13th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition

July 1 – 31, 2022

Contacts:

We are pleased to announce that the 2022 Fran Achen Photography Competition will again be in its traditional in-gallery display format. In addition, all of the photographs will appear in the online virtual show.

Amateur and professional artists are invited to exhibit their photography at the 13th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition to be displayed in July.

Jeff McDonald, chair of the show and Whitewater Arts Alliance board member, said, “The Fran Achen show is truly one of the highlights of the year. Fran Achen was an exceptional photographer and his catalog of images continues to inspire. This show, organized in his honor, is an excellent opportunity to showcase the outstanding work created by both established and aspiring area photographers. I am always excited to see the many ways these artists interpret the world through their images. Viewing each year’s collection is a real treat.”

AWARD winners announced!

1st Place (Best of Show) : John Messley (Rockford, IL) : “Ice Fisherman”

2nd Place : Paulette Marzahl (Delavan, WI) : “Illusion of Fluidity”

3rd Place : David Bueschel (Menomonee Falls, WI) : “Mister Machine"

Viewer Choice Award : ($50) : Lisa Taylor (Whitewater, WI) : “Round Prairie Sunrise”

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically by Photographer Name/Title):

  • Fletcher Cone (Whitewater, WI) : “Tranquility of Mind”

  • Gary Galger (Madison, WI) : “Childhood Dreams”

  • Paulette Marzahl (Delavan, WI) : “Time Travel”

  • James Meldrum (Beloit, WI) : “Summer Afternoon”

  • John Messley (Rockford, IL) : “Trestle”

  • Karl Mohr (Machesney Park, IL) : “Baltic Mill”

  • Karl Mohr (Machesney Park, IL) : “Horse Drawn Combine”

  • Karl Mohr (Machesney Park, IL) : "Rock Cut Kestrel"

  • Howard Rothstein (Whitewater, WI) : “Indigo Bunting”

  • Howard Rothstein (Whitewater, WI) : "Trillium Studio Portrait"

John Messley - 1st Place (Best in Show)

Paulette Marzahl - 2nd Place

David Bueschel - 3rd Place

Lisa Taylor - Viewer’s Choice

Fletcher Crone - Honorable Mention

Paulette Marzahl - Honorable Mention

John Messley - Honorable Mention

Karl Mohr - Honorable Mention

Howard Rothstein - Honorable Mention

Gary Galger - Honorable Mention

James E. Meldrum - Honorable Mention

Karl Mohr - Honorable Mention

Karl Mohr - Honorable Mention

Howard Rothstein - Honorable Mention

Fran Achen  |  1916 - 2004

The Whitewater Arts Alliance honors Fran Achen's contribution to Whitewater by sponsoring the Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition and Show.

Fran Achen was a longtime Whitewater resident, teacher, and local photographer. He is most remembered for his photographic collection which chronicles the history of Whitewater.

Born in Kenosha in 1916, his interest in photography began after high school. He spent almost two years delivering cars for the Nash automobile factory. "It seemed like such fun to explore America, so that started my interest in photography and geography, which became my major in college," he said.

In 1938, when Fran enrolled at Whitewater State Teachers College, it was the first year enrollment went over one thousand. Fran remembered being the last one to register, making the enrollment that year 1,008 students. While an undergraduate student at the college, he served as a photographer for both the Royal Purple and the former Minneiska yearbook, as well as working as a freelance photographer for the Janesville Gazette, making "a buck a picture" which helped to pay his way through school.

While attending college, Fran met his wife, Lydia. They were married for 55 years and had three children - Chap, Randi, and Jim.

After graduating from college, Fran taught social studies for a year before being called up for military service in World War II. He served almost four years as the commanding officer of an entirely African American medical unit whose primary duty was to recover wounded soldiers from the front lines. Fran recalled years later that the Rhineland and Central Europe campaign was very successful and remembered crossing the Rhine River just two days after its capture.

When the war was over he pursued his interest in photography by working in a studio in Madison, and later by purchasing a photography studio in downtown Whitewater, where he worked for 11 years.

In 1956, after selling the studio, Fran continued to serve the community as a teacher at Whitewater High School where he taught his favorite subject, geography. He later became assistant audio-visual director for the Janesville school system. Fran retired in 1979. However, he never retired his camera. He continued to photograph the life and events in and around the Whitewater area.

In the 1980s, Fran donated nearly 400 custom printed and mounted photographs to the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library. The University of Wisconsin - Whitewater also has an extensive collection of Fran's photos. Although his photo taking slowed down in his later years, he was never afraid to flip the shutter on what he believed could be a lasting memory or a special photograph.

