FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has announced the winners of the 2025 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest.

Nearly 2,000 photos were entered into the contest. Chris Blankenship, the commissioner of the ADCNR, gave a statement on the contest.

“Alabama is a photographer’s paradise thanks to its wide variety of natural landscapes, native plants and wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities,” Blankenship said. “From the north Alabama mountains to the state’s Gulf Coast, the winning images in the 2025 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest highlight the natural beauty of our great state. Congrats to all of this year’s winners.”

Sponsors of the contest included Alabama State Parks, the Alabama Conservation Enforcement Officers Association and the Alabama Tourism Department. Each winner will receive a prize pack and be featured in a traveling exhibit in 2025.

The winners and categories of the contest are as follows:

Alabama State Parks
– First place – Jennifer Lynn Grainger, Cheaha State Park Overlook
– Second place – Will Childers, Gulf State Park Pier at Sunset
-Third place – Drew Senter, Peavine Falls at Oak Mountain State Park
– Honorable mention – Christopher Baker, Sunset at Lake Guntersville State Park

Birds
– First place – Debra Lucas, Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Alabaster
– Second place – Mark Watts, Marbled Godwit on Dauphin Island
-Third place – Amber Hart, Blue-winged Warbler in Guntersville
– Honorable mention – Brien Keith, Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Baldwin County

Wildlife
– First place – Christopher Baker, River Otter in Madison
– Second place – Loralee Manas, Chipmunk in Huntsville
-Third place – Christopher Jessee, Black Bear in Saraland
– Honorable mention – Jim Flynn, Gray Squirrel in Albertville

Cold-Blooded Critters
– First place – Timothy David Huber, Ghost Crab on Dauphin Island
– Second place – Christopher Baker, Turtles in Madison
-Third place – Gabe Clements, Spiny Softshell Turtle in Birmingham
– Honorable mention – Arthur James Davis, Bullfrog in Daphne

Bugs and Butterflies
– First place – Jeff Lynn Payne, Bee in Morris
– Second place – Cary Bone, Ants in New Market
-Third place – Christopher Baker, American Lady Butterfly in Huntsville
– Honorable mention – Angela Dothard, Bee in Anniston

Sweet Home Alabama

– First place – Christopher Baker, Old Red Mill in Albertville
– Second place – Virginia Mitchell, Fort Morgan in Baldwin County
-Third place – Brent Eanes, USS Alabama Battleship in Mobile
– Honorable mention – Elizabeth Marie Renevier, Bellingrath Gardens Fountain in Theodore

Nature-Based Recreation
– First place – Christopher Baker, Exploring Stephens Gap in Jackson County
– Second place – Keith Bozeman, Kayaking the Tennessee River at Sunset
-Third place – Keith Bozeman, Kayaker and Bald Cypress on the Tennessee River
– Honorable mention – Elizabeth Marie Renevier, Sunset Bubbles on Magnolia Beach in Fairhope

Shoots and Roots
– First place – Brad Lackey, Puffball Mushroom in Huntsville
– Second place – Arthur James Davis, Fly Agaric Mushrooms at Splinter Hill Bog
-Third place – Caroline Reese Thornton, Mushrooms in Rockford
– Honorable mention – Brad Lackey, Fiddlehead Fern in Mentone

Scenic
– First place – Edward Townsend, Green Mountain Nature Trail Covered Bridge in Huntsville
– Second place – Keith Bozeman, Lower Caney Creek Falls in Bankhead National Forest
-Third place – Joshua Norman Smith, Milky Way Over Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island
– Honorable mention – Virginia Mitchell, Mize Mills Falls in Bankhead National Forest

Young Photographers
– First place – Killette Joan Brickley (age 10), Green Lynx Spider in Scottsboro
– Second place – Finn Jerome Larche (age 14), Royal Tern in Baldwin County
-Third place – Weston Lee Brown (age 11), Wild Turkeys in Gordo
– Honorable mention – Margaret Lamey Singleton (age 16), Soldier Creek in Baldwin County

For more information about the photo contest visit Outdooralabama.com/photocontest.