Rotary members fan out across the globe to capture the light
In March 2014, Thangavelu Saravanaraj, a member of the Rotary Club of Madurai North, India, accompanied Rotaractors volunteering at a tollbooth during a National Immunization Day in his hometown. Each time a bus stopped, the eager Rotaractors would hop on to administer polio drops to children. As one of the buses was about to roar away, volunteers spotted an unvaccinated baby inside. “They jumped to action,” recalls Saravanaraj. “As the mother brought the baby close to the window, one Rotaractor reached out to steady the child while another gave the drop.”
Saravanaraj, an avid photographer, captured the fleeting moment and submitted the photo for this magazine’s annual photography awards.
Nearly a decade later, we tracked down Saravanaraj, who now chairs the International Fellowship of Rotarian Photographers. Founded in 2012, the fellowship includes as members more than 1,400 professional and amateur photographers and photo enthusiasts around the world. They connect and share work through a lively Facebook page. Local chapters organize photo contests, workshops, and photography outings.
We worked with Saravanaraj to invite four fellowship members to judge this year’s Rotary magazine Photo Awards. In total, we received 856 entries covering a broad range of genres, from landscape and nature to portraits, events, and food. After the judges evaluated the technical skill and aesthetics of our finalists’ work, we selected 14 of the best images to share with you in this issue. They include a spectacular night photo of the Milky Way over a canyon in eastern Washington state, a novel campaign by Rotaractors in Nigeria to educate not just girls but their male peers about menstrual health, the tranquil birthplace of the Lord Buddha in Nepal, and an enchanting early morning scene in the holy city of Vrindavan in northern India pictured on the cover.
Saravanaraj says photography and Rotary have opened the world for fellowship members. “The Photo Awards enable us to share the work of Rotary members and learn from each other,” he says. “It is a new level of exposure.”
Winner
Photographer: Keith Marsh Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley, California
Winner: People of Action
Photographer: Joshua Uwagboi Rotaract Club of Abuja Wuse II, Nigeria
Honorable mention
The judges
Madhumita Bishnu
Madhumita Bishnu has been involved with wildlife photography for more than 15 years. She is a board member of the International Fellowship of Birdwatching Rotarians and the Rotary Fellowship of Wildlifers for Conservation. A past president of the Rotary E-Club of Melbourne, Australia, she currently lives in Kolkata, India.
Tami Phillippi
Tami Phillippi is the owner of a picture framing business in Eagan, Minnesota. She worked briefly as a news reporter and photographer and moved into similar corporate work before striking out on her own. Phillippi is a member of the Rotary Club of Eagan.
Lára Stefánsdóttir
Lára Stefánsdóttir is a headmaster in an upper secondary school in Ólafsfjördur, Iceland. She holds an MFA in art photography and enjoys photographing forms in nature such as the northern lights, cliffs, stones, and landscapes. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Ólafsfjördur.
Shankar Subramanian
Shankar Subramanian has pursued photography for 20 years and won several international awards. He is the founder of the photography company Pixel Hearts and a member of the Rotary Club of Bangalore Rajmahal Vilas, India.
This story originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.
Get ready for your close-up!
The next edition of Rotary magazine’s photo contest will open in October.