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BRATTLEBORO -- Brattleboro Union High School graduate Kayla Rice has a story to tell.
Rice, who is a photojournalist and anthropology major at Syracuse University, says she wants her photos to be more than pretty pictures.
Ideally, she said, the snapshot of a moment in time tells you a little bit about the subject's past and makes you wonder about the future.
And now one of her photographs could be the inspiration for a short film by Hollywood director Ron Howard, or another filmmaker.
Rice has been named a finalist in an online competition hosted by Canon.
The Long Live Imagination contest encourages photographers to submit photos that tell a story and could be used as a jumping
There are 10 themes, including mood, goal, obstacle and time.
Rice's photo was entered in the "backstory" category.
"I like the idea of taking an image and making a film out of it," said Rice. "There are usually different ways in interpreting shots."
The winners are chosen by the number of online votes and people are allowed to vote once daily for their favorites.
The photo Rice entered in the competition, "Pause," was taken this winter at a nighttime skiing center in New York.
The photo shows a snowboarder who had just fallen.
He looks discouraged, Rice explained, but at the same time determined to get back up.
"We were shooting a lot
Rice said a professional photographer who was critiquing the photos agreed.
Many of the photographers that day were taking sun splashed shots of children and families enjoying the slopes and Rice said her darker photo caught the attention of another photographer.
"It was tough day and he didn't like a lot of my shots," she said. "But he was raving about the nighttime ones and I knew then I has some good ones."
As a photojournalist major, Rice said she has been learning about using her eye to catch an image that can tell a story.
That night, on the ski mountain, she saw more than a single snowboarder who was getting back to his feet.
"He looks determined," Rice said. "I think there are a lot of ways of looking at it."
Rice graduated from BUHS, interned at the Reformer last year, and is now a senior at Syracuse.
A friend encouraged her to enter a photo in the Canon contests and she decided to give it a shot.
Now she is one of 30 photographers from across the country who have a chance of having their work interpreted by a filmmaker.
"When you go to a location you want your picture to tell a story," she said. "You want your images to say something. You want them to be more than just a pretty picture."
To vote online go to www.longliveimagination.com/gallery/backstory.
Click on "Finalists" and Rice's photo of a snowboarder is down toward the bottom.
Votes will be accepted until Sept. 24.
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or at 802-254-2311 ext. 279. Follow Howard @HowardReformer.
