Makenzie Ashton Borrego’s spontaneous photo, processed with VSCO with c1 preset, was taken Feb. 10 in San Jose, California. (courtesy photo)

Mackenzie Ashton Borrego, a junior at Xavier College Preparatory, has been selected as a finalist in Photographer’s Forum Magazine’s 2018 photo contest. Having enjoyed taking pictures since childhood, Borrego enrolled in a beginning photography class last school year.

At the end of the semester, the teacher required every student to submit their work to a contest. In her class she learned, “that capturing the world around me and the simple beauty of nature was incredibly compelling to me, and I never wanted to stop taking pictures.”

The photo was taken Feb. 10 in San Jose, California. Borrego is thrilled with the unexpected outcome of the spontaneous photo. “As I walked into the market I was mesmerized by the lighting and the rustic blue Chevy truck. Without much thought I took the picture and couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

Borrego is now in an advanced photography class and plans to continue capturing the world around her in pictures. “This contest changed my views on photography; it brought my focus to the impact I can have by doing something I love.” Contest winners will be announced later this year. All finalists’ photos will be published in the book, Best Photography 2018.