Photo contest a snap for Lake Wylie family

In Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden’s annual Shutterbug Photography Contest, a Lake Wylie family snapped their way to the winning list.

Dad Charles Thomas won first in the People category. Daughters Reagan, 7, and Lilly, 6, repeated past placements in the youth division. Mom Amy homeschools the girls, so she was feeling pretty good as an art teacher.

And 3-year-old Hudson? Well, he got a camera for Christmas.

“We’re going to work with him to help him be a good picture-taker,” Reagan said.

The Thomas family are regulars at the Belmont garden. They visit in all seasons, most enjoying Christmas and spring. For years dad took photographs when he went, and it was the one place the parents let their girls lay hands on the good camera. Then, the girls got their own.

“It’s something we’ve done with the kids,” said Charles, who works in retirement investments. “Usually we find something new for the first time.”

Each girl received a point-and-shoot. One hit the ground and had to be replaced. But the investment is paying off.

“They enjoy getting to go out and take pictures,” their mom said. “This is the first time they’ve won all three places.”

Reagan took first, and Lilly second and third in the youth division.

A train at Christmas, about the size an American Girl doll might ride, caught Reagan’s eye. She saw it moved too fast to photograph at night, so they went during the day. She saw her sister looking for the photo, too.

“She was taking a picture of the train,” Reagan said. “I took a picture of her and the train.”

The girls are as comfortable behind the camera, as they are in front of it. Dad’s first place in the people category featured the people he’s seen as often as the flowers and trees at Stowe – his daughters.

“It’s something fun we can do together,” he said.

The family pastime isn’t always easy. Lilly had to get over her fear of a bumblebee to get her second-place shot.

Reagan already is thinking about next year, and a certain flower that blooms briefly in early spring.

“That one is really tricky to get,” she said. “That would be the likeliest flower to win.”

The annual Shutterbug Photography Contest hands out awards in architecture, orchids, wildlife, plants, water, events and people categories, along with a grand prize winner. There is a general category for youth photos.

The girls, having won before, were glad dad took a top honor this time. But the pictures are about more than competition, as his subjects in his winning shots attest.

“He was really proud of winning with that particular picture,” Reagan said.

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Photo contest a snap for Lake Wylie family."