Judges for the Valley Land Fund's 2010 South Texas Pro Classic photo contest arrived in McAllen, Texas, August 26th, began judging the contest images the 27th and continued through the 28th, then departed August 29, 2010.

Judges were Mark Godfrey, Photo Director for The Nature Conservancy, Amy Marquis, Photo Editor for the National Parks, and William "Bill" Plunkett, professional photographer and President-Elect for the North American Nature Photography Association.

Each judge had an assistant who proofed as the judge scored the individual images and called the scores aloud. Assistants for the judges included Colton Fischer, a 2010 scholarship winner for the North American Nature Photography Association's high school scholarship program, and John & Sue Thaxter, Texas Master Naturalist and Texas Master Gardener, respectively.

During the two days of judging, the judges and assistants took breaks so that they weren't sitting in front of computers too many hours at a time. The assistants rotated from one judge to another, to keep things interesting.

Pictured below are, from left to right in the back row: judge Mark Godfrey, judge William "Bill" Plunkett, judge Amy Marquis and assistant Colton Fischer. Seated: Ruth Hoyt, Photo Contest Director. Not pictured: assistants John & Sue Thaxter.