Rhonda Spencer's photo of two lowland leopard frogs has taken the top prize in an Arizona Game and Fish Department wildlife photography contest co-sponsored by Arizona Highways.
Spencer's shot, along with those of 12 other contest winners, will be featured in a full-size wildlife calendar included in the November/December 2015 issue of Arizona Wildlife Views, a Game and Fish publication. The winning photos will also be featured in Arizona Highways next year.
Arizona Highways Photo Editor Jeff Kida, a judge in the contest, had this to say about Spencer's shot: "At first glance, the composition appears clean and simple: a frog and its refection, with a background that is mostly out of focus. Once you take a closer look, though, the blurred background turns out to be another frog, and it's facing the opposite direction. That yin-yang makes this much more fun and involving."
Besides the first-place winner, the other honorees were:
- Ken Bruce, Glendale: Anna’s hummingbird
- Peggy Coleman, Glendale: Round-tailed ground squirrel
- Dan W. Conway, Dewey: White-crowned sparrow
- Shane Farmer, Mesa: White-nosed coati
- Louis G. Hoeniger, Phoenix: yellow-eyed junco
- Marti Huzarski, Chino Valley: Pronghorn
- Maria Jeffs, Hildale: Mule deer
- Ruth Jolly, Scottsdale: Canada geese
- Kiril Kirkov, Flagstaff: California condor
- Leslie Elkin Leathers, Tucson: Common mergansers
- Robert Rinsem, Chandler: White-faced ibis
- Tam Ryan, Phoenix: Hooded orioles
To receive the calendar, subscribe to Arizona Wildlife Views by December 31. Until then, one-year subscriptions (six issues) are being offered for just $7, a discount from the regular price of $8.50. You can also buy the calendar for $3 at all Game and Fish offices starting in mid-November.