“NUMBER 40”: This photograph by Harold Stetson won Best in Show at this year’s “Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition,” on view through April 18 at Phillips’ Mill in New Hope, Pa.

About two hundred attendees recently gathered for the artists’ reception that opened the Phillips’ Mill Community Association’s 32nd annual “Photographic Exhibition.”

Showcasing 150 contemporary works across many genres, from portraiture to nature to abstraction, the 2025 “Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition” was selected by a panel of three jurors: Jennifer King, an internationally acclaimed landscape and fine-art photographer; Kristen King, a veteran photography instructor in Bucks County, Pa., high schools; and Nora Odendahl, co-chair of the Phillips’ Mill Photo Committee, whose members are responsible for putting on the exhibition.

As part of the jurying process, these judges also chose images for 10 special awards. Sue Ann Rainey, a longtime Bucks County resident and the other co-chair of the Photo Committee, presented the prizes to recipients on Saturday evening.

Bucks County resident Harold Stetson won Best of Show for a classic black-and-white photograph of an engineer working on an antique steam locomotive. “I’m fascinated by old tools and old industrial technology,” said Stetson. “I like to concentrate on the men and women working on a locomotive, for example, getting it ready for the day’s work or, in the case of Number 40, putting it to bed for the night. The skills, tools, and experience needed haven’t changed much in 100 years, and it’s still just as difficult and dirty as it was then. My goal was to make a photograph that demonstrates this to the viewer while at the same time bringing out the beauty and power of the locomotive.”

Best Body of Work went to New Jersey resident Richard Van Fleet for his series of moody figurative images, including a ghostly double exposure and a screen of water droplets. He notes that using a studio setting “provided controlled lighting, environment, wardrobe — and imagination.”

A complete list of award winners and their photos is posted on the Phillips’ Mill website at phillipsmill.org.

The exhibition will be on view at Phillips’ Mill, 2619 River Road, New Hope, Pa., through April 18. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 1 to 8 p.m. on Friday. A donation of $5 is requested. For more information, visit phillipsmill.org.