April 23, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- 4-H members from 53 Arkansas counties submitted entries for Ross Photography Contest
- Catelyn Stearman from Washington County wins Best in Show
- Youth compete at county, state ranges to enhance pictures expertise
(513 phrases)
View Ross Photography Contest winning images
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas 4-H members from 53 counties practiced their creativity and
submitted entries to the 2026 Ross Photography Contest, with Catelyn Stearman from Washington County bringing residence Best in Show.
BEST IN SHOW — Catelyn Stearman, a 4-H member from Washington County, took residence Best
in Show on the 2026 Ross Photography Contest, a statewide pictures competitors
for Arkansas 4-H members. (Photo by Catelyn Stearman.)
“Photography is all around us,” stated Kerry Rodtnick, contest coordinator and multimedia
specialist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “It’s really easy to
take images as of late, however taking good and even glorious images takes effort and
endurance.
“Entering contests just like the Ross Photography Contest helps younger photographers enhance
their pictures by seeing what others are doing and dealing to make their very own images
higher and higher,” he stated.
Entries captured scenes of nature, together with landscapes and close-up pictures of crops,
together with human and animal topics. 4-H members first submitted their images at
the county stage, and people winners had been submitted for consideration on the state
stage.
“The entries have been improving every year, and this year is no different,” Rodtnick
stated. “Our judges remarked on how tough it was to choose this year.”
Rodtnick stated contest judges appeared for pictures that used conventional pictures methods
nicely, they usually additionally thought of how laborious the photographer wanted to work to achieve
the picture.
“They also looked for images that moved them,” Rodtnick stated. “That’s the inventive
side of pictures.”
Stearman’s Best in Show photograph is a black-and-white close-up of a rusted, vintage automotive
that has succumbed to nature, with weeds rising by way of the fender.
“For the Best in Show picture, judges had been impressed by the composition and the distinction
within the picture,” Rodtnick stated.
“Her shot definitely tells a story,” one other decide stated.
2026 Winners
Color — Living
1st: Dream Williamson, Craighead County
2nd: Zipporah Ziokowski, Boone County
third: Conner Burden, Independence County
Black and White — Living
1st: Felicity Witcher, Cross County
2nd: Evey Wallace, Sebastian County
third: Livia Colvin, Randolph County
Black and White — Nonliving
1st: Catelyn Stearman, Washington County
2nd: Diggs Heath, Garland County
third: Andrew Curry, Carroll County
Color — Nonliving
1st: Madison White, White County
2nd: Everett Hutton, Craighead County
third: Blythe Miller, Van Buren County
Best in Show
Catelyn Stearman, Washington County
Friendly competitors
All winners obtain financial awards from the Arkadelphia-based Ross Foundation, which
was established by the late Jane Ross and her mom, Ester Clark Ross. County winners
obtain $10 every, and state-level winners obtain growing prizes for first, second
and third locations for every class. State winners are additionally revealed on social media, Flickr and the Arkansas 4-H website.
“This contest encourages our 4-H children to precise themselves by way of pictures and
attempt just a bit bit tougher since they know they’ll be competing towards others,”
Rodtnick stated. “With a state stage contest, these younger photographers get to see how
they stack up towards others throughout the state.”
The Ross Foundation administers a philanthropic grants program and manages greater than
60,000 acres of timberland, held for conservation functions. Jane Ross served as a
photographic technician within the Women’s Army Corps within the Army Air Force and later
opened a pictures studio in Arkadelphia.
Visit the Ross Photography Contest page on the Arkansas 4-H web site to be taught extra.
To find out about extension packages in Arkansas, contact your native Cooperative Extension
Service agent or go to uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To be taught extra concerning the Division of Agriculture, go to uada.edu. To be taught extra about ag and meals analysis in Arkansas, go to the Arkansas Agricultural
Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture,
communities, and households by connecting trusted analysis to the adoption of greatest practices.
Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service,
the Division of Agriculture conducts analysis and extension work throughout the nation’s
historic land grant training system.
The Division of Agriculture is one in all 22 entities throughout the University of Arkansas
System. It has places of work in all 75 counties in Arkansas and college on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture gives
all its Extension and Research packages and providers (together with employment) with out
regard to race, coloration, intercourse, nationwide origin, faith, age, incapacity, marital or
veteran standing, genetic data, sexual choice, being pregnant or every other legally
protected standing, and is an equal alternative establishment.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061