Student qualifies as finalist in national contest

University of Memphis student Brian Young is one of 12 finalists in the National Geographic Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest.

Young, a geophysics graduate student, submitted his photo of a giant wisteria tree from the Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

He took the photo in the 2007-'08 school year during Golden Week while studying abroad at Hakuoh University for a bachelor's of art.

Golden Week is a series of spring holidays celebrated during the course of one week in Japan.

Young said he was looking for something cheap to do when he decided to hop a train to Ashikaga, approximately 50 miles north of Tokyo.

Though he has no formal training in photography, Young said taking pictures is one of his hobbies.

"I just take pictures of things that I think are interesting, but I don't go around looking for opportunities to take pictures," he said. "For instance, yesterday I happened across a huge Japanese beetle on the hood of my car, so I took a picture of it."

The contest has six categories - animals and wildlife, people and cultures, action and energy, travel, nature and weather.

Young said he is proud of the photo.

"The thing I most like about the photo is just how well it turned out; the lighting is incredible, the perspective is very good, you can see so many layers and the color is beautiful - all despite my extremely modest Panasonic Lumix FX-30 point and shoot camera," he said.

Young is one of two finalists in the nature section and has received almost 3,000 votes, according to the site.

Six winners will be selected, one for each category, and a grand prizewinner. If he wins in the nature category, Young will receive an Energizer prize pack, which includes batteries, flashlights, a couple of National Geographic-published books, a small video camera and a digital camera.

The grand-prize winner will be featured in an Energizer battery ad in National Geographic magazine and win a trip for two to Greece.

Young said he doesn't expect to win the grand prize.

"If I could even win just the nature category, I'd get a much better digital camera, and maybe I could enter future photo contests," he said. " I'm down by an increasingly large number right now, so every single vote counts."

He said winning the grand prize would mean a lot to him.

"Please vote for me," he said. "My girlfriend lives in Taiwan, and I haven't seen her for almost a year, so a trip for two to Greece would have tremendous meaning for me."

To vote for Young, go to nationalgeographic.com/lithium and select "vote now" at the top of the page.

To view other shots of the giant wisteria tree, visit Young's Flickr site at flickr.com/photos/masamunecyrus/sets/72157604997837999.