Representing ages from 17 to 70, the amateur winners of the ninth annual Star Travel Photo Contest proved that talent is a matter of taste, not tenure.

A total of 429 entries were received for this year’s competition, with the majority depicting family get-togethers and places in the Midwest. Domestic destinations had higher representation than in past years; many photographs captured scenes from the Grand Canyon, California and Florida beaches. Popular overseas places included Greece, China, India, Africa, France and Italy.

» Second place: Places
» Second place: People
» Third place: Places
» Third place: People
» Honorable mentions
» Meet the judge: James W. Brown

“This is so subjective,” contest judge James W. Brown said as he began sifting through the finalists in two categories: Places and People. Brown, a visual communication professor and executive associate dean of the Indiana University School of Journalism at IUPUI, looked for such qualities as composition, a center of interest, a unique point of view and effective use of light.

Nathan Rich, 38, captured his winning “Places” photo of a sail- boat at sea in Eastport, Maine.

Matt Kleymeyer, 27, was visiting China when he snapped the winning photo of a lone fisherman in the “People” category.

First Place, Places Category

Nathan Rich, 38, Indianapolis

Occupation: An information technology manager.

Camera: Nikon D90.

About the photo : “This (Eastport, Maine) is the Eastern-most city in the United States . . . and where my wife was born and her mother and twin sister grew up. It used to be a big Navy port.” He took the photo in early evening just off the pier, on an overcast and rainy day.

Judge’s comments: The photo captures “a beautiful time of day. The red sails complement the warm tones and provide a contrast to the otherwise limited palette of the photograph. The boat nicely balances the land mass in the background. This makes me wish I were on the boat.”

First Place, People Category

Matt Kleymeyer, 27, Indianapolis

Occupation: An MBA student at Butler University.

Camera: Kodak Easyshare M381 Digital Camera.

About the photo: “We were on our way to the Forbidden City, and I saw this man fishing. There was this haze, and I knew I had to take his picture. We stopped the car, I took it, and he kept on fishing. I don’t think he even knew we were there.”

Judge’s comments: “A beautiful slice of life with pastel tones that lend a tremendous feeling of distance in the picture. A nice, relaxed moment of a local fisherman.”