Two students in Bea Geller's photography classes at Pacific Lutheran University were finalists in the 2010 West/Southwest Collegiate scholarship competition.

PLU art students "rarely have an opportunity to see how well their work does in relation to the work of students at other colleges and universities," Geller said. "By sending their artwork out they get to see how their artworks are received in local, regional, and national exhibits," she added.

Obviously Meghann Sunwold, a photo major enrolled in color photography, and Gabrielle Griffin, a digital photography student, measure up quite well to their peers throughout the West and Southwest.

The competition included students from 17 states. "We are pleased that two of our Photo Arts students could garner that recognition," Geller said.

Meghann Sunwold is a junior from Yakima working on her BFA in photography with a minor in Business. "I was considering either majoring in Psychology or Art, but photography won my heart. Upon the moment I learned I was a finalist I became extremely excited at the recognition and possibilities for my future. It was the greatest feeling to know that other people valued and appreciated my art."

Sunwold plans to either attend grad school or join a photography team after graduating. "Following that I hope to create my own business focusing on fine art, travel or wedding photography." 

Sunwold's entry was from her series of photograms called Series in Red. "I really enjoyed creating these pictures because it is such a unique process. Unlike most photography, these pictures did not start in a camera or come from film but rather light through plants. To begin the process I would walk around PLU's campus picking out smaller leaves and flowers. After my hands were overflowing with my new-found treasures I would bring them back to the darkroom using them in place of film. Next I rearranged the petals and leaves to form pleasing compositions and exposed them onto paper. Once developed, I could finally see what the image looked like and adjust it accordingly. This was very interesting to me since the color of the picture becomes the complimentary color of the plant. Simply using a plant to create the subject matter provides a one-of-a-kind image, however, enlarging and showing the plant with its opposite colors makes these images no ordinary nature photography."

Gabrielle Griffin is a senior from Seattle. Her major is fine art with a concentration in Graphic Design. After graduation she hopes to get a job at a graphic design firm.

"Although I enjoy design, my real passion is fashion photography," she said.  

"When I first found out that I was a finalist for the Fine Arts West/Southwest scholarship competition I was beyond excited. I first, of course, told my family and jumped on the computer to tell my photography professor who encouraged me to enter the competition."

This is far from the first time Geller's students have won recognition beyond the PLU campus. "I have been fortunate to have had my students in Serbin Communications publication Best of College Photography for the past 25 years, placing the students among the top one percent in the country," Geller said. "With 30,000 entries, that is pretty significant. "

More information can be found at fineartfinals.com.