Photographer's work recognized in association contest

Walter Horylev, a freelance photographer for Westside News Inc., earned two awards at a recent Photographic Society of America competition. At the event in Minneapolis, Minnesota in September, photographers from the Fort Worth Star Telegram critiqued the work of photojournalists from around the world.

Photos were evaluated based on their journalistic merit. Horylev earned a first place honor in the news category and an honorable mention in the features category. His winning news photo was of the blaze at the cold storage building in Hilton. The feature photo was of a young girl jumping on a shovel to plant dogwood branches along Black Creek in Churchville.

Horylev also garnered a first place medal in this competition in 2001 for another fire photograph, that one at Hilton's former Craft Antique Co-Op building.

An Eastman Kodak Company retiree, Horylev is a trustee in the Village of Hilton and serves as vice mayor. He has been taking photos for nearly four decades and teaches classes through the Kodak Camera Club. His photographs have been a part of the Westside News Inc. publications, Suburban News and The Herald, for seven years.

Horylev considers his photography to be a hobby, and he enjoys giving his photos to others. He also enjoys judging photo competitions around the country.

His work for the local newspapers has gotten him a great deal of attention. "When I introduce myself people always say, 'Oh you're the guy who takes pictures for the Suburban News,' " said Horylev. "It is amazing how many people know me through my work at the newspapers."

"Walter helps our publications show the readership what it looks like," said Westside News Inc. Editor Evelyn Dow. His photographs sometimes make us laugh; they help us to see the beauty around us, they tell stories; they make us think. He loves to come in to the office with a thick pack of printed photos or a photo card full of digital images and say, 'Here! Look at these!' He enjoys being behind the lens and he enjoys seeing how his photos play a part in the message that is transmitted in the newspapers, either with photo and cutline only, or photo and article together."

Horylev and his wife, Sharlee, live on East Avenue in Hilton.