A whopper of a shot

Sharon Goodman came home from her April trip to Greece telling quite a fish story.

But she's got the photo to prove it.

"We were on the Island of Poros just walking along the wharf," explains Goodman, of Warrenville. "We visited this museum and we were trying to find this monastery. We didn't find that. But we found three fishermen hauling this fish."

A hobbyist with a degree in photography, Goodman quickly snapped a few pictures even though the fishermen couldn't tell her what they caught.

"I thought it was a gigantic stingray, but it was much too fat."

A few days later, when she happened to meet up with a marine biologist, she was able to identify it as an ocean sunfish, also known as a mola mola. And it's edible.

So if the fishermen were paid by the pound, they probably count that as a good day.

The quirky image took the top spot in this month's Photo Finish photography contest, sponsored by PJ's Camera in Glen Ellyn.

"It's a real Henri Cartier-Bresson, slice-of-life moment," said DuPage Photo Editor Scott Sanders, referring to the French photographer who defined modern photojournalism.

"You can speculate on this one all day. This photo is definitely not your typical vacation photo."

This month's second-place finisher, taken by Josh Cook of Lombard, portrays a serene moment captured on a July fishing trip in Canada. In the photo staff's third favorite this month, John D. Sather of Naperville uses the drama of a dark background to make a water lily at the Chicago Botanic Gardens look like it's popping off the page.

Two honorable mentions include Naperville resident Tammy O'Connell's dramatic image from Mexico in July and Roselle resident Barbara Marchand's shot of an exhausted 18-month-old sleeping on a giant ball at Itasca Fest.

The contest, which is judged by the Daily Herald's professional photography staff, awards a $50 gift certificate, good at PJ's Camera, Pickwick Place Plaza, 662 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn.

If you would like to submit a photo for consideration, e-mail it in .jpeg format with at least 300 dpi resolution to ssanders@dailyherald.com.

Include your name, address and a phone number (for contact purposes only), plus a description of where you took the photo and what the occasion was for it.

Each Sunday's Neighbor section includes at least one entry.