The City of Alpine has announced the winners of the 2023 # AlpineTXPhoto Contest . Free and open to the public , the contest closed to entries on September 30th . The 13th annual photo contest saw 344 photographs entered by 120 photographers .

Photographers throughout the region and beyond were asked to capture the city of Alpine in a personal , reflective way to reveal the personality of the area . The contest judge for 2023 was renowned designer / art director DJ Stout . All photographs are submitted anonymously to the judge , who is given only their title and a random ID number .

DJ served as art director of Texas Monthly from 1987 until 2000 when he joined the international design consultancy Pentagram Design as a partner . He has been the principal of the Austin office ever since . He was named one of the “ 100 Most Important People in Photography ” in 1998 by American Photography Magazine and was selected by I . D . ( International Design ) magazine in 2004 as one of its “ Fifty American Designers .” He is the author of three books , including his 2010 history of the Alpine Cowboys , The Amazing Tale of Mr . Herbert and His Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club . DJ ’ s design retrospective Variations on a Rectangle was published by the University of Texas Press in 2015 .

Many of Stout ’ s winning picks highlighted ranch life in the Big Bend . The 2023 H . L . Kokernot , Jr . Memorial Award , which includes a $ 500 cash prize , was won by Vicki LeBlanc ’ s “ Refresh .” Stout said about the image , “ I love the action and how the thirsty dog and cattle make it clear how damn hot it is !”

The Charles Henry Trost Memorial Award ( with a $ 100 cash award ), was given to Martin Theophilus ’ “ AHS Homecoming Game .” Stout commented , “ This photographer captured the unique atmosphere of Friday Night Lights in Alpine .”

The remaining contest winners were “ Favorite Place to be is with My Horse !” by Lindsey Arnold , “ Oasis in the Desert ” by Elizabeth Bigouette , and “ Tug of War ” by Shannon King , all receiving $ 50 cash prizes .

All of the winners and entrants , as well as judge ’ s notes on all of the finalists for the # AlpineTXPhoto Contest are available for viewing on the City of Alpine ’ s visitor information web site : visitalpinetx . com �

2 . “ AHS Homecoming Game ” by Martin Theophilus | “ This photographer captured the unique atmosphere of Friday Night Lights in Alpine .”

5 . “ Tug of War ” by Shannon King | “ The body language of the horse and cowboy in this scene make me smile .”