Lucas Garrard learned about the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association’s 2025 Road Trip Photo Contest from local TV stations in the Dothan area.
The 14-year-old freshman at Enterprise High School immediately decided he wanted to enter the contest and carried his camera with him to his sister’s travel softball tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.
“I saw two of her teammates walking toward the field,” Garrard said. “That was a great picture, so I took it.”
Garrard wasn’t the only person impressed with the image.
The photo received the most online votes in ALBBAA’s 2025 Road Trip Photo Contest, making the young photographer the winner. He receives a $100 gift card as the first-place winner.
“I’m honored that I won,” Garrard said.
Other winners include:
Second place: Shelby Favre York, a Selma resident who snapped a photo of her son, Tripp, at Prairie Creek Campground in Lowndes County.
The second-place photo in the 2025 ALBBAA Road Trip Photo Contest was taken by Shelby Favre York at Prairie Creek Campground in Lowndes County. (Photo Courtesy of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association)
Third place: Barbara Sims, who submitted a photo of her 8-year-old grandson, Jesse Holley, blowing bubbles in Conecuh County.
The third-place photo in the 2025 ALBBAA Road Trip Photo Contest was entered by Barbara Sims, Sims, who submitted a photo of her 8-year-old grandson, Jesse Holley, taken in Conecuh County. (Photo Courtesy of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association)
York wins a $50 gift card, and Sims receives a gift basket filled with ALBBAA-themed merchandise.
“We are so appreciative of everyone who submitted a photo and everyone who voted in this year’s Road Trip Photo Contest,” ALBBAA Director Pam Swanner said. “We designed the contest to highlight the wide variety of experiences available in Alabama’s Black Belt. It’s especially gratifying to know that a young photographer won the contest while showcasing a family outing to see his sister’s softball team. That’s definitely a family memory worth savoring.”
ALBBAA also recently launched its Best Fish Photo Contest, which runs through September 30. Photos submitted for the 2025 version of the Best Fish Contest can show any species of fish caught in the Black Belt during 2025. All photos for the contest must be entered through the Alabama Black Belt Adventures’ website, and the winner will be selected exclusively through online voting.
The Black Belt includes the following 23 counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.
