Local Photographer Earns Honor

Reston's Jim Kirby won the grand prize in the US Forest Service's "My Neighborhood Forest" contest.

Kirby often took photos for the Town of Herndon publications, including it's At Home in Herndon Town Calendar, for a number of years. 

He earned the US Forest Service honor for his photo of an aerial view of Lake Audubon taken in 2008.

The contest had 100 entries and 15 winners, the forest service says.

Kirby said he felt the image of Reston, showing what he called the "amazing forest that we live under," was just what the US Forest Service was looking for. The contest challenged photographers to take a neighborhood photo that showed urban or community forests.

"The real winner here is Reston, which truly is an urban forest," Kirby says.

Kirby has been a resident of Reston since 1981. He was formerly a photojournalist at The Reston Times and he now works as a freelance photographer for many area businesses. He often publishes photos in Reston Magazine.

He is currently working on an e-book about Reston, which he expects to publish in 2014, in conjunction with the community's 50th anniversary. He says it will be a pictorial celebration of Reston today, rather than a history of the town.

See more photos from Kirby on his website: www.jimkirbyphoto.com.