The Lake Almanor Area Chamber of Commerce reports that a photo taken at Lake Almanor was named one of three winning images from 2024 in a statewide contest.
California Watchable Wildlife and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife launched the California Watchable Wildlife photography contest to acknowledge photographs that illustrate the state’s diverse wildlife and the viewing experience found throughout its natural and wild lands.
Three photos are chosen as overall winners for the year. Susanville photographer Randy Robbins was the Sierra Nevada Conservancy winner for 2024 with his image of a northern river otter captured at Lake Almanor.
“A river otter diving into Lake Almanor from an ice shelf seems to be coming right towards you,” said Robbins. “There were three otters chasing each other around near the shoreline, and I was able to approach within 100 feet without them being bothered by my presence. I spent about 30 minutes observing and photographing the joyful trio.”
The image was photographed with at Canon 7DMkII camera, using a Canon 100–400L lens at 400 mm.
For the contest, a panel of judges critiques each photograph based on creativity, technical excellence, overall impact and artistic merit. Unlike other state-sponsored photo contests, this contest runs throughout the year with winners announced bimonthly. Winning images are featured on social media platforms and the CAWW website.
More information on entering this year’s contest is available at https://cawatchablewildlife.org/photos2025/index.php.
Information provided by Lake Almanor Area Chamber of Commerce