Melanie Knight of Whigham, Georgia, was babysitting for her three-year-old niece, Elizabeth Cohen, one afternoon when the perfect picture moment happened. There stood Elizabeth, clutching a bouquet of wild flowers, when Melanie snapped the “Best Overall” photo in the 2009 Southwest Georgia Farm Credit Photo Contest. 

“It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing,” said Melanie, an amateur photographer who is looking forward to putting her winnings from her “Best Overall” photo toward some new camera equipment.  “I love taking photos, and I especially enjoy taking pictures of children.” 

Of course, Melanie also had no difficulty coming up with suitable subjects for the category “Life on the Farm.”  She lives on her in-laws farm, where they grow cotton year-round. She took first place in that category, as well, for a photo she titled, “Little Country Boy.” 

“We had such wonderful, creative and expressive entries in each category,” said Liz Nogowski, Director of Marketing at Southwest Georgia Farm Credit. “Our judges really had to study the photos, because they did such a terrific job of capturing our rural landscape. We have a lot of terrific amateur photographers in our area.” 

Winners in each category will receive a monetary prize from Farm Credit. Other winners included: 

Kids and Nature – First Place, Ashley Knight, Whigham;  Second Place, Shanna Scott, Albany; Third Place, Lacey Richardson, Colquitt. 

Life on the Farm – First Place, Melanie Knight, Whigham; Regina Gossett, Bainbridge; Third Place, Raymond Brown, Doerun. 

At Home in the Country – First Place, Ashley Knight, Whigham; Tied for Second Place, Tammy Wells, Cairo; and Jean Ouzts, Climax. 

Rural Landscapes – First Place, Linda Adams, Ellaville; Second Place, Cheri Campbell, Cairo; Third Place, Glenn Crutchfield, Lynn Haven, FL. 

To see all of the winning photos, visit SWGAFarmCredit.com.