When voting closed Thursday on MSNBC.com's "This Week In Pictures," young photographer Nate Rendulich of Duluth had far-and-away the most votes with 24,204 for his photo, "Starry, starry night."
According to the Web site, there were 35,767 total votes, and the next top pick, from the Green Bay Press Gazette, received about 3,700 votes.
Rendulich said he had been keeping tabs on the numbers.
"I really did not expect it to have that much of an impact," he said. "I figured it was a pretty sweet picture, but I didn't figure people would have the reaction they did."
One notable reaction was from his orthodontist, Dr. Brian Landrigan, who traded him a new retainer for a print of the photo. That brings the print-order total up to about 20.
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On Friday afternoon, Rendulich and his father, Jack, were back at it: driving around west of Hermantown looking for something to shoot.
Rendulich, a senior at Duluth East, photographed a run-down barn near Iron River on Feb. 15. The photograph, which ran on the cover of the News Tribune's Local news section on Tuesday and was distributed by the Associated Press, appeared in newspapers and Web sites around the world. Rendulich created a hand-painted effect by leaving the shutter open and doing light painting, a technique in which a photographer uses a flashlight to highlight different parts of the image.
The prize for getting the most votes is simply bragging rites. But stay tuned to see if Rendulich's photo makes MSNBC.com's Year in Pictures.
- Want to order a print? Rendulich can be contacted at ltlrendy@aol.com .
