For decades, New Times Media Group has asked local photographers to send their best shots our way as part of the annual Winning Images contest. Covering categories from Animals and Landscape/Seascape to In Motion and People, the images capture the beauty and strangeness across the Central Coast and beyond. This year, our judges sifted through 374 images to narrow them down to the top three in eight categories. Inside, you’ll find the winners.
Camillia Lanham
editor
Judges
San Luis Obispo native and perennial Winning Images judge Peggy Mesler is a photographer and the owner of The Photo Shop in SLO, where she shares her appreciation for—and knowledge of—photography with customers, clients, and friends. Peggy earned a journalism degree from Cal Poly, and she opened her shop in 1995.
Marta Peluso has been involved in the arts on the Central Coast for four decades. She taught photography in the art departments at Cal Poly and at Cuesta College and directed the Cuesta College Art Gallery for 16 years. She also served for five and half years as executive director of ARTS Obispo, the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council. She is an exhibiting photographer who is currently writing a memoir centered on the life of her sister Patti, replete with photographs and titled You Still Got Me.
Dean Sullivan is the owner of Sullivan Studios and owner/publisher of the Estero Bay News. Dean photographed his first wedding in 1978 and has been capturing weddings, special events, and commercial assignments ever since. An award-winning professional photographer, Dean was certified through the Professional Photographers of America for years. He’s worked with clients that include California State Parks, Cal Poly, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, and the San Luis Obispo Symphony. Dean is also a licensed FAA drone pilot, providing aerial imaging services for both commercial and editorial projects. ∆
This article appears in Winning Images 2026.
