8th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception

We held the 8th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception last night at the San Marcos Activity Center. The reception opens the Exhibition at the Walkers' Gallery and also gives an opportunity to recognize the award winners.

About 100 exhibitors, family, and friends attended. We were treated to snacks, drinks and music by the ensemble, Music Among Friends. Many thanks Linda Kelsey-Jones, the Walker's Gallery curator, for organizing the reception. She told me that Naturescapes is the only juried show at the Gallery and is the most popular one with the public.

Here's the complete list of Award Winners.

Awards of Merit

• River Tree – Noah Medina
• Butterfly I – Larry Alford
• Ghostly River – Erin Reid
• Blue - Larry Alford
• Bee on Cactus Flower - Winifred Simon
• A Touch of Red and Black – Raena Wharton
• Wildflowers – Joanne Salas

Awards of Excellence

• Untitled (deer herd) - Terry Serur
• Mexican Blankets – Michael Smith
• Lazy Day in the River – Carol Serur
• Scissor Tailed Flycatcher – Carol Serur

Best Youth

• Lost in Blue - Abby Linam

Best Natural Waterscape

• San Marcos River Splendor – Carolyn Whiteside

Best in Show

• Hangin' On – Herb Smith

There are 59 beautiful images on display. The Naturescapes Exhibition will be in the Walkers' Gallery until November 9th. Be sure to go see it!

8th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception

Please join us at the San Marcos Activity Center on Saturday, September 15th from 5pm to 7pm, for the 8th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest and Exhibition Awards Reception.

The contest is sponsored by the Hill Country Photography Club and the Hays County Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists.

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 unique beauty of the natural areas within San Marcos inspired the first Naturescapes Photography Contest. The contest includes photographs taken in greenspaces and natural areas throughout Hays County.

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.

The Exhibition runs from September 15th through November 9th, so you'll have a chance to see the photographs even if you can't attend the reception.

Naturescapes 2012

I was lucky to have four of my photos chosen by the juror for the 8th annual Naturescapes 2012 Exhibition. The Exhibition will run from September 15th through November 9th at the San Marcos Activity Center's Walker's Gallery. There are a total of 60 photographs in the exhibition.

The opening reception and Award Ceremony is Saturday, September 15th at 5pm.

This one is "Foggy Morning Oaks", taken on our property last month.

Here's "Misty Morning Bluebonnets" taken along FM150 in April.

I like this one, "Wet Web", taken along Old Stagecoach Road, also in April.

And finally, "White Burst", taken on our property, also in April.

My Naturescapes 2011 Photographs

The Naturescapes Exhibition opened at the San Marcos Activity Center last weekend. It runs through November 4th, so please be sure to go by and enjoy the beautiful photographs.

Two of my images were selected by the contest Juror, Amanda Smith, for the exhibition and she picked one of them for an Award of Merit.

Here's the first one, "Mexican Plum Cluster".

Mexican Plum Cluster

It was taken last spring, on the north end of our property, along an old rock wall. The small Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) tree was covered in white flowers. I meant to make it back later in the spring to see if any plums had developed, but I never did.

I took many shots, but this is the one I thought was best. I like the triangular arrangement of the white blossoms, the simple, bright colors, and the limited depth-of-field makes them fade nicely into the background.
The drought this year meant no flowers and definitely no plums. I'll check it again next spring. I think there are still many good photos left here.

The second one, "Black-eyed Susans", won an Award of Merit.

Black-eyed Susans

This too was taken last spring, when we were still getting signficant amounts of rain. The Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) were all over our property, it seemed. This little meadow was also on the north end of our property, along the rock wall.

I got down on my stomach to get a better vantage. I wanted it to look like the flowers went on forever.

7th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception

We held the Naturescapes Awards Reception last night at the San Marcos Activity Center.

It was a nice evening with music provided by the band "Friends of Music" and over 100 people attended. The reception opens the Naturescapes Exhibition at the Walkers' Gallery at the Activity Center. This year's Naturescapes is the 100th exhibition at the Activity Center and marks a significant milestone for the Gallery and it's curator, Linda Kelsey-Jones. Congratulations to Linda and many thanks for all her hard work in support of the arts!

I was fortunate to have two photographs selected for the Exhibition by the Contest Juror, Amanda Smith. One of them even won an Award of Merit.

Here's the complete list of Award Winners.

Awards of Merit

• "Lost in Lavender" - Lisa Kay
• "The World is Turning Upside Down" - Abby Linam
• "Full Moon" - Winifred Simon
• "Black-eyed Susans" - Art Arizpe

Awards of Excellence

• "White-Crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys" - Stephen Ramirez
• "Dragonfly Landshark" - Lynny Moore
• "Bee and the Candlestick" - Carolyn Whiteside
• "Water Strider" - Winifred Simon

Best Youth

• "Life Through the Lense" - Hannah Whisenant

Best Natural Habitat

• "Dragonfly Reflection" - Carolyn Whiteside

Best in Show

• "Sculpture by Cypress" - Herb Smith

The Naturescapes Exhbition will be in the Walkers' Gallery until November 4th. Be sure to see it!

I'll post my photos next week and also post a link to all the photographs in the Exhibition when we put them up on the web. Something to look forward to!

7th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception

We're holding the 7th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception on Saturday, September 10th, at the San Marcos Activity Center, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

The reception opens the exhibition which runs from September 10th through November 4th in the Walkers' Gallery at the Activity Center. This is the first chance you'll have to view the beautiful  photographs showcasing the natural beauty in Hays County. There will be snacks, music, and social time before the awards ceremony.

