Keep Iowa Beautiful

Congratulations To Our Photography Contest Winners

For information on the photo contest, please visit the contest details page.

“As an avid photographer, my dad, Bob Ray, rarely went anywhere without his camera. Through his lens, he captured the faces and stories of Iowans he cared so deeply about. His passion for keeping Iowa beautiful extended far beyond its natural scenery; it was rooted in his love for the people who made this state so special,” said Randi Ray, Robert D. Ray’s daughter and a panelist in the photo contest.

2024-2025

Phase One Winners

First, second, and third place photos were awarded in each category. The winners were determined by a select panel of judges. The six categories were:

  • Iowa Cities
  • Iowa Landscape
  • Iowa Water
  • Iowa Wildlife
  • Iowans in Action
  • Hometown Pride

Phase Two Winners

Each of the six categories winners were judged by a panel of distinguished judges for the Robert D. Ray Best of Show Award.

Iowa Cities

1st Place: “Hazy Des Moines,” Scot Howe of Urbandale
2nd Place: “Woodbine at Dusk,” Sarah Lenz of Woodbine
3rd Place: “Fall in Elkader,” Trent Hanselmann of Dubuque
Honorable Mention: “Historic Downtown Dubuque,” Kay Munson of Dubuque

Iowa Landscape

1st Place: “Little George Park,” Svitlana Kay of Harlan
2nd Place: “Iowa’s Fire Tower,” Cody Davis of Grinnell
3rd Place: “Surrounded by Corn,” Sharon Scarff of Wayland
Honorable Mention: “Surrounded by Green,” Anji Bennett of Lake View

Iowa Water

1st Place: “Floating Dock,” William Beardsley of Spirit Lake
2nd Place: “Falling for Autumn,” AJ Ash of Waukee
3rd Place: “Aurora Borealis Over Clear Lake,” Alec Heggen of Clear Lake
Honorable Mention: “Window to Serenity,” William Beardsley of Spirit Lake

Iowa Wildlife

1st Place: “Cliff Swallows Arguing,” Sharon Scarff of Wayland
2nd Place: “Swallowtail on Purple Flowers,” Bill Benson of Carroll
3rd Place: “Between the Rows: Protective Mama,” Benjamin Neff of Beaman
Honorable Mention: “The Great One,” Cody Davis of Grinnell

Iowans in Action

1st Place: “Rodeo,” Lee Navin of Ankeny
2nd Place: “Crop Duster,” Adam Orgler of Johnston
3rd Place: “Combining Natural Curves,” Anji Bennett of Lake View
Honorable Mention: “Fly Iowa Air Show,” Lee Navin of Ankeny

Hometown Pride

1st Place: “Early Morning in July,” Katie Kettering of Clinton
2nd Place: “Potter’s Mill,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt
3rd Place: “Sunset Flight,” Heather Johnson of Ankeny
Honorable Mention: “Fair Food,” Adam Orgler of Johnston

2023-2024

Iowa Cities

First Place: Terry Holdren “Sunset at Gray’s Lake”
Second Place: Kent Bailey “Market Night in Downtown Webster City, Iowa”
Third Place: Jesse Streinz “Iowa City Fireworks”
Honorable Mention: Jacob Hannon “Springtime at Kinnick”

Iowa Landscapes

First Place: Buck Christensen “A Misty Sunrise at Hitchcock”
Second Place: Adam Orgler “Iowa Landscape”
Third Place: Craig McPeck “Fields of Gold”
Honorable Mention: Heather Johnson “Springtime Storm”

Iowa Water

First Place: William Beardsley “Majestic Sunrise”
Second Place: Kent Bailey “Red Boat on Briggs Woods Lake”
Third Place: Buck Christensen “Boy Scout Island Reflected at Sunrise”
Honorable Mention: Silas Hanneman “Connecting the City”

Iowa Wildlife

First Place: Eric Burson “Sleepy Barred Owl”
Second Place: Grant Webster “The Space Between”
Third Place: Eric Williamson “Sunset Buck”
Honorable Mention: Adam Orgler “Shy Raccoon”

Iowans in Action

First Place: Brandt Culbertson “Exiting the Mines”
Second Place: Sharon Scarff “Bringing in the Harvest”
Third Place: Andy Repp “Flying Clowns”
Honorable Mention: Chris Ewan “A Devilish Dance in the Iowa Sky”

2022-2023

Iowa Cities

First Place: Brian Gibbs “Elkader Iowa at Sunrise From Lovers Leap Park”
Second Place: Janet Abrahamson “City of Dubuque in fall from Mississippi River Dock”,
Third Place: Adam McHenry “Shattering Silence and the beautiful Des Moines skyline”
Honorable Mention: Steve Dunn “Iowa State Capitol”

Iowa Landscapes

First Place: Drue Powers “Early Morning Fog”
Second Place: Brian Gibbs “Frosty Farmstead”
Third Place: Todd Cogdill “Farms and rolling hills of Western Iowa”
Honorable Mention: Arthur Davis “A Rural Farmland Sunrise”

