Skip to main content

Request info

Through an artist’s lens

#myOSUsummer photo contest entries capture Beavers’ summer adventures

Lucas Kopecky Bobadilla, a master’s student in crop science, holds his framed winning photo in the Memorial Union quad.

“It is great to have your vision and art chosen to represent our university during summer. That is the point of photography to me – to touch everybody with the feeling and the moment frozen in one frame, and I think I achieved that with this photo,” says Lucas Kopecky Bobadilla, 2017 #myOSUsummer photo contest winner.

By Julie Cooper
Aug. 17, 2017

The sun isn’t the only thing shining this summer. Oregon State University students let their creativity shine in this year’s #myOSUsummer photo contest, showing off their summer adventures at OSU.

The contest request: Take a photo on campus and tag it with #myOSUsummer on social media.

Dozens of people entered, and six weekly winners were awarded a $50 Amazon gift card for their snapshots.

“I love seeing our campus, our valley and our world through these photographs,” says OSU Summer Session Director Claire Cross. “The photos in this year’s contest are surrealistically artistic and could comprise a travelogue of skydiving and rafting, relaxing by the campfire, boating through glacial waters and traveling through Australia’s outback. Summer is the best time of year at Oregon State.”

All six weekly winners were eligible for a grand prize, and one student’s photo received nearly 400 votes on social media, making him the recipient of a $250 Amazon gift card. That skilled photographer was Lucas Kopecky Bobadilla, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in crop science with a focus on weed science.

Lucas poses in the Memorial Union quad. He wears a blue T-shirt that reads "Never stop exploring."

Lucas Kopecky Bobadilla, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in crop science with a focus on weed science, is the 2017 winner of the #myOSUsummer photo contest.

Lucas submitted a photo of his girlfriend seated under a tree reading a book in the Memorial Union Quad, illuminated by a warm glow from the sun.

Here’s what Lucas had to say about his OSU summer and the creative process of capturing the winning photo:

How did you decide what photo scenario you wanted to capture that represents your summer at OSU?

“I wanted to show a place that could easily represent all the beauty and the identity of OSU, so nothing is better than the Memorial Union. There are so many colors and beautiful lights in the summer here in Corvallis. The campus just makes everything better for a great photo. The model in the photo represents someone enjoying the summer at OSU, since this is her first summer here.”

What do you enjoy most about summer in Corvallis?

“It is a very nice time to be outside and go out to shoot photos. Corvallis in the summer is so beautiful that I carry my camera with me almost every day to take photos of the different scenarios that it can provide. It is also the best time to go out for a run!”

What sparked your interest in photography?

“Photography is a very important part of my life. It is the way I can share my vision and feelings with the world. With photography, I learned the importance of enjoying every moment of my life, and how to look at them from a different point of view.”

What does it mean to you to be voted the grand prize winner of the #myOSUsummer contest?

“It is a great honor! It is great to have your vision and art chosen to represent our university during summer. That is the point of photography to me – to touch everybody with the feeling and the moment frozen in one frame, and I think I achieved that with this photo.”


Julie Cooper is a marketing communications intern for the OSU Division of Extended Campus through the PROMISE Internship Program.

Lucas' winning photo shows a college-age woman (his girlfriend) sitting against a large tree with the Memorial Union in the background. She has a book open atop her knees.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *