The most recent photo challenge was to work windows into your photos. Windows could be the main subjects, used as compositional elements or just a part of the background. They could be a part of you photos on buildings and homes or you can uses them as frames to literally frame your subject. Fourteen readers sent in 60 photos. Here are the best examples.

John and Letty Balderas of Stockton went on a vacation at the Grand Canyon. While Letty busied herself with shopping with a friend at the Bright Angel Lodge gift shop on the canyon’s south rim, John went about taking pictures with his new Apple iPhone 13 Mini. From inside the shop, he got a shot through an open door looking out onto the canyon. The scene looks a little like when Dorothy walks out of her home into Munchkin Land for the first time in "The Wizard of Oz." The subtle and inviting colors of the canyon contrast against the silhouetted frame of the doorway and beckon the viewer to explore the image more closely. The canyon is also reflected in the windows of the door, making the opening seem wider than it actually is.

Sydney Spurgeon of Stockton photographed the wedding of Sydney Carrozza at the Delta Diamond Farm in Isleton. With a Nikon D750 DSLR camera she captured Carrozza as she her mother Rhonda King helped her get ready for the ceremony. Spurgeon used the soft, ethereal light coming through the sheer curtains of a nearby window to create a beautiful portrait of the two women on a special day.

Donn Sperry of Stockton used window glass to create an impressionistic image. During a rain shower, Sperry used his apple iPhone 12 Mini to take a picture through a backyard window. He caught some of the rain drops as they fell from the eaves but also rain running down the window pane. The water caused visual distortions and makes the entire scene look like an impressionist’s painting.

Steven Rapaport of Stockton photographed the Louvre Pyramid while vacationing in Paris, France. The glass and steel pyramid, which serves as the Louvre Museum’s entrance, is a modern structure that contrasts with the older gothic style of the rest of the museum’s buildings. Rapaport used a Apple iPhone 12 Pro to photograph the structure during the blue hour of dusk. The warm glow of interior lights shine through the pyramid’s windows and nicely match the exterior lights of the older buildings in the background.

Dave Skinner of Stockton used a a Nikon D7100 DSLR camera to photograph children playing with a Nerf football in front of the Chase Bank building in downtown Stockton. The pattern of the building’s windows gives the image a bold geometric composition.

Oran Schwinn of Stockton photographed the Henery Hotel on Sutter and Washington streets in downtown Stockton. Built in 1913, the dilapidated hotel has seen better days. Schwinn, using a Google Pixel 6 Pro phone, shot the building as it was bathed in the warm light of an early sunrise. That beautiful light helps to bring back a glimmer of the Henery’s former glory despite it’s current condition.

A neighbor’s home of Carolyn Silva of Jackson suffered some fire damage a few months ago. Silva used a Nikon D7500 DSLR camera to photograph a crew as they worked to rebuilt the house. As a pre-fabricated truss is lowered by crane, she captured a worker framed by a window as he guided it down onto the house. 

The top examples as well as an online gallery of all of the photos can be seen at recordnet.com. A new challenge assignment will be issued on Sept. 18. 

Record photographer Clifford Oto has photographed Stockton and San Joaquin County for more than 37 years. He can be reached at coto@recordnet.com or on Instagram @Recordnet. Follow his blog at recordnet.com/otoblog. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.