Michael Hodgson was awarded a bronze medal in the global International Photographic Competition for his image of wild horses galloping through the ocean in the Outer Banks.

Michael Hodgson took home a bronze medal in the wildlife category at the 2024 International Photographic Competition, held in Louisville, Kentucky, the end of January for his photograph, “Running With the Wind.” The photograph is of wild horses galloping through the ocean in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

An annual event, this year’s photography competition attracted thousands of entries from professional photographers around the world. Fifteen judges graded each image on a 100-point scale, based on impact, technical excellence, composition, and style. The top 32 images in each of the 16 categories moved into the finals, held at Imaging USA, the annual photography conference organized by the Professional Photographers of America.

“I’ve won my fair share of photography awards over the past few years but having one of my wildlife images recognized for excellence by the likes and quality of the PPA judges for IPC … that’s a step above for me,” said Michael. “I am both very honored and humbled and this recognition inspires me to keep improving.”

His photo of wild horses, “Running with the Wind,” was also recognized as a top image in the 2023 California State Fair photography competition, winning Best in Show.

Michael is a co-founder at the Grass Valley-based travel blog HITravelTales.com, and owner of the online photography gallery MichaelHodgsonPhoto.com.

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