Contest Experience Testimonials
The following are comments from past participants in the Wildlife in Focus Private Lands Team Photo Contest
Photographers Bill Harvey & Dean Johnstone
For us, the reward of the Wildlife in Focus contest came in the experience of having a friendship grow into a brotherhood. We worked together beautifully, seamlessly, inspired by nature and nudged into action by our sense of responsibility to each other.
Photographer Walton Cude
(During the contest) I was shooting several thousand pictures a day, and while it was requiring a whole lot of determination and effort on my part, it was also becoming one of the most challenging and thrilling things I had ever done … I now realize that this contest, which lasts for months on end, has caused me to improve my skills in a major way … If you think you might want to try your hand at the upcoming contest, I would definitely go for it!
Dr. Sandy Hurwtiz
I have participated as both a land owner and a photographer. I can testify that it has been the most rewarding experience I have had in ranch ownership and in photographing wildlife as well. The friends that I have made, the insights I have gained and the opportunity to repeat it all on a regular basis has been a wonderful game changer for me.
Photographer Cissy Beasley
Of all of the wonderful aspects of participating in the Wildlife in Focus photo contest, perhaps the most positive rewards involved the relationships I’ve forged during my competitions. Because the contest pairs photographers with landowners, establishing trust and familiarity is necessary from the beginning. Cooperation and communication are crucial throughout …
Contest Experience Testimonials
The following are comments from past participants in the Wildlife in Focus Private Lands Team Photo Contest
On one day of the photo contest the warm glow of the late afternoon light reflecting in the water combined with the rich chestnut color of the male oriole was astounding. It was a pleasure to be able to walk out the back door and enjoy such beauty.
Kathy Johnston
Photographer
I must admit that it was quite eerie being out on a remote part of the ranch late at night … with the rattlesnakes out and about, while the coyotes were calling. But I came away with and image and experience that I will never forget.
Greg Pierson
Photographer
The time was late in the day, about 6:30 p.m. and the light was not the greatest for action. The show of nature (captured during the contest) lasted about three or four minutes. Witnessing this and other similar activities in nature was well worth the time and efforts put into the (Wildlife in Focus) photo contest.
Pete Vollenweider
Photographer
Landowner – Claire Vaughan
Having grown up on a working family ranch the photo contest is a wonderful opportunity for our family business to diversify and all our family to see and learn wonderful things about the land we love ..
Photographer Miles Phillips
No other photo contest is like this one and it’s the best photo event you can enter even if only for a few days, I have never enjoyed photography more than while participating in this contest. I fly to Texas each time to participate and have done so since 2007 ! Landowners and photographers both benefit and should enter!
Photographer Hector Astorga
Photography is one of the best tools for conservation. Showing a threatened species in Texas doing well is proof that habitat and preservation works. … Through conservation we can save the unique wildlife we enjoy here in Texas.
Photographer Robert Rommel
I grabbed my camera and waded into the water (of the rising lake). Toward the center of the lake, I came across a lone thistle flower barely above the surface. On this miniature Noah’s Ark was a menagerie of tiny creatures … perhaps safe from the rising tide, but still wary of the perilous open beaks overhead. I enjoyed a remarkable experience that day…and surely will never forget.
Photographer Wade Grassedonio
Nature, to me, is an expression of God’s thoughts … Photography is how I share a tiny cup-full from this vast and endless ocean. Over time, I have discovered I produce my best work when I stray from the expected or the ordinary … My lens is guided by thoughts of what hasn’t been done. …I see the beauty that nature hides in the mundane. And this reminds me to slow down and take whatever time necessary for nature to reveal itself to me and my lens.
Photographer Scott Null
One of the keys to success (in the competition) was having access to such a rich diversity of wildlife and habitat. It’s also essential that the landowner is a true partner who understands what you are trying to accomplish. Without these elements I could not have filled enough categories to place high in the overall standings.
Photographers Thomas Stinson & Rick Harding
Along the way (in the competition) we learned animal behavior, which helped us get closer to our subjects, without relying solely on extremely long lenses. We learned that each critter has a comfort zone, but that sometimes they allowed us to get really close. We never relied on this level of cooperation. We took insurance shots from a distance before creeping closer. We also worked as a team to coax animals into range… Already lifelong friends, this incredible experience further tightened the bond we share.
Photographer James Fuller
As a first-time participant in the contest, my goals were simple: to create striking wildlife images … and to have fun in the process … in spite of drought conditions encountered by all photographers, the quality of the images (captured) attests to nature’s beauty and resilience.
