Your choice of two (2) 11x14 prints to be selected by winner from the photographers website.  Website is located at:  www.myserenescenes.com.

A little about the artist:

I was born and raised in Belleville located in Southern Illinois. In High School I got involved in the yearbook and camera club. This is where I learned my appreciation in composition and layout. I was fortunate to live across the street from a family that had a photography studio. They would let me use their cameras and see what I could come up with. Some of those pictures are still treasured family records today.

At 32 life took me away from Southern Illinois and I spent the next 15 years living between Texas and Ohio. I learned to appreciate the beauty that I found there. The vast terrain and wildflowers of Texas to the hills and trees of Ohio made it easy to spot.

I moved back to Southern Illinois in 2002. It was time to be back amongst my family. I loved being home but I missed the beauty of the places I had been. Home was home and familiar, but I'd seen it all before. Last year my friend gave me a camera they weren't using and suggested I take pictures of my family for a Christmas present. The camera bug started to come back to me. When we took a vacation together it took on a strong hold. Viewing the pictures from that trip , they suggested that I share them and make them available to others. When I finally let them talk me into it, something wonderful happened for me. I stared seeing the world around me in a different light. I started to see the beauty of the world around me right here at home. I work as a truck driver across a good portion of Southern Illinois and it gives me the opportunity to photograph many diverse scenes. I tend to be drawn to shots that give me a sense of calm serenity, the unusual and even the humorous. It is my hope that my pictures will bring whoever collects them the same feeling and maybe the realization that there is beauty in most anything. You don't have to travel thousands of mile to find beauty, it's right in front of you if you take the time to notice it.