Barrett Hedges Wins Major Photo Contest
PHOTO: © Russel Mobley/MTA
Barrett Hedges of Tullahoma will soon be the envy of many budding nature photographers.
As a result of winning National Geographic magazine's 2010 Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest, the 24-year-old will have one of his photos published in the publication's December issue as part of an ad for Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. In addition to having his photograph published, Hedges also won a trip to the Greek Isles.
The winning photograph is a coastal brown bear charging through a river in Katmai National Park in Alaska. Hedges was in the river attempting to photograph bears catching salmon, when he captured the charging bear.
“It's one of my favorites. The bear was not chasing me, although it looks like it,” said Hedges. “I was nervous, but I didn't think it was chasing me and that helped my nerve a little bit.” Although Hedges was confident he had a chance of winning, the Thursday announcement of his win was a still a surprise.
“It's pretty exciting. It's been a hectic morning,” Hedges said by phone on Thursday. “I've been calling everyone.”
Hedges, a 2008 graduate of Carson-Newman College, had his first exhibit last month at the re-opened Tullahoma Fine Arts Center.
Capturing the contest's grand prize out of more than 14,000 other entries is a major accomplishment for a young photographer who dreams of eventually working for a magazine shooting wildlife. “I've always been an outdoors fanatic,” said Hedges. “And the camera gives me another avenue to be outside with the animals. I've always been drawn to, not dangerous, but exciting animals.”
Photographing bears has an element of danger, even while using a 600 mm lens.
“You can only understand them to a certain degree. They are very unpredictable,” said Hedges. “But sometimes they will let you know what they are thinking–and you learn to respect that.”
