At the first Minnesota Naturalists Association Conference I attended, there was a photo contest. A handful of friends and colleagues asked if I had entered any photos. I had not that year because I didn’t know about it. The following year I entered and won the flora category with the most votes in conference history. From 2016-2021 I continued to enter photos into the contest each year.

While living near Nine Mile Creek, I got the opportunity to enter into the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Calendar. Two of my photos were selected for the 2021 calendar.