Iowa Water

First Place: Dave Austin “Malanaphy Springs”
Second Place: William Beardsley “Sunrise Through the Trees”
Third Place: Mark Gromko “Cedar River”
Honorable Mention: Scott Hoag “River Rally Refection”

Iowa Wildlife

First Place: Jesse Streinz “The Squad”
Second Place: Benjamin Neff “Young Buck in the Sunset”
Third Place: Silas Hanneman “Bison”
Honorable Mention: William Beardsley “Canvasback Eruption”

Iowans in Action

First Place: Anji Bennett “Solo Harvest”
Second Place: William Beardsley “Fishermen at Dusk”
Third Place: Brian Gibbs “Old Glory at Sunrise on Ragbrai”
Honorable Mention: Mark Iwig “Color the Wind Kite Festival”

2021-2022

Iowa Cities

First Place: Sharon Scarff “Snake Alley in Bloom”
Second Place: Drue Powers “Beauty in the Storm”
Third Place: Justin West “Winter Capitol Bridges”
Honorable Mention: Jesse Streinz “Chirstmas Past”

Iowa Landscapes

First Place: Wilford Yoder “Cutting & Stacking Oat Bundles
Second Place: Brian Brian Gibbs “Rainbow over Motor Mill at Sunset”
Third Place: Dave Austin “A Season Begins”
Honorable Mention: Shelley Gerjets “Icy Start

Iowa Water

First Place: Scott Hoag “Port of Dubuque”
Second Place: Josh Meier “Macbride Rainbow”
Third Place: David Smith “Nightfall”
Honorable Mention: Trent Hanselmann “Fall Over the Mississippi”

Iowa Wildlife

First Place: William Beardsley “Take-Off”
Second Place: Tana Tesdall “Curious Fox”
Third Place: Rui Chen “Night Tigher Basking in the Sun”
Honorable Mention: Emily Harper “Buffalo”
Honorable Mention: Jesse Streinz “Flying Low”

Iowans in Action

First Place: William Beardsley “Okoboji Regatta”
Second Place: Lee Navin “Dayton Rodeo”
Third Place: Will Hunter “Singing, dancing, playing, socializing and happiness!”
Honorable Mention: Aaron Miller “Cattle Drive Down a Level B Road in Warren County”

2020-2021

Iowa Cities

First Place: Justin West “Super Moon Iowa Capitol in Winter”
Second Place: Josh Meier “Iowa City Fireworks”
Second Place: Josh Meier “Iowa City Fireworks”
Honorable Mention: Justin Rogers “Yankee Doodle Pops”

Iowa Landscapes

First Place: Dave Austin “Trinity Church Under the Stars”
Second Place: Brian Abeling “Rollercoaster Road in Allamakee County”
Third Place: Justin Rogers “Ridin’ the Storm Out”
Honorable Mention: Scott Hoag “From Dusk to Done”
Honorable Mention: Gary Hamer “Sunrise Rays Enter Dance Hall Cave”

Iowa Water

First Place: Brian Abeling “Horseshoe Bluff”
Second Place: Gregg Alliss “Pine Creek Grist Mill”
Third Place: Mark Iwig “Early Spring Sunrise at Big Creek Lake”
Honorable Mention: Aaron Miller “Des Moines River Under the Milky Way”

Iowa Wildlife

First Place: Eric Williamson “Play Time”
Second Place: Twila Ingham “Three on a Tree”
Third Place: Willard Sharp “Eagle Landing on the Ice of Saylorville Lake”
Honorable Mention: Chris Heyer “Dancing Great Egrets”
Honorable Mention: Larry Dau “Catch of the Day – Mink”

Iowans in Action

1st Place: Wilford Yoder from Iowa City. “Helping Hands Loading Oat Bundles”
2nd Place: Norman Wood from Ottumwa. “Balloon Race Night Glow in Ottumwa”
3rd Place: Greg Punelli from Ankeny. “Fishing at Big Creek”
Honorable Mention: Joyce Meyer from Calmar. “Riding the Bulls”
Honorable Mention: Theresa Trimble from Forest City. “Color the Wind Kite Festival”

2019-2020

Katharine Gail Vogel
1st Place: Katharine Gail Vogel from Marshalltown “Adventure in Loess Hills”
Mark Iwig
2nd Place: Mark Iwig from Johnston “Sunrise at Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge”
3rd Place: Willard Sharp from Madrid “The Milky Way and a Tractor”
Honorable Mention: Mark Iwig-Johnston “Sunset at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church”
Honorable Mention: Aaron Miller-Carlisle “July Sunset Storm and Windmill”

2018-2019

1st Place: Justin Rogers of Ankeny “Boone & Scenic Valley railroad Steam Engine”
Ervin Sabic
2nd Place: Ervin Sabic of Waterloo “The Calm Before the Storm-Downtown Waterloo”
3rd Place: Willard Sharp of Madrid “Summer Thunderstorm Near Parkersburg”

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