Winning entries in the 16th edition of School Bus Fleet’s Photo Contest showcase an appreciation for stunning natural scenery many aren’t seeing as buses have been idled. These shots were selected from 100 total entries by SBF staff.
PHOTOS: School Bus Fleet's 2020 Photo Contest
Winner: During a layover on her morning route, Heather Johnson of Deer Park (N.Y.) Union Free School District returned from a walk and spotted the brilliant reflection of the sky in her bus’s windshield. She took this photo on March 12, the day before the district’s schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winner: Edward Torres of Coachella Valley Unified School District in Thermal, Calif., catches one of his district’s buses in motion, illuminated by dazzling lights on a beautiful desert evening.
Honorable Mention: Jodi Cox, an office professional for the North Thurston Public Schools transportation department in Lacey, Wash., snapped this stunning bird’s-eye view, from a 60-foot boom truck, of school buses placed in formation to read “2020” to commemorate graduating seniors.
Honorable Mention: Driver Cynthia Soules of Bear Valley Unified School District in Big Bear Lake, Calif., shared a tranquil scene of a school bus traveling on a roadway overlooking Big Bear Lake on a warm February day as she was waiting for her next route to begin. “I love this view from my rolling office!” she told SBF.
Also Noteworthy: Courtney Chavez, a bus driver for Independence (Mo.) School District, spotted this toy bus while on vacation in Branson, and decided to take it for a spin.
Also Noteworthy: Steve Doherty, a driver for First Student's Troy, Mich., location, snapped this shot of buses ready to hit the road for meal deliveries to hungry students this spring.
Winner: Russell Adams, a bus driver for Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Schools, told School Bus Fleet that he loves to photograph nature in his spare time, as shown in this image, which he titled, “The Upsidedown.” Adams has published a book of similar photos, “Visions of a Bus Driver.”
Honorable Mention: Shaun Barnette, a bus driver for Liberty Elementary School District #25 in Buckeye, Ariz., captured the beauty in the powdery colors of the sunset and symmetry of these two school buses in the district’s bus yard one October evening. (The bus on the left is a 2007 International and the other is a 2017 Blue Bird, Barnette told SBF.)
Honorable Mention: Amy Coleman, who, along with her husband, drives a school bus, told SBF that she arrived at the bus yard at 5 a.m. one October morning and was transfixed by the moonlight illuminating her bus.
Also Noteworthy: Debbie Wheaton, a bus driver trainer and substitute driver for Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District #6, took this photo of a demonstration of a hostage situation and SWAT team and police exercise at a recent Arizona Association of Pupil Transportation Fall Conference in Prescott.
Also Noteworthy: Gerry Freedman, who drives a bus for Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) Central School District, took this photo in late May of his district's fleet idled in the bus yard due to the pandemic.
Also Noteworthy: Kelly Kimble, an operations manager for Kansas Central School Bus in Topeka, captured this shot of bus drivers, as she told SBF, "storming into the school year" on August 7, 2019, their first day of live runs.
Also Noteworthy: In this image from Kim Nicholas, a bus driver for Kent (Wash.) School District, it's not just "the wheels of the bus" but the buses themselves that "go round and round."
Also Noteworthy: Chris Schadler, the transportation director for Walton-Verona Independent Schools in Walton, Ky., shared this image of a display of state pride using the yellow bus.
Also Noteworthy: Cindy Northern, the transportation supervisor for Maplewood (Mo.) Richmond Heights School District, snapped this shot while on a field trip in St. Louis. "Life is surrounded by beauty even when you are surrounded by buildings," she told SBF.
Also Noteworthy: Sandy Hodge, who has been driving for Wilmington Area School District in New Wilmington, Pa., for the last two years, caught this breathtaking winter scene in her mirror as she was starting her pre-trip inspection.