Judd Patterson receives $1,500 in cash, plusa Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85 Dual Access Photo/Laptop Backpack, a Manfrotto tripod, a PNY memory card and a print of the winning photo from Duggal Visual Solutions.

Every summer, thunderstorms regularly rollacross the Everglades and bring the precious lifeblood of the ecosystem. These storms are great for photography, but conditions are tough. The heat and humidity are oppressive, everything is flooded, and the dawn/dusk mosquitoes make even the most resilient photographers question their sanity. In late August 2009, I set up this exposure while being enveloped by a cloud of mosquitoes, and then after triggering the timer release, I ran around just to get the bugs out of my face. Eventually, serendipity struck, and I had the perfect lightning strike and reflection recorded on my memory card.