Arkansas 4-H photographer with professional ambitions wins Best in Show
May 30, 2025
By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- Hundreds of 4-H members submit photos for Ross Photography Contest
- Briley Krug from Benton County wins Best in Show
- 4-H members from 52 counties competed
- Competition gives youth chance to showcase skills, compete, earn prizes
(570 words)
(Newsrooms: Photos of winning entries )
LITTLE ROCK — Armed with a digital camera, a Benton County teen with professional aspirations landed Best in Show and won or placed in nearly all categories in this year’s Ross Photography Contest.
"The judges remarked on the number of great images this year,” said Kerry Rodtnick, contest coordinator and multimedia specialist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “It was evident that the skill levels are improving. We always get a wide range of images, but the number of stellar images really improved this year. The kids are getting creative. We had some night photography entries that were really impressive."
Prizes were awarded to the first-, second- and third-place winners in four categories, with the Best in Show winner selected from the category winners.
Benton County 4-H member Briley Krug, 17, wowed judges with her attention to detail. She won awards in three of four categories and the Best of Show award for a photo of a red leaf dotted with water beads. She also won a first-place award for a black and white photo of a rose and a second-place award for her photo of a ladybug perched on a pencil lead. She used a Nikon D5600 to capture her winning entries.
Photography is a passion for Krug, who hopes to be a professional photographer one day.
Photography is one of more than 50 projects available to 4-H members. Some of this year’s winners, like Krug, have photography as their main 4-H project. Others, like Noah Stephens, 18, of Independence County, take photos as a hobby.
Stephens, a members of the Diamond T 4-H Club, won a first-place award with his photo of a brown owl perched in a tree near Stuttgart and a third-place award for a black and white photo of a Black-capped Chickadee.
2025 Winners
Color - Living
1st – Noah Stephens - Independence County
2nd – Briley Krug - Benton County
3rd – Madison Comer - Hempstead County
Black and White - Living
1st – Jalyn Smith, White County
2nd – Abigail Morehead, Washington County
3rd – Noah Stephens, Independence County
Black and White - Nonliving
1st – Briley Krug, Benton County
2nd – Susan DeLaHunt, Clark County
3rd – Josie Sanders, Faulkner County
Color - Nonliving
1st – Briley Krug, Benton County
2nd – Aiden White, Johnson County
3rd – Blakelyn Riggan, Hot Spring County
Best In Show – Briley Krug, Benton County
Winners received cash prizes, funded by the Arkadelphia-based Ross Foundation. The late Jane Ross and her mother, Ester Clark Ross, established the foundation, which administers a philanthropic grants program and manages more than 60,000 acres of timberland, held for conservation purposes. Jane Ross served in the Women’s Army Corps in the Army Air Force as a photographic technician. She later operated a photography studio in Arkadelphia before she assumed the responsibilities of managing the family lands.
To learn more about 4-H, visit 4h.uada.edu, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent, or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact: Tracy Courage
Director of Communications-Extension
U of A System Division of Agriculture
501-658-2044