Fabulous photos

Chico State’s Museum of Anthropology has selected the winners in its annual American Visions Photography Competition.

Apropos to a university that is dedicated to all things sustainable, this year’s competition was centered on a theme of “going green.” The more than 100 submissions have been whittled down to the top 25, which are being featured in Kendall Hall’s rotunda through Sept. 25.

Chicoan Doug Churchill took first place in the competition, which is open to submissions from across the nation.

His photograph of cacti growing near a rendering plant as steam bursts out of machinery (pictured) took Best in Show and earned the local shutterbug the $500 Valene Smith Award for Excellence in Visual Anthropology. This was the 25th anniversary of the photography contest, and the first time a local photographer took the Valene Smith award.