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.

2025-2026

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: “Glitter City,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt
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2nd Place: “Davenport, Iowa,” Brian Abeling of West Des Moines
3rd Place: “Madison County Courthouse,” Morgan Weaver of Winterset
Honorable Mention: “Children Watch Fireworks in the Snow,” Lee Navin of Ankeny

Iowa Landscape

1st Place: “Juniper Tree Overlooking Fall Colors Along the Mississippi,” Suhaib Khan of Glendale Heights, IL

2nd Place Robert D Ray Best in Show

2nd Place: “The Best Campsite in Iowa,” Cody Davis of
Grinnell
3rd Place: “Sunset over Farmland,” Sharon Scarff of Wayland
Honorable Mention: “Wired for an Iowa Winter,” Harlen Perseinger of Grundy Center
Honorable Mention: “Gassing Up,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt

Iowa Water

1st Place: “Ice Fishing,” Silas Clough of Zwingle
2nd Place: “Lake Dreams,” William Beardsley of Spirit Lake
3rd Place: “Dock to Serenity,” William Beardsley of Spirit Lake
Honorable Mention: “Pikes Peak State Park Overlooking the Mississippi,” Brian Abeling of West Des Moines

Iowa Wildlife

1st Place: “Great Blue Heron Shakes off the Morning Dew,” Peyton Renning of Des Moines

3rd Place Robert D Ray Best in Show

2nd Place: “Red Fox Kit Backlit,” Jim Rose of Mason City
3rd Place: “Screech,” Sharon Scarff of Wayland
Honorable Mention: “The World of the Northern Saw-whet,” Cody Davis of Grinnell
Honorable Mention: “Young Buck, Late Summer,” Justin Cox of Iowa City

Iowans in Action

1st Place: “Crawling Through the Corn,” Dave LaBelle of Dyersville
2nd Place: “On the Move!,” Sharon Scarff of Wayland
3rd Place: “The Agony of Defeat,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt
Honorable Mention: “Smoky Job,” Will Hilsabeck of Peterson
Honorable Mention: “Hoover Blacksmith,” Jesse Streinz of West Branch

Hometown Pride

1st Place: “Heaven with a Zip Code,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt

1st Place Robert D Ray Best in Show

2nd Place: “Life at your own Pace,” Scott Hoag of DeWitt
3rd Place: “Nite Glow in Indianola, Iowa,” Brian Abeling of West Des Moines
Honorable Mention: “Holly Learning how to Plow with a Team of Horses,” Deb O’Brien of Jewell

Youth Winner

Youth Winner: “Driftless Falls,” Zane Raza of West Des Moines

2024-2025

Iowa Cities

First Place: Scott Howe “Hazy Des Moines”
Second Place: Sarah Lenz “Woodbine at Dusk”
Third Place: Trent Hanselmann “Fall in Elkader”
Honorable Mention: Kay Munson “Historic Downtown Dubuque”

Iowa Landscapes

First Place: Svitlana Kay “Little George Park”
Second Place: Cody Davis “Iowa’s Fire Tower”
Third Place: Sharon Scarff “Surrounded by Corn”
Honorable Mention: Anji Bennett “Surrounded by Green”

Iowa Water

First Place: William Beardsley “Floating Dock”
Second Place: AJ Ash “Falling for Autumn”
Third Place: Alec Heggen “Aurora Borealis over Clear Lake”
Honorable Mention: William Beardsley “Window to Serenity”

Iowa Wildlife

First Place: Sharon Scarff “Cliff Swallows Arguing”
Second Place: Bill Benson “Swallowtail on Purple Flowers”
Third Place: Benjamin Neff “Between the Rows: Protective Mama”
Honorable Mention: Cody Davis “The Great One”

Iowans in Action

First Place: Lee Navin “Rodeo”
Second Place: Adam Ogler “Crop Duster”
Third Place: Anji Bennett “Combining Natural Curves”
Honorable Mention: Lee Navin “Fly Iowa Air Show”

Hometown Pride

First Place: Katie Kettering “Early Morning in July”
Second Place: Scott Hoag “Potters Mill”
Third Place: Heather Johnson “Sunset Flight”
Honorable Mention: Adam Orgler “Fair Food”

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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