CHUCK BALLARO Christiana Nelson, of North Fort Myers High School, finished first in photography at ArtFest Fort Myers.

Students from high schools in Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers and more are among those recognized at the annual ArtFest Fort Myers held last month.

The event brought together the best high school artists in the areas of photography, painting, drawing, 3-D, mixed-media and digital.

ArtFest Fort Myers awarded $8,000 in prizes to Lee County students at the Art Under 20 Award Reception, held at the Harborside Event Center on Feb. 28.

Among the winners were Kaeleigh Valdes, from Riverdale High School, who finished third in 3-D, and Breanna Fray, from Lehigh Senior High School, who was third in digital.

Each of them received a $100 cash award.

Another winner was Christiana Nelson, of North Fort Myers. She received a $400 cash award for winning in photography.

Nelson, a junior who wants to take up photography as a major at NYU despite only having taken it up last year, did underwater photography, the same photo that won at Digital Knight last year.

“My teacher gave us a theme and told us to do whatever we think of. I wanted to do something underwater,” she said. “She had an underwater camera, went to my friend’s pool and took pictures underwater.”

This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, since she had to come up for air every few seconds and getting the perfect shot took hours, said Nelson, who took the course to get AICE credit and didn’t realize how difficult – or enjoyable- it would be.

The list of winners includes:

– Best of Show: Zhengbai Xia, Canterbury School

– Photography: Christiana Nelson, North Fort Myers High, first place; Akira Ison, Fort Myers High, second place; Lauren Kier, Cypress Lake High, third place

– Painting: Anna Skrobach, Cape Coral High, first place; Rebecca Casimir, Cypress Lake High, second place; Hannah Gatof, Cypress Lake High, third place

– Drawing: Raja Al-Bahou, South Fort Myers High, first place; Anglea Shi, Bishop Verot; second place; Jean Achaval, Fort Myers High, third place

– 3-Dimensional: Roger Al-Bahou, South Fort Myers High, first place; Sephora Augustin, Fort Myers High, second place; Kaeleigh Valdes, Riverdale High; third place

– Mixed Media: Gabriella Hesse, Fort Myers High, first place; Saian Colon, Cypress Lake High, second place; Deanna Craig, Cypress Lake High, third place

– Digital: Michelle Fleishaker, Canterbury School, first place; Lyrica Parker-Bernet, Cypress Lake High, second place; Breanna Fray, Lehigh Senior High, third place

– People’s Choice: Skyler Lowden, Fort Myers High School

– Fewster Family Scholarship Award?No. 1: Fiona Dowling, Fort Myers High School

– Fewster Family Scholarship Award?No. 2: Maxine Miville, Fort Myers High School

– Ikki Matsumoto Award: Sam Finley, Cypress Lake High School

– Bruce Tyson Aia Award: Kristin Daidone, Fort Myers High School

– Honorable Mentions: Katelyn Coate, Lehigh Senior High; Celia Pardi, Mariner High; Eidaliz Rivera, Island Coast High; Angel Andalon, Estero High; Delilah Welch, Oasis High; Nate Diemer, Canterbury School; Shi Ting Wang, Lehigh Senior High; Jaden Thomas, Cape Coral High; Jennifer Glore, Estero High; Ameena Persaud, Riverdale High; Madison Brewer, Cypress Lake High; Nolan Nowak, Cypress Lake High; Emily McCallion, Fort Myers High; Aracely Garza, Estero High; Nicole Holdgrafer, Bishop Verot; Kayla Hogan, Cape Coral; Victoria Regnaert, Fort Myers High; Peyton Hornung, Canterbury School; Emma Saerz, Cape Coral High; Lidia Bernal, Mariner High