Contrast between ballerina, concrete tunnel wins photo contest
Bev Hosticka's fascination with photography was ignited when, as a child, she watched her father shoot and process film.
"I always used to think it was fun. He'd bring me back to the dark room," she said. "He actually was a newspaper photographer."
The late Brian Hodge worked for Pioneer Press on the North Shore, she said. He sometimes would press his young daughter into service as a model, asking her to slurp from a drinking fountain or run gleefully along a garden path.
"One time, he made me run back and forth for an hour," Hosticka said, laughing.
Now, the West Chicago resident takes her own photos, and many of the subjects of her compositions are people. And often the people she captures on film include her nine children, who range in age from 7 to 22.
Among her progeny are a gymnast, a chef, a writer and several baseball players. Her 13-year-old daughter, Autum, has been dancing since she was 5 years old and aspires to a career in ballet. She will be an eighth-grader at Leman Middle School in West Chicago this fall.
"Her dream is to dance with the New York City Ballet," Hosticka said. "She's quite dedicated. She dances six days a week."
Hosticka decided to create a photo portrait of Autum one day last winter.
"It was in the middle of February. It was so cold outside," she said. The two ducked into a tunnel while seeking a suitable outdoor location. "At least we're covered in here. There's no bitter wind," she said.
The contrast between her daughter's colorful dancewear and the cold concrete surroundings prompted Hosticka to shoot a few frames right there in the temporary shelter.
"I put it on auto-shoot. I just got lucky," she said.
The photo's artistic composition won Hosticka the Daily Herald's May Photo Finish contest, an honor that carries with it a $50 gift certificate from PJ's Camera in Glen Ellyn.
Hosticka said she shot the picture with her digital Nikon D7100 camera.
"My dad always used Nikons. I felt like I had to keep the tradition up," she said.
"The color of the ballerina's outfit in contrast with the tunnel make this an interesting photo," said Daily Herald Assistant Photo Editor Bev Horne.
Hosticka said she has created more than 50,000 photos. She regularly photographs Autum as a way of documenting her evolution as a ballerina.
Dancing became Autum's passion when she began with park district dance lessons.
"It was her fifth birthday present," her mother said. "She would always be dancing. Anywhere we went, she was constantly dancing. If there wasn't music, there was music in her head."
She currently attends the Faubourg School of Ballet in Hanover Park and was given priority registration with the Joffrey Ballet's Summer Intensive program in Chicago.
Hosticka said she plans to use the gift certificate she'll get for her winning photograph to acquire a flash she's been interested in trying. She said she also is considering taking a community college photography class this fall in an effort to sharpen her technical skills.
"I've been taking photos for as long as I can remember," she said. "The more kids I had, the more pictures I took."
About our contest
If you'd like to submit a photo to our contest, email it in .jpg format with at least 300 dpi resolution to dupagecontest@dailyherald.com.
Be sure to include your name, address and a phone number, plus a description of where you took the photo, why you like it and what challenges you faced.
The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate from PJ's Camera, Pickwick Place Plaza, 662 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn.