Staff photographer Cathy Burkey guest-blogs on ZooHoo!
Our 14th annual Feathers, Fur and Scales Photography Contest brought a new level excitement this year with world-renowned National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore joining as one of our three judges. Knowing Joel’s busy, globe-trotting schedule, it was an honor for us to have him make time to judge our photo entries. He’s one of my most respected photographers, and an incredible supporter of the Dallas Zoo and the AZA community. (Joel debuted his National Geographic Photo Ark exhibition at the Zoo earlier this year!)
Every year, our photography community blows me away with their submissions and this year did not disappoint. Our judges, including Lewis Glaser, Professor and Chair of the Department of Graphic Design at TCU, and The Urban Alternative Director of Communications Heather Lynn, had the difficult job of selecting the winners from all of the amazing submissions in our three categories: adult, teen, and youth.
We honored our winners and their guests with an awards luncheon at the Zoo, where they also received their prizes. We were delighted that a bird keeper from the Abilene Zoo entered the contest, and was chosen as our first place winner in the adult category! Thank you all so much for your submissions. Your photography helps the world connect to our wild world, and could very well inspire our next generation of wildlife heroes.
Below are the winning entries for the 14th annual Feathers, Fur and Scales Photo Contest. Check them out! And if you’re interested in seeing past years’ winners, take a look at our 2014, 2015 and 2016 photographs. Happy shooting!
awww cute. beautiful clicks.