Costco Connection - January 2006

First-place

International Grand Prize: Keith Szfranski, Livingston, MT

INTERNATIONAL GRAND
PRIZE WINNER
Wild, wild west

COSTCO MEMBER Keith Szafranski, 51, of Livingston, Montana, captured this rough-ridin’ action shot through some fast shootin’. He spent six days on the Ponderosa Ranch in Seneca, Oregon (also Costco members), a working ranch that also accommodates guests, during which time he shot more than 5,000 images on his Canon digital camera to get this shot.

“I do my best to capture scenes from a unique point of view,” says Szafranski, who snapped the photo while standing on a nearby hill. “The angle just seemed right to capture the three wranglers who were moving saddle horses on the ranch.”

Szafranski has been studying all angles of photography since he left his job as a factory worker in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1983 to become a full-time freelance wildlife photographer.

“Back then, the only way I knew to make a living at photography was through working for magazines,” he explains. “I was in my 20s and had three children, but we packed up and moved out west, where we’ve been ever since. Almost by mistake, I discovered that photography shows were a much more lucrative way to sell my work.”

He attributes the quality of this image, as well as all his work, some of which is available on his Web site www.mostlywildlifephotos.com, to the time he invests in his craft. “To some extent you make your own luck,” he says. His diligence earned him the International Grand Prize, a $1,500 Costco Cash Card.