By Ainsley Rogers

Poke. Like. Confirm. Upload. Share. Post. All of these verbs have become a large part of everyday language thanks to Facebook, the worldwide phenomenon that is connecting people from Mumbai to New York, and everywhere in between. Millions use Facebook every day to keep up with friends, share information and learn more about other people. Logging on to a computer has become a personal connection, allowing people across the globe to network and maintain consistent, up-to-date communication.

Here at VIE – People + Places, we use Facebook to stay in touch with our readers and fans. The VIE Facebook Fan Page offers our fans the latest information on what is going on in the community, steals and deals at surrounding businesses, contests and giveaways, and special glimpses into upcoming issues of VIE. As a salute to the growing marketing sensation that Facebook has created, the magazine announced the VIE – People + Places Photography Contest in the Fall 2009 issue. We invited our Facebook fans to submit photos of themselves, friends, businesses, travel destinations, and anything that helped to showcase our piece of paradise. After sifting through over three hundred beautiful submissions, VIE’s creative team was finally able to choose a winner—a stunning shot of an electrical storm over the Gulf submitted by Brandan Babineaux. Because so many of the photos captured the essence of our area, VIE also chose nine honorable mentions. These photos best displayed the quintessential COLA 2 COLA.

A special thanks to all who submitted entries to the VIE – People + Places Photography Contest through our Facebook page and showed their support for the magazine.

If you haven’t done so yet, become a fan of VIE by “liking” our page on Facebook today!

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"Lighting Strikes Twice"- by Brandan Babineaux photography contest vie magazine — "Lighting Strikes Twice"- by Brandan Babineaux

I’ve always been intrigued by observing severe weather events. On the evening of Saturday, June 5th, a severe line of thunderstorms swept through the area. Around 8:30 p.m., after the storm was over and the rain subsided, I was driving west on 30A and noticed bright lightning flashes off the coast to the west-southwest of Seaside. As it often happens in the summertime, this lightning show was in the distance and lingered for several minutes. Normally, natural light and obstructions in the landscape can block the full view of storms like this, but the Gulf offered a clear, unobstructed view of this powerful weather event.

Having my camera gear with me, I thought that the best place to set up a dramatic shot would be on the rooftop of Bud & Alley’s, then frame the obelisk in the shot along with the lightning to add dimension and foreground elements. Additional elements to the shot were the interested spectators inside of the obelisk illuminated by the glow from the lighting within the interior structure.

I set up my tripod and remote shutter release, and waited for the perfect moment. After several misfires, I began to dial in the timing and proper shutter speed to capture this dramatic light show from nature.

I ended up with about ten usable images; each possessing unique colors and patterns, but this one is my favorite. Lightning does strike twice, and at the same time!