[photographer] There's a lot of similarities
between hunting & photography
except to the animal.
CATHY ILLG AND SEAN FITZGERALD
ARE IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY
WITH HOPES OF BAGGING A TROPHY BUCK,
AND SNAKE,
[Sean] It's kind of cool.
AND CATERPILLAR.
[Cathy] Don't move!
THEY ARE JUST 2 OF THE 17 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
COMPETING IN THE IMAGES FOR CONSERVATION TOURNAMENT,
A CONTEST PROMOTING NATURE TOURISM
AS A WAY TO PRESERVE TEXAS LANDS
AND THE WILDLIFE THAT LIVE HERE.
[music] [turkeys gobbling]
[Sean] Come on, turkeys, come this way.
EACH PHOTOGRAPHER IS ASSIGNED
TO A HILL COUNTRY RANCH
AND HAS JUST 4 WEEKS
TO TAKE THE BEST PICTURES THEY CAN.
[music] [camera clicks]
PHOTOGRAPHER CATHY ILLG AND HER HUSBAND GORDON
ARE FROM COLORADO.
[Cathy] This is a way of getting us access to lands
that have been shut off before.
And to lands that also are,
a lot of them in a more natural state.
EACH PHOTOGRAPHER SUBMITS THEIR BEST 75 PHOTOS,
FROM LANDSCAPES...
[Cathy] Hi sweetie!
...TO LIZARDS.
[Cathy] Smile!
THE LANDOWNER AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER WORK AS A TEAM
FOR A CHANCE AT SOME OF THE $160,000 IN PRIZE MONEY.
[rancher] This land was purchased by my grandfather in 1909
and we would like to keep ownership of it.
[goats bleeting]
THIS CONTEST COULD BE A FINANCIAL LIFESAVER
TO RANCHERS LIKE JOHN KOTHMANN.
[John] The hard part is being able to generate income and,
and develop a livelihood for you and your family from the land
without altering the permanent nature of the land.
[goats]
The idea of outdoor photography being a potential income
is very appealing to me.
[reviewing photos]
I find myself at the end of each day
eager to talk to them and to say,
well tell me about what you got pictures of today.
I see things that I didn't see before.
Okay, these are sort of the final versions...
[music]
[Sean] There's sort of a pulse out here.
This place is wonderful
in that it sort of slowly reveals its secrets to you.
JUST A FEW RANCHES AWAY,
PHOTOGRAPHER SEAN FITZGERALD IS WORLDS REMOVED
FROM HIS FORMER CORPORATE LIFE.
I'm a reformed attorney, I guess.
I had enough, quit, to do this.
94% of Texas lands are privately owned
and, you know, I'm just in mortal fear that they're all going
to turn into these little ranchettes
and all this beautiful, amazing land is going to be hacked up
and we'll lose the core of Texas, the soul of Texas.
Texas without wildlife is not Texas anymore.
We'll just kind of work his head
until he kind of comes out and points his head at me.
I'm always looking for either very abstract images
or images that sort of tell a story.
Almost looks like it was painted by Salvador Dali or something.
RANCHER BOB PETERSEN IS SEAN'S TEAMMATE.
[Bob] Ultimately my passion is in wildlife and nature and conservation.
So I'm trying to take a business approach to conservation.
THE CONTEST HOPES TO DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN LANDOWNERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS,
MANY OF WHOM, LIKE HUNTERS,
ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR ACCESS TO WILD ANIMALS.
If I can start generating income from my ranch
and allow me to further enhance my property to the benefit of wildlife,
it's a win-win situation.
Images for Conservation believes
that there's an opportunity for photography
to ultimately grow into an industry like that.
[animal distress call]
[Cathy] A photographer's competition is
competing against each other but more than that,
competing against yourself, your time limits...
[whispers] ...don't go in the brush...
and what you can do within the guidelines of the contest.
There are literally millions of nature photographers out there
just like there are millions of people who golf.
It's very exciting really, because
you never know what you're going to see
and you may see something new and for all you know
you're capturing something that's never been captured on film before.
IT'S HALFWAY THROUGH THE CONTEST
AND THE PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE WISHING FOR
MORE COOPERATIVE WILDLIFE TO WORK WITH.
[Sean] Come on, give me a photo. Hey!
[music]
Okay, I've got what looks to be a skink here.
We have mouse.
Stubborn little guy. Oh!
He just came out.
Oh!
Ow!
[Gordon] One day she was in blinds for 6 1/2 hours
and took 4 pictures the whole day
and they were all bad pictures.
They weren't 'bad.'
Yeah, they were bad.
They just weren't good.
No, they were bad.
I spent 3 or 4 days chasing rock squirrels
and it's really a painful process, chasing squirrels.
[Bob] One of the things that fascinated me the most
is I see birds 80 times a day.
But Sean took a picture of one
and it was like I'd seen it for the first time.
[music]
-Got it? -Yeah, I think I got it.
You know the contest has been a pretty grueling experience
both physically and emotionally.
Come on, buddy. Keep going.
[Gordon] We were outside a lot of times
from sunrise to sometimes 11:00 at night or later.
Oh come on, stay still.
It's been 30 days of straight bad hair days,
dirt, grime and stink,
and god knows how bad I smell.
There are so many things to consider.
You kind of think well, it was so difficult to get this shot
but is it really the best shot to enter?
The last light on the last day,
the last picture.
And now I'm going to go to bed for 36 hours.
[judge] I'd go with a 4 on this particular image.
THE CONTEST IS CLOSED.
AND THE FATES OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
ARE IN THE HANDS OF 3 RENOWNED PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERTS.
I've had a whole education about Texas wildlife.
[judge] Very sweet.
Okay, I'll give that a 4.
It's close, but it didn't quite hit it.
The images that I witnessed were extraordinary.
I was surprised, I was also enlightened.
You know, it's amazing to me how many horizons are off.
I'm just going to give that a 3.
-Well, that's it. -You're kidding! We're done?
Yew!
[announcer] The winner of the third grand prize is
Cathy Illg and the Red Creek Ranch.
[applause]
THOUSANDS OF PICTURES AND BUG BITES LATER,
CATHY & THE RED CREEK RANCH PLACED 3rd IN THE CONTEST.
SEAN AND THE PETERSEN RANCH PLACED 5th.
[music]
[Sean] When people look through a camera,
they get a greater appreciation.
They get this instant emotional connection to that subject
that...
plants itself somewhere deep within
and it makes a difference in the decisions they make.
[Cathy] In the end I was very happy with what we got
and our land owner seemed happy with what we got, too.
And hopefully it will help them to be able
to get people to come to their ranch.
[John] Now that I've seen the land through Cathy's eyes
the land is more beautiful than ever.
[music fades]
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE CONTEST,
LOOK FOR THE IMAGES FOR CONSERVATION
HILL COUNTRY EDITION IN YOUR LOCAL HEB GROCERY STORE.