May 29

Congratulations to Vicki Bowen of Sweetwater, Texas, who submitted the top-rated image in this week’s It’s A Snap travel photo contest.

“I’m very new at this,” a surprised Bowen said. “I’m just an amateur photographer is all I am.”

While taking pictures “seriously” for just the past two years, Bowen is definitely passionate. Shooting with a Canon Rebel XTI, she has spent much of her time photographing her son’s high school football games. Now that he is days away from graduating and with a football career behind him, Bowen plans to move “into wildlife, floral pictures and scenery.”

Her top-rated image of bluebonnets was captured just two miles from her home. “In Sweetwater, wildflowers bloom in late March to early April,” she said. “This year they were very vibrant blues and very plentiful in Texas.”

Sweetwater is a small town located in west Texas, about a 3 ½-hour drive from Dallas.

And it’s not just wildflowers covering the ground.

Wind energy is a booming business in the area. “The rolling plains of our town are covered with massive wind turbines which send energy across the United States,” Bowen said. “While the bluebonnets are beautiful, they only cover the ground for a few months of the year, and are just one part of the beautiful, rustic scenery.”