SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS — Photographer Gary Gellman has won Monmouth County Tourism’s competition for the cover of its 2026 County Travel Guide, county officials announced.
The selected image is an aerial photograph of the Sea Girt Lighthouse, showing an American flag flying above the Atlantic Ocean. Officials said the image will appear on the front of the guide and be used in tourism marketing efforts across the country as the nation prepares to mark its 250th anniversary.
Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, who serves as liaison to the county’s tourism division, said the photograph captures one of the many attractions along Monmouth County’s 53 miles of shoreline, including its three historic lighthouses.
Gellman credited his staff for the recognition, saying the achievement reflected the work of the entire Gellman Images team, including Nick Hiltwein, Alana Denenberg and Kerrianne Gellman. He said the group continues to push itself creatively and adapt its approach to photography.
Gellman, who works out of Spring Lake Heights, has received national exposure more than 500 times through newspapers, magazines and radio, according to biographical information provided with the announcement. His appearances have included segments on programs carried by CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC and News 12.
For more than 17 years, Gellman Images also has served as the official photographer for the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony. During that span, Gellman has photographed well-known figures including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Yogi Berra, Buzz Aldrin, Queen Latifah and Mary Higgins Clark.
He began his photography career at age 16 while working at a public-access cable television station in New Jersey. Since then, he has been a speaker at conventions in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Stamford, East Rutherford and Atlantic City.
His work has included photographs of two popes, celebrities and elected officials, and has been featured at the New Jersey State Museum, the U.S. Senate Gallery, the Rock and Roll Museum and the Vatican.
Gellman is a graduate of The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
