#NowOrNeverglades Photo Contest: The Winners

All the selections from this year's entries

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Feb 22nd, 2017

This year's photo contest (okay, last year's) marked a lot of firsts.

It was the first time that we announced the winners of our annual contest in the following calendar year, due to an amalgam of issues. That's something we hope never to repeat again.

It was the first time that the selection of the grand prize winner prompted a discussion on whether the rules of the contest need to be updated (more on that later).

Most importantly, it was the first time that we've partnered with hard-working folks behind some of the most important conservation issues facing anglers today. We did this, it likely goes without saying, to help shed light on these issues and the dedicated efforts to find their solutions. This year, focus was turned to the #NowOrNeverglades effort and similar campaigns to finally solve South Florida's—primarily the Florida Everglades and Florida Keys, both national treasures—longstanding and increasingly dire water issues.

What remained unchanged this year was our distinct privilege to be able to spend our time poring over seemingly countless images from not just around the sport, but around the globe. As has been the trend, this year's pool of entries were amongst our strongest and the small collection of runners-up and winning entries showcased here only scratch the surface. We'll be looking for ways to share more of these great images with you over the coming year.

This year's winner, in addition to taking home the award-winning Sage X fly rod and a bevy of other great gear (full contest details and prize list is here, will be headed to the Florida Everglades and Keys for a 6-day fishing trip and tour; an amazing chance to experience one of America's most iconic fisheries. But, for decades, the Everglades has been facing some serious challenges. And those challenges are mounting. In many places, fishing is a shadow of what it formerly was.

The reason is well understood: Florida's antiquated water management practices —designed to support a failing sugar industry propped up by U.S. taxpayer-fueled subsidies estimated at around 3.5 billion dollars per year — have long starved the Everglades River of Grass of freshwater that naturally drains through the glades and south into Florida Bay. These vastly reduced or eliminated flows of freshwater create hypersalinity and nutrient deficient waters. Sea grass die off and habitat destruction are further fueled by polluted by polluted water discharges to both coasts via the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers that prevent the dammed Lake Okeechobee from overflowing, sparking spectacular toxic algae blooms that close beaches, destroy fisheries and become the subject of national news coverage.

More than 200 Everglades scientists signed a petition supporting a restoration plan for the glades and urging Florida lawmakers to take action. It's time to do something. It's time to speak up. Learn more here. And here. And here.

Above all, sign the #NowOrNeverglades declaration. Make your voice heard.

As in previous years, this year's contest was made possible through generous support. This year we all owe thanks to: Captains for Clean Water, bullsugar.org, AFFTA, Sage Fly Fishing, Redington, RIO and Costa Sunglasses.

Alright, dig in.

Thanks also goes to this year's judges: Earl Harper (Harper Studios), David Lantz (Sage Fly Fishing), Josh Prestin (Redington), Kara Armano (Backbone Media), Peter Vandergrift (Costa Sunglasses), George Costa (Hatch Magazine), Johnny Sain (Hatch Magazine), Bryn Kelley (Backbone Media).

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Here's a great example of why grip-and-grins suck. Look how much more this runner-up shot from photographer Justin Hamblin gives us, without giving us a full look at the fish, virtually any look at the angler, or any idea of whether this is a big fish, small fish or so on. But who cares? There's so much more to see.

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Fly fishing takes us to places big and small. Transmitting the scale of a place is one of the harder tasks facing a photographer. This shot by Brodie Buchanan does it exceptionally well.

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There's often a clarity and smoothness to photographer Matt Shaw's images, one that makes fellow photographers want to go out and buy new glass or at least send theirs in for repair to find out what's wrong. Add this one to the list.

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Some shots just have that special something, like this image of peanut bunker in the lights from Howard Abramowitz. As one judge noted, "Another should-be-outlier that grabs the motion and elegance of bait by the docks all too well."

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Jono Winnel has an eye for what makes a good photo, a fact that is well illustrated here. Like the simplicity of sleeping under a tarp, this shot is unpretentious, doesn't feel overwrought and yet manages to capture the essence of a day in the backcountry about to begin.

