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Congratulations to all the finalists of the 2015 Outdoor Photo Contest!
After thousands of online votes from the public, here are the winners and runners-up in each category:
The 2015 Wildlands winner: Crater Lake by TJ Thorne.
The 2015 Wildlands 1st runner-up: Flag Point by Kat Dierickx.
The 2015 Wildlands 2nd runner-up: Ruckel Ridge by Jeremy Forrest.
The 2015 Wildlife winner: Blue Mountains Gray Owl by Scott Carpenter.
The 2015 Wildlife 1st runner-up: Semipalmated Sandpiper by Rhett Wilkins.
The 2015 Wildlife 2nd runner-up: Avocets at Lake Abert by Ron Larson.
The 2015 Waters winner: Proxy Falls by Terence Lee.
The 2015 Waters 1st runner-up: Secret Beach by Kelly Morgan.
The 2015 Waters 2nd runner-up: Koosah Falls by Sung Choi.
The 2015 Endangered Places winner: Coos Bay by Gerard Smith.
The 2015 Endangered Places runner-up: Middle Fork Santiam by Leon Werdinger.
Read stories from the photographers about how each of the incredible winning images were captured...
Wildlands Winner 2015
Crater Lake by TJ Thorne
"I spent two weeks in Crater Lake National Park as the Artist-in-Residence. Thow two weeks were dominated by warm, clear weather which isn't the best for photographic endeavors. On the very last two days of the residency, the temperature dropped and I was treated to the first snow of the season. The experience of hiking through the snow in the pitch dark and watching the sun rise over the deathly quiet park made me feel like I was the only man on earth."
Wildlife Winner 2015
Blue Mountains Gray Owl by Scott Carpenter
"I began exploring the Spring Creek area of Oregon's Blue Mountains six years ago, and have returned many times over the years. This past spring, I had the opportunity to observe multiple Great Gray Owls, including a family with 3 babies. After observing this particular family as darkness fell the evening before, I returned at 4:30 the next morning, a bit cold and wet from my leaky tent, and waited for the day's adventure to begin. Within the first hour or so of daylight, the behavior of two of the fledged babies indicated that they were looking to change their perches. At this young age, baby Great Gray Owls jump (or fall) out of their perches, make their way across the forest floor, and then climb vertically up the trunk of their next tree. The process can take over an hour sometimes. I usually try to guess which tree the baby owl will select (based on angle of the trunk, the number of low branches, etc.), pick my spot, and wait - sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. Luck was on my side this particular day, as my guess was correct, the light cooperated, and this brave baby owl put on one heck of a show. After surveying the tree for a while, the owl in this photo successfully climbed this tree, and perched there for several hours."
Waters Winner 2015
Proxy Falls by Terence Lee
"Still remember my first time here when I left with quite a bit of damage. Slipped, fell, damaged my camera and lens, drowned a remote, ripped pants and a couple deep cuts. A year or so later, I have probably been back 3 or 4 times now and the falls has definitely changed alot probably due to higher water flows at some point. I always wanted to show the sense of scale for this giant mist machine, which also happened to be my personal favorite waterfalls in Oregon. Special thanks to my buddy Rami Jabaji for helping me wipe my lens and trigger the remote."
