Rochelle Tice, of Middleburg, Pennsylvania, submitted the award-winning image in Outer Banks Photo Contest, sponsored by Village Realty. Now in its tenth year, the competition welcomes entries of images capturing families enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the Outer Banks, with no stipulation on when they were captured, provided the location was on the Outer Banks. The rules requested that professional photographers not participate, which allows the amateur family photographer capturing family memories to shine.

The contest received a record-breaking number of entries this year. Tice’s winning photo, titled “Caught in a Wave,” depicted her eight-year-old daughter, Katie, playing in the ocean surf. The vivid seashore scene shows Katie making a magnificent splash as she dug in the sand, seated in the path of the ocean’s frothy whitewash. Tice explained that the magical moment was captured during her family’s recent summer trip to Nags Head. The image was taken with her newly purchased GoPro camera. “She was sitting there and I just pressed the button and it kept going, catching it at just the right time,” said Tice, adding, “The burst mode is so helpful because kids don’t hold still long enough for you to take a good picture.”