Congratulations to this year’s Photography Contest winners! Here are the first, second, and third place winners. Our heartfelt thanks to this year's esteemed judges, Larry Mendenhall, Susan McClellen, and Tim Schoon, and to 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.