The Nature Conservancy in Texas - Howard Cheek press release

Contact

Paco Felici
The Nature Conservancy of Texas
(210) 301-5611
(512) 784-2375 (cell)
pfelici@tnc.org

Jay Harrod
The Nature Conservancy
(501) 614-5081
(501) 920-8006 (cell)
jharrod@tnc.org

Photos

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"Waterhole Landing," Howard Cheek's prize-winning photo
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Howard Cheek of Kempner, TX, winner of the Conservancy's 2008 photo contest
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AUSTIN—March 19, 2009—The Nature Conservancy awarded the grand prize in its 2008 Nature Photo Contest to Howard Cheek, a wildlife photography enthusiast from Kempner, Texas, a small Hill Country town located about 70 miles north of Austin.

“Waterhole landing,” Cheek’s remarkable photograph of a female cardinal with wings dramatically spread, was chosen from more than 14,000 entries. His image, along with 13 other finalists, was posted on the Conservancy’s photo contest page. More than 19,000 people around the world voted, giving Cheek’s image the highest rating.

“I’m thrilled to have won,” Cheek said. “It’s a validation that great nature photography can be accomplished wherever nature is found.”

“We are excited that, out of thousands of photos from throughout the world, the winning image was found, quite literally, in a backyard right here in Texas,” said Laura Huffman, state director of The Nature Conservancy of Texas. “We often take nature for granted, and this wonderful image of a common songbird bird illustrates that if we stop and take the time to look, a connection with nature can be found in your own backyard, in a nearby park or on a Conservancy preserve.”

Cheek began pursuing photography as a hobby just six years ago, but put in long hours shooting and researching on the Internet in order to improve. Unable to travel regularly, he decided to bring nature to him, and constructed raised flower beds and a small, irrigated pond on his six-acre property in the Hill Country. By planting flowers, fruit trees and forage grasses, and by keeping the pond stocked with fresh water, Cheek is able to coax all types of native and migratory animals to his lens, including hummingbirds, songbirds, butterflies, cottontail rabbits and a variety of reptiles and amphibians.

Although he uses state-of-the-art digital equipment, his most striking images are often taken the old-fashioned way—by diligently setting up, doing thorough analysis and preparation on light and shutter speed and by manually focusing on his subjects.

“It’s hard work,” Cheek explains. “But it can be incredibly gratifying—especially at times like this.”

For more information on Howard Cheek and to view a slideshow of his work, visit www.nature.org/texas.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for the benefit of nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns more than 30 nature preserves and conservation projects and helps private landowners conserve their properties through more than 100 voluntary land-preservation agreements. With partners, The Nature Consevrancy of Texas to date has conserved more than 750,000 acres of land and water across the state. Visit The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at nature.org/texas.