‘Seen in Milwaukee Photo Contest’ Names a Winner

This February, the Shepherd Express challenged Milwaukeeansto capture life in our cityand you responded. The “Seen in Milwaukee PhotoContest” was inspired by the exhibition “Street Seen: The Psychological Gesturein American Photography, 1940–1959” showcasing post-World War II photography atthe Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM). More than 150 readers submitted qualifyingphotographs capturing life at its best in Milwaukee,making for a breathtakingly beautiful competition. Among photo submissions ofseveral local landmarks, photogenic people of our city and a certain stationwagon seen patrolling our streets, only one photographer could claim the topprize of $500, provided by the Coalition of Photographic Arts (CoPA).

Chad Weinberger, a 24-year-old Milwaukee native, captured the winning shotwith Well Rounded. Weinberger hasstudied computer engineering at UW-Milwaukee. He currently works with KBSConstruction and is a LEED accredited professional. This talented photographercites ordinary life in our city as the inspiration for his work.


Howdid you hear about the photo contest and what inspired you to submit your work?

My friend Laurenactually saw this and sent it over to me because she knew I was intophotography. After seeing the exhibit at the art museum I realized that mystyle of photography was pretty similar and I figured I would give it a shotand see how my art compared to some of the art coming from Milwaukee residents.

Wherewas the photograph taken and why did you choose this location?

The picture was taken atCity Hall, just inside of the main entrance and overlooking Water Street. I chose this location sortof by luck. I shot most of my photos that day on a film Nikon SLR with a superwide-angle lens and had just a few shots left on my last roll of film. I lovethe way City Hall looks and kind of wanderedover near it, laid down on a bench and snapped off the last three shots. Two ofthe shots were underexposed, but the third turned out great.

Whoor what inspires you in your photography?

I really just want toshow people how I see the worldhow the right angle and the right light cancapture something ordinary and turn it into something pretty extraordinary.Simple day-to-day things can be so amazing if you just take the time to stopand really look at them.

All qualifying submissions for the“Seen in Milwaukee”contest can be viewed on the ShepherdExpress website at expressmilwaukee.com.The Milwaukee Art Museum’s “Street Seen” exhibitionclosed April 25, but media from the show can be viewed on the MAM website atwww.mam.org. The museum offers a hardcover exhibition catalog for purchase aswell.