13th Annual (2022) Awards

  • 1st Place (Best of Show) : John Messley : “Ice Fisherman”

  • 2nd Place : Paulette Marzahl : “Illusion of Fluidity”

  • 3rd Place : David Bueschel : “Mister Machine”

  • Honorable Mention : Fletcher Crone : “Tranquility of Mind”

  • Honorable Mention : Gary Galger : “Childhood Dreams”

  • Honorable Mention : Paulette Marzahl : “Time Travel”

  • Honorable Mention : James E. Meldrum : “Summer Afternoon”

  • Honorable Mention : John Messley : “Trestle”

  • Honorable Mention : Karl Mohr : “Baltic Mill”

  • Honorable Mention : Karl Mohr : “Horse Drawn Combine”

  • Honorable Mention : Karl Mohr : “Rock Cut Kestrel”

  • Honorable Mention : Howard Rothstein : “Indigo Bunting”

  • Honorable Mention : Howard Rothstein : “Trillium Studio Portrait”

  • Viewer’s Choice : Lisa Taylor : “Round Prairie Sunrise”

12th Annual (2021) Awards

  • 1st Place (Best of Show) : Karl Mohr : "Bewildered Eagle"

  • 2nd Place : Paulette Marzahl - "A Frigid Dawn Breaks"

  • 3rd Place : David Bueschel - "Safe at Home"

  • Outstanding Youth : Fletcher Crone - "Solitude"

  • Honorable Mention : Everett Long : "Holiday Cactus Closeup (Sclumbergera)"

  • Honorable Mention : Paulette Marzahl : "Power To The People"

  • Honorable Mention : James E Meldrum : "Old Soldier"

  • Honorable Mention : James E Meldrum : "Summer Echo"

  • Honorable Mention : John Messley : "Middle Earth Door"

  • Honorable Mention : Bernie Newman : "Rainforest"

  • Honorable Mention : Bernie Newman : "Spectrum"

  • Honorable Mention : Michael Nowotny : "The Driver"

  • Honorable Mention : Phyllis Stokes : "Courthouse Ceiling"

  • Honorable Mention : Phyliss Stokes : "Fancy Fence"

  • Honorable Mention : Phyliss Stokes : "Lizard on Face"

11th Annual (2020) Awards

  • Best of Show - Ellen Mecca : "Time"

  • Youth/Teen - 1st Place : Leo Strand : “Grazing at Dawn”

  • Youth/Teen - 2nd Place : Crystal Chan : “The Perching Dragonfly”

  • Youth/Teen - 3rd Place : Leo Strand : “Pumpkins for Lunch”

  • Youth/Teen - Honorable Mention : Crystal Chan : “The Forlorn Nymph”

  • Amateur 1st Place - Phyliss Stokes : “Blue Shoes”

  • Amateur 2nd Place - Christine C. Hayes : “Moroccan Artist”

  • Amateur 3rd Place - David Yochum : “Depot #2”

  • Amateur Honorable Mention - Phyliss Stokes : “Tea Time”

  • Amateur Honorable Mention - Sandy Ott : “Sunflowers”

  • Amateur Honorable Mention - Patricia Knox : “Cycling Sister”

  • Amateur Honorable Mention - Phyliss Stokes : “Three Hands”

  • Accomplished 1st Place - Chappy Achen : “Rattlesnake Bluff”

  • Accomplished 2nd Place - David Bueschel : “White Pigeon”

  • Accomplished 3rd Place - William Eklund : “Otter Creek”

  • Accomplished Honorable Mention - Robert Buell : “Remote Church Iceland”

  • Accomplished Honorable Mention - Everett Long : “Purple-Eared Green Hummingbird”

  • Accomplished Honorable Mention - Gary Galger : “Linear Reflection”

  • Accomplished Honorable Mention - William Eklund : “Faithless”

  • Viewers’ Choice - Phyliss Stokes : “Blue Shoes“

10th Annual (2019) Awards

  • Best of Show : David Bueschel : "Once a Farm"

  • Accomplished - 1st Place : Gary Galger : "Desolation"

  • Accomplished - 2nd Place : Karl Mohr : "Freeport Area Farm"

  • Accomplished - 3rd Place : Cindy Vondran : "Twilight Mill"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : William Eklund : "Dreamline"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : William Eklund : "Mill Race"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Mary Ellsworth : "Spring Snow"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Gary Galger : "Geometry"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : James E Meldrum : "The Cosmic Steam Engine"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Donald Parsons : "Micro Crystals #1"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Cindy Vondran : "Passing Time"

  • Amateur - 1st Place : Robert Buell : "Winter Trees"

  • Amateur - 2nd Place : Rita Carpenter : "Le Vieux"