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Here's a surprise: Dave McCoy knows what he's doing. Shot on a small stream in Argentina, this is another great example of making scale the true star of an image. As McCoy himself notes, "If there is anything our sport brings us it is the ever presence of natural beauty 360 degrees around us most of the time."

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Saturation slider much? Nah, not on this one. If you've been lucky enough to find yourself on the banks of Oregon's North Umpqua River, you know the colors in this image are all too real. Photo: Arian Stevens. Angler: Jesse Ball.

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When photography isn't about capturing scale or colors, it is about capturing the moment. Here, on the brawling Limay River near Bariloche, Argentina, Santos Fernandez Madero hooks into what turned out to be "just a 25-inch brown trout." Photo: Alex Knull.

RUNNER UP: Even the River Peasants Wear Jewels

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Or the devil can be in the details. This close-up shot from Karen Seginak., of Bolivia's "lowly" sabalo, is overflowing with them. Crane notes, "You need not be river royalty to wear gorgeous gems. These little jewels get transformed into Bolivian river "gold", when consumed by one of their main predators, the magnificent Golden Dorado."

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Loaded with all manner of richness, this image by photographer Jim Stimson of the Smith River has too much going for it to be ignored.

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Did we mention that Jono Winnel has an eye for what makes a good photograph? Perspective isn't quite everything here, but it's most of it.

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Martin Christensson seems, with regularity, to do things with natural light that other photographers only dream of.

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As the editor of this rag, and one of the judges, I'd have liked to see this image from Andrew Luedke walk away with this year's grand prize. While this tarpon hunting shot might come off as cliche at first, it ticks all the right boxes: texture, tone, color and more. Unfortunately for Andrew, I'm not the only one choosing. Angler: Jeff Stolis.

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When fly fishing gives you a perfect, snowy scene like this one, you owe it to the rest of it to capture it—but doing so is no easy task. With this shot, photographer Ray Gadd makes it look easy.

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Resisting the urge to over-process image can be downright impossible for many photographers. Even when we try, many of us fail. This second selection from Andrew Luedke, akin to his first, is heavy with mood without feeling even remotely overcooked.

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Release shots are a dime-a-dozen, except when they're not. In the bevy of release shots we get each year, a few usually stand out. This year, it was this one from Steven Longfield.

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There's not much to say here. If you, like photographer Francois Jacobs, capture an African tigerfish in the process of attacking a flock of birds that wandered too close to the water, people are going to notice.

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Good action capture? Check. Painfully pretty little New Zealand creek? Check. Beautiful colors. Yep. Another box-ticker. Photo: Jeremiah Clark.

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Of this moody aftermath shot, photographer Arek Kubale says "Love bites, especially if your beloved one's jaws are packed with hundreds of knife-sharp teeth."

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Swinging flies for winter steelhead is a dark, contemplative business only to be undertaken by the most serious anglers with deep, deep thoughts. Don't believe me? Just look. Photo: T.J. Orton.

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Was Golden Dorado already at the top of your bucket list? Is it now? If not, then what's wrong with you? Photo: Dave McCoy

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Arian Stevens' action-packed shot received votes from more judges than any other shot except this year's grand prize winner. Why? "Great chaos in the details here. A rare action shot amid a lot of 'staged' entries."

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Martin Christensson is at it again, pulling off some mastery of light. Another shot that made it onto almost every judge's list of picks.

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Here, photographer Matt Shaw shows off his technical perfection again, but adds in a immersive perspective, a stellar action capture and deep rich colors. Easily good enough for second prize, if not more.

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Technically perfect? No. Dust spots? Yes. But so what? As one judge noted, "I can’t believe I’m giving this second place, but common, you never see good shots from this perspective ... the truth is this just feels real, raw, and is surprisingly refreshing." Most of the other judges tended to agree, and that's why this first prize winning image from Arian Stevens kept showing up in so many of the judge's picks.

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In our year of firsts, this one is the biggest. This year's grand prize winning image, from photographer Jeremiah Clark, marks the first time the same photographer has won our grand prize multiple times—prompting discussion about whether there needs to be a rule against that. Jeremy's stunning captures have been wowing us for several years now, and this winning shot is no exception. I mean, those eyes.

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