Here’s the news release from Betterphoto.com.

Photographer Scott Sherman has won Second Place for October in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site’s founder, Jim Miotke, announced Saturday.

More than 23,500 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.

Sherman’s stunning image, “Whatchoo Lookin’ At? “, garnered top honors after being submitted in the Animals category.

All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com’s contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/0510.asp

The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Special Effects, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

Besides its free, popular photo contest, BetterPhoto.com also offers a variety of services: digital camera reviews, online photo courses, free newsletters, a discussion forum, Web sites for photographers, question-and-answer section, how-to articles, photo galleries, and more.

Photographers can enter this month’s contest and learn more about photography at: www.BetterPhoto.com

Those of you who have been reading my blog have shared my joy at the adoption of our new son. My partner, our other son, our families and neighbors welcomed the baby home with open arms and all the love in the world.

However, in any adoption, the birth mother has a period during which she can revoke her relinquishment of her parental rights. That’s what happened to us.

Although he was only with us for 18 days, we loved our new son more than words can say. We stayed up all night for his feedings, we clothed and bathed him, we talked to him, we played with him, and we spent ridiculous amounts of money on outfits that we knew he’d outgrow in a month. He was with us for only a short time as measured on a calendar, but in our hearts we had given him a lifetime’s worth of hopes and dreams. Oh, the life we were planning for him!

But all of that was taken from us when the telephone rang and the social worker said “I have some bad news for you.” At that moment, my life, my family’s life, was instantly and irrevocably shattered. A few hours later, the social worker arrived to take him away from us. Forever.

When I told my five-year old son the news, his eyes filled with tears and opened wide with incomprehension. “But why,” he asked me, “would (the birth mother) change her mind if she knew it would make us so terribly sad?”

Later, when it was time to pack up the baby’s things, Sasha wanted to draw a picture for the boy who had only his brother for such a short time. He drew his usual stick figure of the baby, and then carefully surrounded it with a red circle. “What’s the circle?” I asked.

“That’s a shield,” he said, “to protect him.”

Do I even have to tell you that it’s hard for me write this right now – not because of how emotional I feel, but because my eyes are filled with tears and I can barely see the screen?

I only wish I could draw a shield around all of our hearts like Sasha wanted to do for his baby brother. But life has a way of breaking through our best defenses. We plan, we hope, we work to make our dreams come true. But our dreams can be taken away.

We will go on. I know there are worse things that can happen, and I am grateful for every blessing we still enjoy. But right now, my heart is a gaping hole, and it feels like it will be a long time before it’s ever full again.

I share this with you because I write and podcast a lot about the joys of being a gay parent. But creating new kinds of families also entails new kinds of risk and pain. It’s not fair or nice or pretty or kind. But its life and we’re all in it together. In sharing our stories, we build a community, and we make it better for those who come after us. At least that’s my hope.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you. May G-d lift this weight from our hearts.

I’ve spent the last month working closely with an amazing birth mother to finalize an adoption. As those of you who have adopted know, the process is filled with homestudies, preparation and paperwork. I barely had enough time to eat, let alone podcast.

But it was all worth it - the little guy was born on September 21st, 2005. He’s healthy and beautiful and fine - 6.5 lbs of sweet lovable baby goodness.

I plan to start blogging and podcasting as soon as I can. But first, I really, really need some sleep.

Here’s the kid himself.

Things didn’t look good when he work up. “I don’t WANT to go to school,” he cried. I had a long talk with him about someone could have two feelings about the same thing. After breakfast and getting dressed, Sasha told me “Guess what? I still feel excited and scared, but now I feel more excited than scared!”

Sure enough, he went to school with a smile, and parted without a tear. On his part, at least (I was half a mess).

Talking with the other parents, they all told me that all the kids were worried and upset this morning. Half arrived with red-rimmed eyes. But not my boy!

Here he is walking to class.