Amie Bartell smiled broadly as she walked up to the special needs Open Class Photography exhibit at the Northwest Montana Fair on Wednesday.

Ken Salois of Kalispell won the grand champion ribbon, but Bartell found six blue ribbons and three red ribbons hanging by the nine photographs she entered.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I didn’t think the ribbons would be this big!”

Bartell, 27, is a resident of the Lighthouse Christian Home, a farm-based home for special needs adults in the Lower Valley. She grew up in Charlo after being adopted from Brazil by Barbara Bartell. She was one of 17 children, 12 of them adopted, who grew up on the Bartell farm.

“I was in 4-H in St. Ignatius until I was 14. I did sewing, cooking, knitting and crafts,” she said.

Bartell moved into the Kalispell home nine years ago. She called the Lighthouse a very special place where she felt blessed to have the opportunity to develop her photographic talent.

She got her first spark of interest when the Somers Fire Department burned down the old chicken coop at Lighthouse Christian Home. She caught the action with her small digital camera.

“All the staff and everyone was excited about how the picture turned out,” she said. “I felt that photography was my passion.”

Bartell quickly decided she needed to upgrade her equipment, so she began saving money from her weekly job baby-sitting three local children. When Bartell spotted a Kodak Easyshare Z5010 on sale for $153 at Office Max, she sold a few possessions to come up with the rest of the price before someone else got the deal.

“They were having a blow-out sale,” she said.

Bartell said she wanted a camera with a good zoom lens so she didn’t have to get so close to get a good photo. Her blue ribbon-winning sunset photo was one of the first that she took with her new upgraded camera.

Many others followed, such as her award-winning photo of a calf at the farm. Bartell remembered that she scared the animal at first, but then it stopped and looked at her.

“That’s when I caught the moment,” she said. “I tell people you can’t just take a picture. You have to get the moment.”

Bartell gave special credit to Shirley Willis, the home’s director, for encouraging her. She recalled showing Willis her photos and the director telling her that she had a real eye for capturing images with her camera.

“I really appreciated her telling me that,” Bartell said. “I want to thank Shirley for letting me do my dream by taking pictures.”

When she learned about the photography open class for special needs people, she knew that she wanted to enter her photographs. According to Willis, Bartell was very independent about picking out the photos and getting the prints printed and mounted herself.

Dana Higgins, superintendent of the photo section, was helpful in answering her questions and helped her make the entry deadline. Bartell said winning the ribbons made the work of preparing her entry worthwhile.

“It makes me smile,” she said. “Shirley told me a smile goes a long way.”

In the future, she would like to have a website to share her photographs.

“I want people to appreciate that I’m a special needs adult, so it doesn’t stop you,” she said. “Anybody can do anything, whether you have a learning disability or if you don’t. It’s a dream, and everyone should go for a dream.”

Bartell’s photographs are on display in the Expo Building at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.