By By CHRIST PROKOS
Staff Writer
What began as a chance encounter outside a horse barn resulted in statewide recognition for a Washington High School alumnus and amateur photographer.
Emily Cochran developed a passion for photography while working on the yearbook staff at Washington High School.
“I’ve always loved taking pictures,” Cochran said. “I got my first ‘nice’ camera, a 35mm Canon Rebel, in high school. Then the digital photography craze hit, and I moved up to using the digital SLR version of that Canon.”
After graduating from high school in 2005, Cochran enrolled at N.C. State University and graduated in 2009 with a degree in sport management. She currently lives in Weaverville and works at Young Life, a nondenominational ministry camp for high-school children at Windy Gap.
While shooting photos around a horse barn at the camp one day, a dog named River stuck his head out and Cochran captured the moment. That chance-encounter photo was one of several that Cochran entered into Our State magazine’s fourth-annual Reader Photo Contest. Titled “River in his Pen,” Cochran’s photo was recognized by magazine staff and the art-directing team as the top photo in the animal category.
“The picture is of my friend Hampton Holdworth’s Weimaraner, River,” Cochran said. “Hampton works at Windy Gap with me, and a fun perk of working at camp is that River gets to come to work with Hampton everyday. We have a horse barn with a converted stall pen for dogs, so all the folks that have dogs get to bring them. One day in the spring, I was just down at the barn taking some pictures of the horses, and River poked his head out of the pen through the water hose, and I snapped the shot.”
“It wasn’t difficult choosing this picture for the animal category,” Cochran added. “I just really loved the lighting and colors. And the way River looked at me, it’s like he was saying ‘Hey lady, look at me!’ He has a really hilarious personality, by the way. He is so big and goofy.”
The honor came as a surprise for Cochran, who was entering the contest for the first time.
“I have loved learning the past few years more and more about my camera and how to take great pictures,” Cochran said. “I still have a lot to learn. There is so much more to taking pictures than just pressing the button on automatic settings. That’s what I really love about it, learning the ins and outs of all the manual settings and experimenting and trying different things with lighting and aperture.
“I know I won this contest with a picture of a dog, but I really love taking pictures of people the most.”
More than 1,000 photographs were submitted to the magazine for the contest in five categories: landscapes, black-and-white, people, places and animals. Cochran’s award-winning photo earned her a two-night stay at the First Colony Inn in Nags Head and two nights at The Castle on Silver Lake in Ocracoke.