the winners of The History List's 2023 "My historic year" photo contest
Thanks to all who entered. What a great variety of photos from so many interesting places.
Background on the contest and the awards
Unlike some photo contests, we didn't have a theme. Our criteria were simple: Submit a photo you took at a historic site or event in 2023.
As I reviewed the awards I came up with some that I wanted to recognize and ended up creating 20+ awards for this year's entries.
Each of these photographers will receive a discount of $10 off at The History List Store. The overall winner will receive a $50 discount code.
More information on the winning entry from the photographer
"It had been an overcast and rainy day. Then the clouds rolled away and the moon came out. It was beautiful, especially from this location.That's exactly the way the sky and the moon looked that night and it was beautiful.Note that I did use an HDR app to take the photo due to the wide differences between the dark and light areas of the scene, but I didn't use a filter."— Meg
The "Monuments and meaning" award
The text below was submitted with the photo of the clasped hands of a statue (above). It was recognized for "Monuments and meaning:"
"2023 was my year as someone who's made a hobby out of what I like to call 'Tuck n' Roll' history adventuring: You know, the history nerd hobby of being in the car virtually anywhere, seeing a historical marker and all but jumping out of the car before pulling over to park."Of all my brake testing Historic exploits I stumbled upon this past year, I the most inspirational was the Virginia Women's Monument. As a woman, standing among a timeline featuring 7 of Virginia's trailblazing females felt motivational and humbling. I recall staring for some time at Elizabeth Keckly's hands. Examining the intricacies detailed in each finger joint and blood vessel cast in bronze. They reminded me that through her endeavors as a seamstress, these hands were her timeline—her story. They not only brought her a deeply cherished friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln, but through the cutting of fabric with those hands, the hand stitching of garments with needles and thread through those fingers—undoubtedly acquiring callous after callous working feverishly and determined—she was able to become a self-made black woman and earn enough to buy the freedom of her son."This monument helped to place a more rounded perspective on the purpose of statues, something that the city of Richmond, Virginia in which this monument stands, has struggled with in recent years. I will never take a statue for granted as just an ornate fixture in a mundane landscape or as an over-glorification again. I will allow myself more time to slow down and place perspective on the historic and intrinsic value that is intended. If you plan to explore Richmond for its many historic points, as Abigail Adams once said, "Remember the Ladies . . ." and visit this monument!"— Robin
Next year we're going to include the text that was submitted with each photo.
In addition to these awards . . .
My thanks to two people who have posted great visual content throughout the year:
- Chandra, for her many photos throughout the year every year. She often includes detailed explanations that help the viewer learn something about the historic site she's captured. They are consistently some of the most popular photos we post.
- Larisa (@history_dame on X), for the photos and videos she has posted from historic sites and about historic events. Her videos are some of the most popular videos we post.
Next year at this time—and tips
We expect to do this again next year, take great photos, but don't aim for a particular award since many of these will change next year based on what is submitted.
Some tips:
- When you post your photo to social, please include at least some explanation. When you submit it, add a longer explanation. It will appear with your photo when it's displayed on the entries page.
- If you're taking a photo of a popular historic site, figure out how to take the photo in a way that is different than the typical photo of that site. You might choose a more artistic approach or one that helps a person appreciate the historical significance of what you've photographed.
- Close ups can be very powerful.
- Consider the seasons. I was hoping that we'd have more photos from spring, fall, and winter. Of course most of us travel during the summer, but if you do visit historic sites at other times of the year, consider submitting photos that take advantage of the season.
I hope you have a wonderful time in 2024 exploring historic sites across the country and around the world, and look forward to seeing where you went when we put out our call for entries in January 2025.
— Lee Wright | Founder | The History List | History Camp | The Pursuit of History
See winners of the 2023 "My historic year" photo contest