{"id":34003,"date":"2025-02-18T08:30:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconservation.org\/?p=34003"},"modified":"2025-07-24T16:24:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T21:24:40","slug":"2024-photo-contest-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconservation.org\/2024-photo-contest-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Photo Contest Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Each year, we invite you to share your best nature photos of Wisconsin with us in our annual Photo Contest. It’s one of our favorite parts of the year, because we get to see all the wonders of Wisconsin that bring our members joy!<\/p>\n

We are proud to announce this year’s winning entries. There is one winner from each category, and one of the category winners was selected as the grand prize winner. <\/span>The categories were Landscapes; Birds; Flora & Fungi; Insects, Amphibians & Reptiles; and People & Other Mammals. We also awarded a People’s Choice Photo which was determined by popular vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A special thanks to our guest judges, Julie Spanton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Andy Raupp<\/strong>, for joining the panel to help select the winning photos! Julie was the First Place winner of the 2023 Photo Contest<\/a>. Andy Raupp is a professional bird and wildlife photographer and has generously donated his images to NRF for years. Learn more about his work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enjoy these gorgeous captures! We sincerely thank everyone who submitted photos to our annual contest. We had a record-breaking 770+ entries! There is so much to love about Wisconsin, and w<\/strong>e appreciate seeing it all through your lens.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Grand Prize<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Cave<\/strong><\/h3>\n

by<\/strong> Brad Bellisle<\/h4>\n

Whitefish Dunes State Park in Door County, WI <\/em><\/h4>\n

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Nature has always been the inspiration for my photography. I’ve traveled all over the state exploring the different parks, shorelines, and natural areas to try and capture nature in unique ways. For this photo, I ventured down to a rock shelf along the Lake Michigan shoreline, and by using my fisheye lens I was able to incorporate the surrounding rock as a natural frame for the early morning light rising over the lake.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Birds Category Winner<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Screech Owls<\/strong><\/h3>\n

by Curt Lundeen<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Milwaukee County, WI<\/em><\/h4>\n

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This photo was taken on the east side of Milwaukee in the early morning. This happened to be a sunning spot and not a nest site. I shot this from my car which I often do so that I don\u2019t stress out the birds. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Flora & Fungi Category Winner<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Rue Anemone with raindrops<\/h3>\n

by William Petersen<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Upper Hixon Forest in La Crosse County, WI<\/em><\/h4>\n

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The early morning after an overnight rain is my favorite time to photograph wildflowers. This particular morning was magical as it was so still that the raindrops on the delicate rue anemone were in pristine condition. The calm morning also allowed me to focus-stack the image. I love doing nature photography in Wisconsin because of the amazing diversity of ecosystems in the state. A short hike can result in beautiful subjects like Spring ephemerals at your feet, and majestic bald eagles overhead in the sky.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Insects, Amphibians, & Reptiles<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Common Buckeye butterfly feeding on Goldenrod<\/h3>\n

by Bruce Bartel<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Brice Prairie in La Crosse County, WI<\/em><\/h4>\n

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I took this picture last summer at Brice Prairie. I was photographing migrating Monarch butterflies when I noticed some Common Buckeyes in the same area. The angle of the sun and the goldenrod background offered a beautiful setting.<\/em><\/p>\n

I appreciate that Wisconsin has a diverse wealth of natural resources that are easily accessible to people. Photography is a great way to showcase and share these resources.<\/em><\/p>\n

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People & Other Mammals<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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American Mink<\/strong><\/h3>\n

by Steven Thompson <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Dodge County, WI<\/em><\/h4>\n

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I photographed this American Mink on a dreary rainy afternoon this past April. I was patiently waiting in my car for a group of teal to come closer to the shoreline, when I noticed a brown figure out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over, a mink had crept its way up within 20 feet of my car. While it popped its head up to investigate, I was able to get 3 frames off, before it crept back into the marsh.<\/em><\/p>\n

What I love most about nature in Wisconsin is that no matter what the season, there is always something to enjoy. Secondly, there\u2019s always somewhere to enjoy nature. From backyards, to city\/county parks, to the Nicolet National Forest, there\u2019s no shortage of green spaces.<\/em> <\/p>\n

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People’s Choice<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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River Otter<\/h3>\n

by Philip Knapp<\/h4>\n

Pike Chain of Lakes in Bayfield County, WI<\/em><\/h4>\n

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This past September while kayaking on the Pike Chain in Iron River, Wisconsin with a friend (Chris LaForge), we happened across a pair of River Otters enthusiastically displaying their recent catch. I often find myself in the woods or on the water with my camera in tow, what better way to stay grounded in what really matters.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Congratulations to all our winning photographers!<\/strong> And thank you again to everyone who submitted photos. Keep your eyes peeled for your pictures and photo credits featured in Foundation publications and social media posts. And keep that camera at the ready, because our annual Photo Contest will return this fall! Sign up for our WisConservation News emails<\/a> to be notified when the 2025 Photo Contest opens:<\/p>\n

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Be sure to bring your camera on Field Trips each year. You and your photo could win this year’s contest!<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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The 2024 Photo Contest winners are here! Thank you for showcasing Wisconsin’s natural wonders through your lens.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":34117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38,1,16],"tags":[756,124,798,64,125,418,87,126],"class_list":["post-34003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-trips","category-lands-waters","category-wildlife","tag-756","tag-contest","tag-nature-photography","tag-nrf","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography","tag-wildlife","tag-winners"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2024 Photo Contest Winners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2024 Photo Contest winners are here! Thank you for showcasing Wisconsin's natural wonders through your lens.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconservation.org\/2024-photo-contest-winners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2024 Photo Contest Winners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2024 Photo Contest winners are here! 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