Congratulations to this year’s winners! Here are the first-, second-, and third-place winners. Our heartfelt thanks to Larry Mendenhall, Susan McClellen, and Tim Schoon, our esteemed judges this year, and to the contest coordinators, Diana Lundell and Lesanne Fliehler. A special acknowledgment to Hills Bank & Trust for generously sponsoring the prizes once again.

University of Iowa

First Place: John Donelson, "Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record."
Judges’ comments: We liked the fun festive feeling in this photo. We also liked the symmetry, and who doesn’t like a signature Caitlin Clark moment?

Iowa

First Place: John Moyers, "Twelfth Night" at Riverside Theatre.
Judges’ comments: Neat moment. Great light. It made us wonder what they were looking at.

Second Place: Mark Reagan, "Trumpeter Swans Flying over Cone Marsh."
Judges’ comments: Nice picture of swans flying. Focus is great on the birds placed just above the tree line so they don’t get lost in the background.

Third Place: Sue Otto, "Melodi's Chalk Art," Iowa City Block Party.
Judges’ comments: Neat picture of a girl chalking a picture of a flower. Nice clean composition. Nice streaks of light coming across the frame. Probably could have cropped a little of the foreground up to tighten it up a little bit, but still a nice moment.

USA

First Place: Todd Stewart, "Mt. Rushmore."
Judges' comments: We've seen a lot of pictures of Mt. Rushmore. this one stood out since it was unlike almost any we've seen. Seeing stars above the faces lit by moonlight is spectacular. 

Second Place: Pam Terrill, Green River Canyon, Utah.
Judges’ comments: We loved this red rock/river image. Great lines and color palette with some rain in the distance.

Third Place: Kevin Heckman, "Beaver Pond near Valdez, Alaska."
Judges’ comments: Beautiful moody lake reflection. Absolutely love the sense of peaceful serenity in this image.

International

First Place: Stephen Scheckel, "Our Ship Through an Iceberg Porthole, Antarctica."
Judges’ comments: We all loved the framing of this photo. Thought it would be a nice photo without the boat, but when you put the boat in there giving it a clear center of interest, it elevated it further.

Second Place: Vicki Siefers, "Monet's Garden in Giverny, France."
Judges’ comments: Beautiful reflection. We liked the branches hanging down from the top giving the frame more depth and contrast.

Third Place: Diana Harris, "Dala Horse Workshop."
Judges’ comments: This was an interesting detail shot.