  • Amateur - 3rd Place : Melanie Hayes : "Blooming Creek"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : David Bueschel : "Time Was"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : David Bueschel : "Jaguar"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Ellen Mecca : "Batteries"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Jason Miklik : "Ektachrome Composition #6"

  • Youth/Teen - 1st Place : Hogan Alexander : "Foggy Morning"

  • Youth/Teen - 2nd Place : Hannah Keziah C Agustin : "Downtown"

  • Youth/Teen - 3rd Place : Cambell Alexander : "Infectious Purple"

  • Youth/Teen - Honorable Mention : Cambell Alexander : "Raspberry Bloom"

  • Viewers' Choice: Cindy Vondran : "Twilight Mill"

9th Annual (2018) Awards

  • Best of Show : Jeff McDonald : "Sturgeon Bay Light"

  • Accomplished - 1st Place : William Eklund : "Test 4 Echo"

  • Accomplished - 2nd Place : Mary Ellsworth : "Hen and Chicks"

  • Accomplished - 3rd Place : Karl Mohr : "American Homestead"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Everett Long : "Snowy Egret in Breeding Plumage"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : James J Marsala : "Wheels of Change"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : David Throgmartin : "Great Horned Owl"

  • Amateur - 1st Place : Joseph Suchy : "Fire and Ice"

  • Amateur - 2nd Place : Sandy Ott : "Barn Ghost"

  • Amateur - 3rd Place : Robert Buell : "Winter Scene - Bark River"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Robert Buell : "The Forest Floor"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Signe Trewyn : "Morning's Work"

  • Youth/Teen - 1st Place : Cambell Alexander : "Resting Butterfly"

  • Youth/Teen - 2nd Place : Morgan Janovec : "Scintillam"

  • Youth/Teen - 3rd Place : Linnea Tabaka : "On the Web"

  • Viewers' Choice: Melanie Hayes : "Fall in the U.P."

8th Annual (2017) Awards

  • Best of Show: Jeff McDonald : "Touch the Sky"

  • Accomplished - 1st Place : Everett Long : "Pelican and Patterns"

  • Accomplished - 2nd Place : James Meldrum : "Solitary"

  • Accomplished - 3rd Place : Heather Browning : "Abandoned Ship"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : William Eklund : "See Both Sides"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Jim Marsala : "End of Summer"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Jeff McDonald : "River Walk"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : James Meldrum : "Winter Calm"

  • Amateur - 1st Place : Robert Buell : "Autumn in Vermont"

  • Amateur - 2nd Place : Sylvia Linton : "Milkweed in Flight"

  • Amateur - 3rd Place : Jessica Osorio : "Dancing in the Violets"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Robert Buell : "Fall Sumac"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Rhonda Kolander : Maddona and Child"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Sandy Ott : "Gracie"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Johnathon Stutzman : "Camouflaged Owl"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Judy Wildermuth : "End of Day"

  • Youth/Teen - 1st Place : Aydon Clikeman : "Glacier"

  • Youth/Teen - 2nd Place : Aydon Clikeman : "Songbird"

  • Youth/Teen - 3rd Place : Aydon Clikeman : "Jenna"

  • Viewers' Choice: William Eklund : "The Woodshed"

7th Annual (2016) Awards

  • Best of Show: William Eklund : "Dawn of Days Gone By"

  • Accomplished - 1st Place : Jeff McDonald : "Wooded Prairie in Winter"

  • Accomplished - 2nd Place : Mary Ellsworth : "Solomon's Seal"

  • Accomplished - 3rd Place : Alan Smith : "Golfers Dream"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Ryan Ebert : "Shake it Off"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Shelley Fox : "Autumn Masquerade"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Everett Long : "Walk into Fall"

  • Accomplished - Honorable Mention : Terry Mayer : "Undisturbed Tranquility"

  • Amateur - 1st Place : Patricia Ehlers Ogren : "Bedroom in Hot Weather"

  • Amateur - 2nd Place : Robert Buell : "Lilies"

  • Amateur - 3rd Place : David Yochum : "Generations"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Dolores Engel : "Magnolia"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : David Flemming : "Port Wen"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Debra Hall : "Snowbirds"

  • Amateur - Honorable Mention : Judy Wildermuth : "Fresh from the Rain"

  • Youth/Teen - 1st Place : Aydon Clikeman : "Emma"

  • Youth/Teen - 2nd Place : Aydon Clikeman : Reflect

  • Youth/Teen - 3rd Place : Hogan Alexander : In the Coffee Shop

  • Youth/Teen - Honorable Mention : Cambell Alexander : "Don't Look Down"

  • Youth/Teen - Honorable Mention : Julia Long : "His Royal Highness"

  • Viewers' Choice: Aydon Clikeman : "Emma"


 

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