Sunday, November 6, 2011

And the Winners are...

The Coastal Bend Wildlife Photo contest announced the winners for the 2010/2011 photo contest on November 5, 2011.  I was fortunate to win First Grand prize. With this win, I was glad to honor my ranch owner from the Twin Oaks,  Lon Cartwright who will be turning 90 very soon. He is a fascinating gentleman who truly loves his land and family (Claire Vaughn and Loncito Cartwright).  My good friends Bill and Sharon Draker were a very close second. I was very unsure who was going to take the top prize when I saw all the images. The Drakers shot on the Welder Wildlife Refuge, a wonderful ranch with great diversity.  Hector Astorga took third on the Fennessy Ranch with some amazing images.  Sally Crofutt and Mog were there from the Fennessy.  I shot on the Fennessy Ranch for the Images for Conservation Pro Tour back in 2008. They are wonderful people and do a magnificent job of manging their ranch. If you are ever in the area, you should check them out. Rounding out the top five were James Fuller on his family's ranch and Dean Johnstone on his family ranch.  I was quite impressed with their images. The judge's favorite was a pair of fighting rattlers shot by Charlie Spiekerman. It was quite spectacular.  Overall I thought all the images were fabulous and wish some of them were mine!  The event was wonderful as well.  I think there must have been between 250 to 300 people there.  The Coastal Bend did a great job organizing the whole event.  This year's book will be dedicated to Luther Young who recently passed away unexpectedly this year.  He was the husband of Patti Young who is the director of the Coastal Bend Wildlife Contest.
I posted my 1st place category winners here. To see my whole entry please check out my portfolio here.



Barn Owls

Barn Swallow

Audubon's Oriole

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Northern Mockingbird and Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Black-necked Stilts


Green Jay


Grey Fox

Raccoon

Red Wasp

Running Spider

Robber Fly

Eastern Amberwing

Rain Lilies

Texas Dandelion

Yuccas

2 comments:

  1. You take beautiful pictures! They are so clear and detailed. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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    1. Thank you for your nice comments, Theresa. I enjoy taking pictures and love that others enjoy my work.

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