Please mark your calendars! The 9th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception is less than two weeks away, on Saturday, September 21st, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The Exhibit and Reception are at the San Marcos Activity Center.

The Reception is open to the public and I hope to see you there. It’s a great chance to see some beautiful nature photography taken in the natural areas in and around Hays County. You can meet the photographers and their families and friends, support the local arts, and also show your support for the conservation of our natural areas.

The unique beauty of the natural areas within San Marcos inspired the first Naturescapes Photography Contest. The contest now includes photographs taken in greenspaces and natural areas throughout Hays, Blanco, Comal, Guadalupe, Caldwell, and Travis Counties.

Goals of the contest and exhibit include increasing public awareness of the importance of protecting our natural world and giving photographers at all levels of experience a chance to capture, share, and receive recognition for beautiful and inspiring images. Suggested subjects include natural scenery, wildlife, plants, and people and pets in the natural environment.

The contest juror this year is Chase Fountain, a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department staff photographer. His photography has been featured in many publications including National Geographic Explorer Traveler, Men’s Journal, Tide, Prime, Texas Highways and Texas Monthly as well as the Associated Press. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Applied arts and Sciences degree specializing in photojournalism and fine art photography.

A $100 prize will be awarded for Best in Show, $75 for the best Youth Category photo, and $75 for the best Natural Waterscape photo. Up to four $50 Awards of Excellence will be presented for the next most outstanding photographs. Additional Awards of Merit will be presented at the discretion of the contest juror.

The Naturescapes Contest is co-sponsored by the Hill Country Photography Club and the Hays County Master Naturalists.

You can find past Naturescapes images and winners at the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance’s Flickr page:

• Past Contests
• Past Award Winners

Here’s my favorite image of the ones I had selected for the Naturescapes Exhibit last year.

Naturescapes 2012 – Misty Morning Bluebonnets

This photo was taken in Aril 2012. I drive by this spot frequently and it amazes me how different it looks now.