The Hill Country Alliance has announced the winners of its 2025 Texas Hill Country Photo Contest and released its 2026 calendar featuring the top entries.
The contest received more than 500 submissions this year, showcasing the region’s wildlife, rivers, landscapes, historic towns, and night skies. A panel of judges selected four winning photographs for the calendar.
The grand prize went to Geary Schindel for “Into the Depths, Devil’s Sinkhole,” a view from within the Edwards County sinkhole, home to a large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats and swifts. Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area is open to the public and managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Devil’s Sinkhole Society.
First runner-up Phil Ort captured a male Painted Bunting, a songbird familiar to the Hill Country. Second runner-up Kim Clendenen photographed the night sky over the Guadalupe River in “Captured by the Stars.” Third runner-up Norman Williams’ “Changing Colors” depicted fall foliage along the Guadalupe River near Comfort before the summer floods.
The calendar also features photographs by Airon Mothershed, Alicia Paparo, Allan Boutwell, Amira Van Leeuwen, April Rohlich, Ashley Campbell, Carol Serur, Carolyn Whiteside, Colette Nicholl, Daniel Filipe, Holly Ewing, Jacob Janssen, Jeffrey Newton, Jesus Corona, John Neyland, Karen Roberts, Kathy Locke, Khanh Le, LaRue Roth, Laura Bray, Laura M. Levy, Mariela Rodriguez, Mia Havelka, Michael Mallory, Michael Tidwell, Michael Wight, Michelle Graham, Pascual Cervantes, Patrick McKimmey, Sergina Flaherty, Sheila Ellwood, Stephanie Saldivar, Steve Kotzur, Susan Hanson, Tracy Costello, and Cole Hoffman, who won the People’s Choice Award.
The calendar is available for purchase on the Hill Country Alliance website. The contest and calendar aim to highlight the region’s natural and cultural resources and encourage conservation efforts.
The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization that works to preserve open spaces, night skies, clean water, and the character of the Texas Hill Country.
For more information, visit www.hillcountryalliance. orgor contact Jennifer Berrong, marketing and communications manager, at jennifer@hillcountryalliance. org
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