Photographers mingled with viewers at the crowded Feb. 18 opening of the 50th annual “Through the Eye of the Camera” exhibit, presented at the Littleton Museum by the Littleton Fine Arts Board.

The late Gene Kramer of Littleton, an original art committee member-and art director for a Denver company, with numerous contacts in the local arts community, proposed the photography exhibit soon after Bemis Library was opened with display space for art — a feature the committee had requested. It has grown in quantity and quality.

In 2016, there were 318 entries by 104 artists, according to Curator of Collections Terri White, who said juror Gary Huibregtse selected 56 widely varied images by 41 artists for inclusion in the exhibit, which will be open at the Littleton Museum until March 27.

The award for Best of Show/Color went to Chuck Rascoe of Arvada for his “Night Train,” a view of the brightly lit newest platform at Union Station, waiting for the train to arrive, with city lights beyond, framed by the serpentine canopy above it. Rascoe's website says he mostly shoots landscapes, but this cityscape is a distinctive look at a frequently photographed part of Denver.

Best of Show/Black and White was awarded to Denver-based photographer Steve Hirsch for his “Night Mining,” which pictures the skeletal remains of an old Colorado mine structure against a star-filled sky. He said he shot it near Leadville about 11 p.m.

Other awards chosen by the juror:

● Best of Show/Darkroom Processing: “Platner Grain Co. Study IV,” by James Sidinger, which depicts a lonely old building in McCook, Nebraska. It looks deserted and sad.

● “No Menu” shows the lighted entrance to a restaurant in a row of city town houses, with an inviting front door. By Matthew Lewis, it won First Place/Black and White.

● “Weaving Its Way to the Heavens,” shows the pattern created by a woven wood fence, with wide slats. Winn Halverhout created this digital winner of Second Place/Black and White.

● First Place/Color was awarded to Gabrial Reising for the chilly “Winter is Light.” It shows a desolate snowy area with a rock outcropping.

● David Parks' “Old Brewery” won Second Place/Color. The corner of an old brick building juts against the blue Colorado sky, with a triangular iron form above it and a tree branch framing it. Nice composition.

The juror exhibits two from his image series, “New West, Revisited”: “St. George, Utah #2” and “St George, Utah # 7.” They show mountains in the distance behind a rather dreary cityscape with contemporary business buildings that could be anywhere — a pointed commentary on today's West.

If you go

“Through the Eye of the Camera” is exhibited through March 27 at the Littleton Museum, 6028 S. Gallup St., Littleton. Open during museum hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. 303-795-3950. Admission is free.