In addition to the Best in Show prize and the Awards of Excellence we've had before, this year we will award a prize to the best photograph entered by a youth photographer and a prize to the best photograph which shows a natural  habitat. The Best Youth Photograph prize is sponsored by the Hill Country Photography Club and the Best Natural Habitat Photograph is sponsored by the Hays County Master Naturalists.

We had a record number of photographers and images enter and the contest was very competitive, which is great because it leads to a high quality exhibition. I'm especially excited by the number of young photographers who entered and were chosen for the exhibition. I'll have details at the reception.

It's a great chance to support our goals of promoting public awareness of the importance of protecting our natural  areas and recognizing photographers for their beautiful and inspiring images.

Tell your friends and family! I hope to see you there!

7th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest and Exhibition

The 7th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest and Exhibition is underway.

The contest started accepting entries on May 1st and the entry deadline is July 11th.

The Awards reception will be held at the San Marcos Activity Center on September 10 and the Exhibition will run through November 4th.

This year the Hays County Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist is joining the Hill Country Photography Club as cosponsor of the contest. The contest and exhibition provide an excellent vehicle for the Hays County Master Naturalist organization to advance a key part of it's mission: to educate and increase public awareness of the importance of preserving and maintaining our natural areas.

We've added two new awards this year. The first one, sponsored by the HCPC, is for the Best photo entered in the Youth Category. Photographers 18 years or younger at the entry deadline are eligible. The second one, sponsored by the HCMN, is for the Best photo of a Natural Habitat.

This year's contest juror is Amanda Smith, owner and director of the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City. I'm thrilled she agreed to judge the contest and am looking forward to working with her.

6th Annual Naturescapes Contest Exhibition and Winners

We held the Naturescapes Reception and Awards Ceremony on September 11th. It was a great event and I had several people tell me how nice the exhibition was. It was a pleasure working with the juror, Adolfo Isassi, and all the contestants. I'm truly impressed by the quality of the entries and the winners.

The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance has published the results of the 6th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest. The exhibition is at the San Marcos Activity Center and runs through October 29th. Please make sure you visit and view the exhibition in person, but if you don't get a chance, check out the images at the SMGA's Flickr page.

Remember to keep your eyes and cameras ready! You never know when you might capture next year's winning image!

Best in Show

• Longhorn Grazing, Lucy Durfee, Dripping Springs

Best in San Marcos Area

• Rubyspot #8, Scott Mitchell, San Marcos River.

Awards of Excellence

• Winter Sunrise, Herb Smith, Blanco River
• In Flight, Paul Keese, Aquarena Springs
• Roadrunner, Carolyn Whiteside, San Marcos
• Doe (Infrared), Winifred Simon, Wimberley

Awards of Merit

• Best Depictions of San Marcos Fun and Life:
  
  • Toobin' Fun, Jane Guerin, Wimberley
  • OMG!, Linda Keese, San Marcos River
• Intriguing & Evocative:
  
  • What is It?, Lois Schubert, Aquarena Springs
• Creative Interpretation:
  
  • Down River, Herb Smith, Wimberley
  • Vintage Skyride, Carol Serur, Aquarena Springs

Munchin' on the Wafer Ash

Wafer Ash (Ptelea Trifoliata) is a small native shrub or tree. It grows about 12 to 36 feet tall, although the only ones I've seen on our property are on the short end of this range. The flowers are small and green/white. The fruit is a very distinctive paper-like wafer. The wafers act like wings and help distribute the seeds. The tree provides food and shelter for birds and mammals and the nectar attracts butterflies. All parts of it are aromatic.

While researching for this post, I learned that's it also known as a Hop Tree, but I've never heard it called that. The name is a reference to using the bitter fruit as a substitute for hops in beer brewing.

The Wildflower Center entry says it's widespread, but I've only seen 3 on our property and 1 other tree in our neighborhood. When bearing fruit, the tree stands out and cannot be missed. One of ours was near the house but did not survive last year's drought. The Wikipedia entry says it grows on rocky slopes, which is a good description of our land. It prefers moist soil and can be found in seep areas.

These photos were taken on July 3 earlier this year at our place. This tree is only about 5 feet tall. It may not be very old or is growing in poor soil.

This tree had many fruit on it, reflecting the plentiful rain we've had this year.

It apparently also provides food for grasshoppers. This photo is currently on display at the Naturescapes Exhibition in San Marcos. I call it "Munchin' on the Wafer Ash". The grasshopper was methodically stripping the tree of its leaves, but didn't touch the fruit.

Munchin' on the Wafer Ash

6th Annual Naturescapes Photo Contest & Exhibition

The Awards Reception for the 6th Annual Naturescapes Photo Contest will be held this Saturday, September 11th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the San Marcos Activity Center. The Exhibition will run from September 11th through November 5th, in the Activity Center's Walker's Gallery.

Winning entries will be announced at the reception. The contest received 180 entries and 65 were selected for the exhibition.

In addition, a silent auction with more than 25 items is being held as a fund-raiser for the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance.

The Crystal Creek Boys will provide music.

Naturescapes 2010

This year I'm the Hill Country Photography Club's Coordinator for the 6th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest and Exhibition.

Goals of the contest 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. The Contest is now accepting entries and the deadline for submissions is Monday, July 12th.

The contest is sponsored by the Hill Country Photography Club and the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance. You can find out more about the contest, including the rules, here. The basic requirements are that the photos be taken within Hays County, within the last 2 years.

The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance maintains a flickr page where you can view the images from 2007, 2008, and 2009, and the previous award winners. Be sure to take a look. The images accepted for the Exhibition are of the highest quality and you'll find some truly beautiful nature photography.

If you're interested in nature and photography, this is your chance to share the beauty of the Hays County natural areas and perhaps receive recognition for your work!