Conservation group Wildlife in Focus expands photography contest

SAN ANTONIO Wildlife in Focus, a non-profit organization which targets wildlife and ecosystem conservation in Texas, recently expanded its popular biennial photography competition in order to reach more landowners and photographers across the state.

The expansion includes plans to encourage the owners of any and all privately owned land across the state to participate in the contest. In addition, the organization has added a new category that allows individual photographers to compete for separate prize purses without being part of a landowner/photographer team.

The competition, which has existed for 20 years, has three entry levels: landowner/photographer team, videographer, and individual photographer. The two photography contests both span 50 categories and the videography contest has 8 opportunities for entries. Total prize purse for all three contests, all categories, is $45,000.

The goal of the competitions is to promote conservationism and to create a visual story of the beauty of native Texas land and wildlife, from insects to sunsets, from borders to bayous. The prize-winning photos for each competition are then used to produce a coffee-table book as well as promoting the educational outreach program of the organization, Kritters 4 Kids, which targets school-age children grades K-8, a news release said.

“We are very excited to share that our upcoming contests are now available for landowners anywhere in the entire state of Texas,” Miles Phillips, Wildlife in Focus photo contest director, said in the release. “Photographers and videographers from anywhere and with all levels of skill and time now have additional entry options.”

Registration for the competition is now open at the wildlifeinfocus.org website. Deadline for entry is Dec. 1, 2024. The active window for photography is from Feb. 21, 2025 to May 31, 2025. Photographers and landowners can set up their own teams, or WiF will assist in pairing teams.

The registration fee is $500 for each participant on the landowner/photographer teams. The individual photographer entry fee is based on the number of categories and photos entered and includes entry into the videography competition. The fee for entering the videography contest alone is $100 each for landowner and videographer. Full rules for the contest, including equipment requirements, technology specifications, categories and prize purses, are available at wildlifeinfocus.org.

Any questions or concerns regarding the competition can be emailed to [email protected] or left in a voicemail at 361-342-9585.