Oakland Lake Photo is tops

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DOPR) has picked the winning photos for its exhibit “A Salute to Queens Parks,” and the Grand Prize photo depicts Oakland Lake in Bayside.
Grand prize winner Spiro Fourniotis, 37, of Bayside, said he “felt fantastic” when he learned he’d won. “I’ve lived in Queens my whole life, so I knew the location,” said the father of two.
“I’d ordered a new lens for my camera and it came, so when I got home from work, I took my son (Michael, 6) down to the lake to try it out.” Fourniotis said he set up the camera and took several shots in rapid succession, “because it was starting to get dark.”
According to the judges, Fourniotis “transports you far from the city with his photograph of the tranquil waters of Oakland Lake in Alley Pond Park.”
Xiao Ying Shi took second place with an “iconic” photo of Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and the third place winner, Brian Walter, “captures the joy of a young boy cooling off in one of Forest Park’s spray showers.”
Between February and September 2007, more than 350 digital and print photographs were submitted to the contest in three categories - Nature & Landscape, Places & Landmarks and People & Individuals.
A team of judges selected 12 winners from each category and 14 honorable mentions, as well as the overall Grand Prize, Second Place and Third Place winners.
“When Queens became a borough of New York City in 1898, there were many acres of farmland but few public parks,” said Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
“Today there are more than 7,000 acres of parkland in Queens…We are delighted to celebrate these parks and see them through the lens of the community, the park users themselves,” Benepe said.
The exhibit is simultaneously on display in the panorama room at the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park through February 3, and the third floor gallery at DOPR headquarters, on 5th Avenue at 64th Street in Manhattan until January 30.
The Queens Museum of Art is open every Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 5 p.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The suggested donation is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and children. Members and children under five are admitted free.
The photographs will also be published in book form in A Salute to Queens Parks: A Photo Book.