by Don Rose
On June 24, 2026, Vancouver Audubon Society (VAS) hosted an awards ceremony for the winners of this past year’s Youth Nature Photo Contest. The event was well attended by contestants, parents, and Vancouver Audubon members.
Ken Pitts served as the Moderator for the event and announced each of the winners as their photo was shown on the big screen. After each winner accepted their prize money, handed out by VAS President Steve Bredthauer, Jon Pugmire provided some photography commentary and critique about what made these photos stand out and how they could have been even better.
More than 100 photos were submitted to a panel of judges, who independently rated the photos. Their findings were compiled to determine who received the prize money: $200 for first, $100 for second, and $50 for third.
The winning photos were all printed on high-definition aluminum prints, which were donated by HD Aluminum Prints. These beautiful prints will now tour Clark County in various libraries and places of business, shepherded by contest co-founder Karen York. The first display location was in Cascade Park Community Library. Starting this week, they will be displayed for the month of August at the Camas Public Library.
VAS Youth Nature Photo Contest results:
| SmartPhone Nature | Name | Photo Title |
| 1st Place | Emmett Caine | “Serene Sunset” |
| 2nd Place | Shalaka Deshpande | “Fall Colors” |
| 3rd Place | Daven Caine | “Misty Morning” |
| 4th (HM) | Thomas Thornburg | “Lightning on Android OnePlus” |
| 5th (HM) | Thomas Thornburg | “Plants” |
| PC | Kalee Rasmussen | “Warm Autumn Morning” |
| Wildlife, Plants & Nature | | |
| 1st Place | John Mendoza | “Silent Approach” |
| 2nd Place | John Mendoza | “Brushstrokes on Water” |
| 3rd Place | Ammon Caine | “Rascally Raccoon” |
| 4th (HM) | John Mendoza | “The Quiet Pursuit” |
| 5th (HM) | Shaunak Deshpande | “We have a Liftoff” |
| PC | Mark Megli | “Views from Beacon Rock” |
| People in Nature | | |
| 1st Place | Shalaka Deshpande | “Autumn Ride” |
| 2nd Place | Shaunak Deshpande | “From the Nature to Urban Jungle” |
| 3rd Place | Sofiia Hetman | “Blessed Path” |
| 4th (HM) | Sofiia Hetman | “Golden Moment” |
| 5th (HM) | Thomas Thornburg | “Friends in Nature” |
| PC | Emily Orazio | “Be Good and Wait For Me” |
| Steigerwald Nature | | |
| 1st Place | John Mendoza | “Autumn’s Heir” |
| 2nd Place | Isaac Lang | “Great-Blue Heron Eating a Garter Snake” |
| 3rd Place | Isaac Lang | “Male American Kestrel Perched on a Branch” |
| 4th (HM) | John Mendoza | “A Mother’s Touch” |
| 5th (HM) | Shaunak Deshpande | “Sunrise in HDR” |
| PC | Alyxandria Reyes | “Love in the clouds” |
For more information on the contest you can visit this page. Links to each photo will be working soon, so check back to see all the photos.