2014 Oregon Wild Outdoor Photo Contest Winners

Congratulations to all the finalists of the 2014 Outdoor Photo Contest!

After thousands of online votes from the public, here are the winners and runners-up in each category:

  • 2014 Wildlands Winner
    The 2014 Wildlands winner: Sandy Glacier Cave "Snow Dragon" by Eric Guth.
  • 2014 Wildlands Runner-Up
    The 2014 Wildlands runner-up: Dry Creek "Good Day Sunshine" by TJ Thorne.
  • 2014 Wildlife Winner
    The 2014 Wildlife winner: Bushtits in the Snow by David Leonard.
  • 2014 Wildlife Runner-Up
    The 2014 Wildlife runner-up: Western Screech Owl by Rhett Wilkins.
  • 2014 Waters Winner
    The 2014 Waters winner: Abiqua Falls "The Crystal Ballroom" by Tula Top.
  • 2014 Waters Runner-Up
    The 2014 Waters runner-up: Cape Perpetua by Gerard Smith.
  • 2013 Endangered Places Winner
    The 2014 Endangered Places winner: Crater Lake "Appreciation" by TJ Thorne.
  • 2013 Endangered Places Runner-Up
    The 2014 Endangered Places runner-up: Rolling Clouds-Leslie Gulch by Gary Miller.

Read stories from the photographers about how each of the incredible winning images were captured...

Wildlands Winner 2014
Sandy Glacier Cave "Snow Dragon" by Eric Guth

This was taken from the entrance of a glacier cave that has formed within the Sandy Glacier on the western flank of Mt. Hood, Oregon. If you had a large enough telescope, you could see the cave from Portland since the entrance faces due west. A large network of caves was discovered within the confines of the Sandy Glacier just a couple of years ago by a team of Oregon cavers named Eddy Cartaya and Brent McGregor. Tipped off by a YouTube video a day hiker shot of the caves, Eddy and Brent ended up mapping and surveying what turned out to be the largest glacier cave system in the lower 48 states at over a mile in passage length. The cave pictured here was dubbed "Snow Dragon," while an adjacent cave of similar size and orientation is called "Pure Imagination." Capturing this image required a tripod and an 8 second expoure, while the evening light filtered into the cave. I had to select a manual white balance setting because the camera became confused with different color temperatures associated with the "cool" blues of the cave contrasted with the "warm" tones of the sunset. Without having manually chosen a "shady" white balance setting, the camera was recording a scene much more pink than I saw with my own eyes. 

Wildlife Winner 2014
Female Bushtits in the Snow by David Leonard

Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are the sole North American representative of the family Aegithalidae; seven other bushtit species are found in Eurasia. These tiny, gregarious birds are constantly on the move and, unless nesting, always travel in noisy flocks. Sexes are similar except that males have dark eyes and females have pale eyes. Common in neighborhoods, bushtits readily come to suet and seed feeders where they can be very confiding. Pairs build large, complex, hanging nests and all family members (breeding pair and helpers) sleep in it while it contains eggs or nestlings. Helpers are individuals that assist a pair in raising young; about 300 bird species worldwide have helpers at the nest. Bushtits are found throughout Oregon except in Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties; their breeding range and abundance appears to be increasing in Oregon and across their range.

Waters Winner 2014
Abiqua Falls "The Crystal Ballroom" by Tula Top

For Portlanders, "The Crystal Ballroom" will conjure images of an intimate but raucous historic venue with a floating dance floor that's played host to such luminaries as James Brown, the Grateful Dead, Marvin Gaye, and Ike & Tina Turner, as well as lesser-known local talents trying to make a name for themselves. I live just a hop, skip, and a jump from there, actually. In relative terms, Abiqua Falls and its otherworldly amphitheater are also located right in my backyard, and the great freeze that's descended upon the area left me licking my chops to see the falls bedecked in ice. Any notion of solitude and originality quickly dissolved, however, when we rounded the bend into the amphitheater and found a handful of photographers already there. My disappointment soon melted away, though, when I discovered that three of them were Michael Bollino, Paul Bowman, and Scott Miller--all fantastic photographers and Facebook friends whose work I've followed and greatly admired for quite some time now. I also had the fine pleasure of meeting new Pacific Northwesterner Paul Didsayabutra, (say THAT one three times fast), whom we happily gave a lift back to his car parked quite some ways away from the trailhead. It was more than a little intimidating, though, knowing that they'd already been here for hours scouring every nook and cranny for compositions--particularly when Bowman decided to enter full-on 'beast mode' and wade into the wine-chilling water...and THEN scale the cliff near the amphitheater's entrance. Insane! No wonder, then, that I gravitated toward this title for this particular piece: Trying to follow in their footsteps I'd imagine wasn't unlike those relative unknowns who tried to command the spotlight soon after all the Browns, Deads, Gayes, and Turners had exited stage right.

Endangered Places Winner 2014
Crater Lake "Appreciation" by TJ Thorne

I spent a weekend at Crater Lake National Park showing some images in an art show and doing some preliminary legwork for my pending Artist-in-Residency in October. I'm very excited to spend two weeks at the park exploring the nooks and crannies and totally immersing myself in nature. I've never spent that much time out with no agenda and no distractions, let alone in a single place. I feel very fortunate to receive the appointment as only four people per year are awarded with the opportunity.

This was also the first multi-day nature outing I had taken with my son Elliott... who is six years old. His patience and good behavior with sitting at the art show from 10am-5pm and then waiting around for sunsets, hiking, and my 'photography rules' (Don't touch that!, Stand over there!, Don't kick up dirt!, Stay away from the camera!, etc..) astounded me. I won't lie.. there was a hefty amount of "How much longer?" and "Can we gooooooo?" but overall this kid handled himself very well. 

I won't force it on him... but my hope is that some day he will grow to value nature the way that I do... that his interest in the art of photography continues to blossom... and that he will look back on these moments that we spend with appreciation, gratitude, and a desire for more.

This one is for you, buddy. I love you. Thanks for letting me be your dad.