Natural Wonders

See the Winning Photos and Finalists From Our Earth Day Photo Contest

Congratulations to all our winners.

April 1, 2020 Published in the April 2020 issue of Sarasota Magazine

Winner | Frank Forward

Frank Forward captured this pair of great blue herons building their nest at the Venice Area Audubon Rookery last spring. A serious amateur photographer, Forward is a regular at the rookery, which is internationally known in the photography community. His usual routine is to walk the perimeter of the site and look for opportunities. Sometimes those opportunities mean a couple of hours of quiet sitting. “I usually go first thing in the morning around sunrise,” he says. “You have to learn the birds’ behavior and be patient. I was particularly lucky with this one.”

Winner | Russ Burch

Deer Prairie Creek Preserve at the southern tip of Myakka River State Park is one of Russ Burch’s favorite places to take a camera. He remembers looking at the weather radar one afternoon in early summer and seeing storms coming in from the east. “I went rip snorting out there to shoot,” he says. As Burch was snapping away, the wind died, giving him perfect still water. “It was the calm before the storm,” he says. “It was coming at me, though, so I had to run to get out. I got dumped on.”

Winner | Mike Brousseau

Mike Brousseau was testing out his new camera one morning at Myakka River State Park as the sun was rising. The clouds were low, and the soft light illuminated the glassy Myakka River for a perfect reflection of clouds and trees. Brousseau, a self-taught amateur who has been serious about photography since 1976, prefers the expressive, dramatic interpretations of black and white. He’s also drawn to nature and often travels to favorite places in New Mexico and Maine with his camera. But Myakka is only 10 minutes away. “It offers diverse landscape opportunities,” he says.

Winner | Patricia Nebel

A pair of great horned owlets that had just found their wings flew to a treetop at the Felts Audubon Preserve in Palmetto, where nature photographers Patricia and Gary Nebel, on a birding expedition in March 2019, spotted them hidden among the branches. Patricia captured the moment. “They looked at us, and we looked at them,” says Patricia. “Their expressions of curiosity are infectious and make me remember how fun it is to learn and try new things, too.”

Finalist | Patricia Nebel

Finalist | Ann McGough

Finalist | Clemmie Cash

Finalist | Michel Foster

Finalist | Hailey Kadivar

Finalist | Amanda Marie Mason

Finalist | Jim Sherry

Finalist | Susan Beausang

Finalist | Jim Sherry

Finalist | Liz Barton

Finalist | Jim Sherry

Finalist | Liz Barton

Finalist | Jane Lyons

Finalist | Eric Hilton

Finalist | Peter Puig

Finalist | Richard Duckworth

Finalist | Steve Maple

Photography by Steve Maple

Winner | Gloria Markiewicz

Gloria Markiewicz has often spotted bobcats while out with her camera in the early mornings, but, she says, “They’re usually very elusive.” This one was “probably either pregnant or had just had a baby,” says the avid amateur photographer, when she was glimpsed at a Siesta Key beach access. “She was creeping through the high grass, maybe looking for a bird.” As a birder herself, Markiewicz says she’s out a lot in nature, and “I take as many pictures as I can.”

Winner | Damon Powers

Damon Powers photographs lightning. He checks multiple weather apps daily and even has a group of friends—check them out on Big Bolt Media—who chase storms all over the state for the thrill and for the images. Powers was walking Blind Pass Beach on Manasota Key as this storm cropped up over the Gulf. He took a single shot, 30-second exposure. “When lightning strikes it freezes all the motion in the clouds and water and that’s why it’s so crisp,” he says. It’s a hit or miss passion, admits Powers, who’s almost been struck by lightning twice. “But I’ll take my chances,” he says.

Grand Prize Winner | Gunilla Imshaug

This pretty pink roseate spoonbill alighted on a spindly branch at the Roberts Bay Rookery early last fall, and Gunilla Imshaug caught the moment as the sun was going down. Imshaug, an amateur photographer, is never without her camera and has been known to convince her husband to drive to Myakka to shoot the Milky Way at 2 a.m. “He is so patient,” Imshaug says. The spoonbill flew off almost right after she snapped the pic. “I don’t know what he was thinking,” she says. “He couldn’t stay on that branch for long.”

April marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but for the nature-loving photographers on these pages, the natural environment is celebrated every day. An impressive 325 photographs flooded our in-box when we put out the call for entries in our readers’ contest, and three exceptional judges— Florida Artists Hall of Fame wilderness photographer Clyde Butcher, Ringling College of Art and Design photography professor Sally Pettibon and Florida Gulf Coast photographer and author Mary Lou Johnson—accepted the task of choosing the winners. The photos show the beauty and richness of our Southwest Florida environment and the talent of the photographers who capture it. “The images for this photo competition were fantastic,” Butcher told us. “It was hard to choose who I thought was the best, but I’m thankful that we have so many wonderful photographers in Florida.”

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists.

Earth Day

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