Spring Fling Winner: Bri Martelli of Norcross

The Patch Spring Fling Photo Contest kicked off this month to start the warm weather season right.

Readers submitted more than 240 photos, the best were picked out of the bunch and then you, the readers, cast the votes to decide which Patch had the photo that best captured the spirit of springtime.

It's only fitting that today, the first official day of spring, we announce the winner -- Bri Martelli of Norcross!

There were more than 800 votes cast. Martelli swept the contest with 280 votes -- about 34 percent of the total votes cast.

Martelli, who is married with three children, submitted two photos of her 3-year-old daughter, Rose, playing with tulips in their front yard in Historic Norcross. Even though Martelli isn't a professional photographer, she said she owes much of her skills to her mother, who owns a photography business in Maryland.

"I really just like to take different pictures of my children," said Martelli, who uses a Nikon D50. "I take hundreds of pictures of my children!"

Springtime allows Martelli to take a lot of photos because she and her family love to go outdoors. "We spend 80 percent of our time outside, and I always have my camera," she said.

As the contest winner, Martelli will receive two tickets to the High Museum of Art plus audio guides, which she intends to use with her husband, Sal. She said she's looking forward to doing something "grown up" without the kids for once, and she'll also be rekindling a childhood tradition of hers.

"Growing up in [Washington], we always went to the museums," she said. "I've probably been a hundred times, between all the museums there."

We'll also make sure Martelli gets some nice Patch swag!

Thanks to everyone who entered. And if you want another look at the finalists, you can find them here.