Contributed Photos by Dillon Rapalee
This photo of a gray tree frog taken by Dillon Rapalee was chosen by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as this year’s Virginia Wildlife photo contest winner. Bottom left, Rapalee shows off a copy of the magazine.

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Most people never have the opportunity to experience such sights as a female belted kingfisher bird sitting amazingly still or a gray tree frog getting ready to leap from a branch.

But for a select few, those kinds of images are all in a day’s work.

Each year, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) publishes its Virginia Wildlife magazine with the results of the annual photography contest.
And this year’s grand-prize winner in the kids’ category is Goochland’s Dillon Rapalee.

The 14-year-old Goochland high school student scored himself the back cover of the special edition issue of the magazine with his strikingly close photograph of a grey tree frog.

“I’m very proud that I was able to win the grand prize for this picture,” Rapalee said.

The special issue of the magazine has rapidly grown to become one of the most popular editions and, with 307 individuals submitting around 1,500 photos, it is a real honor to be selected to be a part of the issue, not to mention its winner.

Rapalee’s passion for photography started, obviously, at a young age. He was about 5 years old when it began and his pictures over the years have included people, scenic views, and wildlife.

“People are always fun to photograph,” he said. “But I enjoy wildlife the best because it is always different and pretty. I am outside a lot fishing and hunting so it allows me to capture a lot of different things.”

Rapalee became interested in entering in the kids’ photography contest when he saw the magazine, which his mother, Vickie, had been receiving for years.
And this is not the first time he has actually been honored in this magazine.

The first year he submitted his work, Rapalee garnered a first place for his picture of a praying mantis egg case hatching.

In his second year, he was awarded honorable mention for his photograph of a morel mushroom.

This year, besides being the grand prize winner, he was also presented with honorable mention for a photo he took of his father calling an owl in a turkey hunt.
“The picture of the tree frog that is on the back cover is probably my favorite because it has good composition, lighting, and colors,” Rapalee said of his award-winning shot.

Rapalee is not the only one who is a fan of his work. He once had a stranger, who had seen his work in the magazine, track him down and request an 8x10 copy to display in his home.

Some of his pictures, the GHS freshman added, are displayed around his own house and he enjoys looking at and appreciating his works.

As for the future, Rapalee does plan on continuing to submit to the annual contest held by Virginia Wildlife.

He also would like to begin to send his work to other publications to be published and hopes to make a career out of his enthusiasm for photography.

Though he says he’s enjoying his current class in digital graphics and Photoshop, to date, Raplee has not had any photography classes.

That’ll be something he plans to save for next year.