Hunting through a lens
By: Texas Parks and Wildlife
Photographers compete in the Images for Conservation Tournament.
Cathy Illg and Sean Fitzgerald are hoping to bag a trophy buck, a snake, and a caterpillar.
They are just two of 17 professional photographers competing in the Images for Conservation Tournament”Ninety-four percent of Texas lands are privately owned and, you know, I’m just in mortal fear that all this beautiful, amazing land is going to be hacked up and we’ll lose the core of Texas, the soul of Texas,” Fitzgerald said. “Texas without wildlife is not Texas anymore.”
Each photographer is paired with a landowner and has one month to take pictures. The teams hope to share a piece of the $160,000 in total prize money. This could be a financial life saver to ranchers like John Kothmann.
“This land was purchased by my grandfather in 1909 and we would like to keep ownership of it,” Kothmann said. “The hard part is being able to generate income and develop a livelihood for you and your family from the land without altering the permanent nature of the land.”
WATCH THE VIDEO
8 Outdoors
Photographers compete in tournament and look to shoot at animals — with cameras that is.
The contest hopes to develop a relationship between land owners and photographers, many of whom, like hunters, are willing to pay for access to wild animals. Rancher Bob Petersen is taking part.
“If I can start generating income from my ranch that allows me to further enhance my property to the benefit of wildlife, it’s a win-win situation,” Petersen said.
Photographers and landowners can find out more at a symposium coming up March 29 in Kingsville south of Corpus Christi. The 2008 Pro-Tour Nature Photography tournament takes place this April in the Texas coastal bend region. For more information, visit the Images for Conservation Fund Web site.
Categorized as:Nature Photography News Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.