Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Dodds | (From left to right) Staff Sgt. Andy Vu, El Monte, Calif.; Lt. Col. Harold Kwon,...... read more read more
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — It was a clean sweep for Multi-National Task Force-East, as three U.S. Soldiers took gold, silver and bronze in a recent KFOR Chronicle, KFOR-wide photography contest.
Staff Sgt. Andy Vu, El Monte, Calif., 1-144th Maneuver Task Force; Spc. Joshua Dodds, Leeds, N.D., 116th Public Affairs Detachment; and Lt. Col. Harold Kwon, Honolulu, 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade; were selected winners of the contest by the staff of the KFOR Chronicle, the official magazine of KFOR. More than 200 photo entries were submitted for the contest.
Vu took first place with a visually stunning portrait of Mt. Luboten/Ljuboten, affectionately known as "Big Duke," taken from the heights of Debellde/Debelde in southeastern Kosovo.
He received a Sony Cyber-Shot digital camera for his achievement. The award was presented by Brig. Gen. David Harris, KFOR chief of Staff, along with a coin, at a ceremony held, Dec. 16, in Pristina.
Vu thanked all of the judges and KFOR Morale and Welfare Activities, the sponsors, for the opportunity to capture the beauty and art of Kosovo.
"It was enjoyable to take those pictures and have the opportunity to share my piece of mind," Vu said. "I wish the competition would have been a little bit longer so many other contestants could submit their photos, too."
Spc. Joshua Dodds, Leeds, N.D., 116th Public Affairs Detachment, took second prize with a picture highlighting two generations of Kosovo Serbs (a grandmother and grandson), walking away on a backstreet in Strpce/Shtrpce. Dodds was awarded a SanDisk SANA View 8 GB MP3 player and the chief's coin.
"With so many entries, I think 200 in this contest, I was shocked and very grateful to have my photo selected for second place," Dodds said.
Coming in third was Lt. Col. Harold Kwon, Honolulu, 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade, with his engaging picture of a young school girl paying close attention in class in Mogila/Mogilla. He received a 16-GB USB data stick and a coin for awards.
"Everyone can take beautiful pictures," Kwon said. "I entered the photo contest to show the younger generation that my old camera can take great pictures. I have a first-generation Sony digital camera 2.0 pix and they laugh at my camera all the time and even the local interpreters question my camera.
"I was so happy that I won something. I always like to take beautiful images of people. A preschooler caught my eye and I felt a beautiful little girl is a hope for the future."
All three winning submissions will be published in the December 2009 edition of the KFOR Chronicle magazine.
Harris said he was impressed by the quality photos produced by the KFOR Soldiers.
"I'm just glad that I wasn't the one that had to judge them," he said, at the ceremony. "It would have been hard to choose. They're all so good."
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2009 13:32 |
| Story ID: | 42929 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 708 |
| Downloads: | 565 |
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