NCWF Announces 6th Annual Photo Contest Winners

Winner – Critters, Amateur: Cassia Rivera. During the golden hour, I observed this bear wander through beautiful hues of green and yellow vegetation while traveling across the landscape. For most of the time, only the contrast of his moving silhouette was visible until he graced me with a moment of curiosity as he stood up and moved his head in my direction!

Winner – Critters, Professional: Jacob Long. “The way that the sunset light was hitting these two bull elk, I could not miss the opportunity to take some photos. The two began interacting in a way I had not normally seen, until they both raised their heads to size one another up. This posture reminded me of stargazers.”

Winner – People, Amateur: Courtney Lewis. “This is a photo of my husband admiring God’s handiwork right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were celebrating our honeymoon in Spruce Pine, experiencing a whole week of the gorgeous mountains of North Carolina. To me, it’s the most beautiful place on earth.”

Winner – People, Professional: Gavin Shwahla. “Nowhere do I enjoy being on a paddle board than in the Topsail Island sound, and clearly I’m not alone. This woman, whose name I do not know, paddled past me and kindly spoke about the beautiful scenery and warned me of the abundance of stingrays that swim in the marshes below this time of year. Little did she know that just moments earlier I had watched the most elegant ray soar right below my board. I couldn’t capture the ray going by, so as she paddled on, I snapped a quick photo of her – the kind-hearted paddler. I have no fear of rays, to me the abundance of life below only elevates the beauty above.”

Winner – Pollinators, Amateur: Amy Sawyer. “The picture is from a new pollinator garden I planted this year – I packed it with sunflowers, zinnias and tithonia – I’ve never seen so many bumblebees in my yard! Our little hummingbird family had to share with all the bees – they were not very happy about it, but they loved the new flowers, too.”

Winner – Pollinators, Professional: Jacob Long. “These paper wasps had built a nest on my sister’s house. I took the opportunity to, very carefully, attempt some portraits of the busy hive. They were very tolerant of my presence. Bringing back food and feeding them to the larvae. I liked this photo because it showed the whole life cycle of the nest, and how the sisters care for one another.”

Winner – Scenes, Amateur: David Courtenay. “The weather predicted fog so I arrived before sunrise and – sure enough – there was a heavy fog. As the sun rose the fog started to burn off. I had visited the swamp before so I knew the area I wanted to be in. The fall colors were starting to pop and with the heavy mist it looked enchanted.”

Winner – Scenes, Professional: Gavin Shwahla. “It’s a mid-October evening and I’ve just arrived at my favorite place, Topsail Island, North Carolina. Before I could finish unpacking my things my attention went out the window of our beachfront home to the most crisp rainbow in golden hour light I’ve ever seen! I grabbed my camera and ran down to the water’s edge. During the photo blitz that ensued, I tried a creative angle with the double rainbow reflected in the wet sand when a sanderling ran into the frame and turned this scene into a story. Magical scenes like this play out all along Topsail Island, but nowhere are they more concentrated than at its southernmost end. Please consider donating to the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust’s Save the South End Campaign to help us preserve these magical scenes forever!”

Winner – Youth: Luke Dussia. “I spotted this brown anole lizard on a rose bush in my grandmother’s back yard. I really liked its’ unique shedding pattern. Right before I took the picture, it was bright green, but then quickly turned brown. Photography is a fun hobby that I enjoy and I’m glad I can share my photo with everybody.”

Honorable Mention – Critters, Professional: Heather Harman. “I never saw American White Ibis in the wild until I moved to Coastal Carolina, and they have become one of my favorite birds to see here. This gorgeous adult was one of many who had perched in the trees above a viewing deck at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, NC in late February 2024. I must have spent an hour photographing them from underneath, fully expecting to get a “gift” from above and not caring if I did. This sleepyhead was perfectly framed by the old oak and Spanish Moss. I did luck out in the end too by remaining “gift” less!”

Honorable Mention – Youth: Henry Clark.

Honorable Mention – Pollinators, Amateur: Andrew Trenholm. “I spotted this fly on a daisy while walking on a greenway in Wake Forest. He stayed just long enough to get this shot.”

Honorable Mention – Pollinators, Professional: Heather Harman. “Greenfield Lake is one of my favorite places to visit in Wilmington, North Carolina. There is an amazing variety of wildlife throughout the park, and much of that is due to the bald cypress trees that grow throughout and around the lake. This female Ruby Throated Hummingbird surprised me as she zipped around the flowers along the path as it was a cool day in mid-October, and I hadn’t seen any hummingbirds for a couple of weeks. She finally took a rest on this bare cypress branch and posed for this shot with such a sweet face and a beak with built-up pollen on it.”

Honorable Mention – Scenes, Amateur: Kristin Rahn. “I wanted to try lightning photography this year. Storms at the beach often come with big wind and rain making it difficult to get lightning photos. But in early May, an off shore storm was passing with no wind. Perfect time to set up my tripod on my covered deck, aim it at the open sky and catch some lightning. This bolt occurred a little after 9pm. Sadly, that night a similar bolt destroyed a home on a neighboring beach. “

Honorable Mention – Scenes, Professional: Gavin Shwahla. “The title of this photo is Serenity’s Skin. Through photography I explore the spiritual side of nature – I attempt to capture the energy expressed in nature. In doing so, the deep connections between ourselves and the Earth are revealed. To me, this place, Serenity Point, the south end of Topsail Island, is a living, breathing being – just like you or me. When the sun lowers as it does every day, it reveals patterns and textures that can be found in other places. Places even so close as in the palm of one’s hand. Through my creative work, I try to show people these connections in the hope that they will want to love and care for places like this in the same way they care for themselves or their loved ones. Please consider donating to the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust’s Save the South End Campaign to help us ensure that all future generations have a chance to make their own deep connection to this place forever.”

Honorable Mention – People, Amateur: Jocelyn Painter. “On the Coharie with Phillip Bell. The Coharie Tribe has been revitalizing Indigenous stewardship practices on the river rooted in relationality—with stewardship goals of reestablishing a presence on ancestral waterways and the inherent responsibilities that come with being in good relationship with the river as a sacred relative. They’ve established a growing ecotourism initiative that connects their rich culture and shared history with the waterway. Paddling with the Coharie on their namesake river is grounding, informative, silly, and the most at home I’ve felt as a fellow Indigenous person transplanted in North Carolina.”

Honorable Mention – People, Professional: Gavin Shwahla. “A father and son forge memories of hearts and minds. Connected through two-way transmission to the divine along a thin fishing line. Serenity Point at the south end of Topsail Island offers more than just wild beauty, it is a place where family bonds are forged and reinforced in the coastal cradle of nature. Please consider donating to the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust’s Save the South End Campaign to help us preserve these family bonding opportunities forever!”

Honorable Mention – Critters, Amateur: Alexandra Knudson. “While sitting at the pond, enjoying some peace and quiet, even the frog family felt peaceful and not bothered by my presence.”