Desert Companion

Rounding out our 2026 Focus on Nevada Photo Contest winners and honorable mentions is the grand prize winner, Jarrod Ames! 🥇
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"This was very interesting; I had signed up for a photo walk with Fuji during WPPI and it had gotten cancelled due to the weather. So instead of shooting outdoors the shoot was moved indoors to The Usual Place near the arts district. Here I used one of the models and turned off the lights and used only the light from the flashlight to illuminate her. The story I was building in this shot was if the lights had gone out in the theater and she was backstage trying to turn them back on."
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2,000 images. 600 submissions. 28 winners. Those are the numbers behind the countless perspectives you shared with us. Every year, we’re reminded just how diverse the meaning of home is for hundreds of artists across the Silver State.

The team at Desert Companion and Nevada Public Radio is still coming down from the excitement of last week’s gallery, but we want to thank everyone once again who submitted to this year’s Focus on Nevada Photo Contest for sharing a piece of home with us.

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⭐ The fun’s not over yet! We’ll be highlighting some of the wonderful artists from this year’s contest over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for features and reflections from some of your favorite photographers from the event!

🔗 Visit KNPR.org to take a peek at Desert Companion’s newest photo issue, and see the full roundup of winners!