May 17th-May 21st Pro-Am Me Tournament Results

A small step for man, a giant leap for wildlife!

Our most recent Pro-Am has concluded and an important first step has been taken.

This Pro-Am could be dubbed the Landowner's Pro-Am because it was attended by several important landowners and ranch managers in addition to some skilled and experienced photographers. The landowners who attended are all in the process of developing wildlife photography operations on their ranches, including the first of our ranches outside of Texas which is an important step for the future of wildlife. We were joined by participants from the Santa Margarita Ranch (Cotulla, TX), and Vermejo Park Ranch (New Mexico/Colorado), along with John Martin (never trust a chef who doesn't eat his own cooking) and 3 enthusiastic photographers. Our coaches (Jeff Parker and Sean Fitzgerald) did a great job, and Dos Venadas/Campos Viejos Ranch made certain that the lodging, meals, and photo settings were world-class. We thank you all and we look forward to seeing you again at your next ICF Pro-Am.

Did you miss this Pro-Am? Do you know someone who needs to sign up for the next one? You can sign up for your own Pro-Am today by clicking here.

The May 18th to 21st Pro-Am was a Pro-Am ME, which means that all eight participants and both coaches were on one ranch and competed as individuals. Our participants were John Eppler (Reston, VA), Mack Hicks (Austin, TX), Michael Cryer (Woodlands, TX), Mark Kossler (Vermejo Park), James Reidy (Vermejo Park), Nicole Reed (Vermejo Park), Brian Hughes (Santa Margarita Ranch), Chris Collis (Santa Margarita Ranch), and John Martin. Dos Venadas/Campos Viejos Ranch is a beautiful ranch with great housing and more than enough blinds and photo settings to comfortably host a group of this size.

Daily and overall prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, and even though our participants' photography experience ranged from 30+ years to "this is my first time", every participant came up with a winning photo and everyone learned something.

Daily 3rd place winners were Mark Kossler, Brian Hughes/Mack Hicks, Nicole Reed, and Chris Collis. Mark Kossler, of Vermejo Park Ranch, is new to photography and only shot on the first day, but his one image was good enough to get 30 points and 3rd place for that day. Daily 2nd place winners were Chris Collis, Brian Hughes, and James Reidy. Finally, daily 1st place winners were John Eppler, Michael Cryer, Chris Collis and John Martin. The highest single image score of the event was 38 out of 40 possible points which was earned by both John Eppler and Chris Collis.

Our overall winners were.......3rd place with 118 points, Brian Hughes of Santa Margarita Ranch; 2nd place with 125 points, John Eppler of John Eppler Photography; and in 1st place with a total of 136 points, Chris Collis of Santa Margarita Ranch.

The judges saw improvement in everyone's images over the 4 days of the Pro-Am, and we really need to recognize our judges; Steve Freligh (Nature's Best Photography), Susan McElhinney (National Wildlife Federations' Ranger Rick Magazine), Kim Rothe (Texas Wildlife Association Magazine), and Keely Lewis. We really appreciate their support and their efforts to help save wildlife.

All of the images from this event can be seen by clicking here. We hope you all had as much fun as we did and we hope to see you at another ICF Pro-Am.