Show Us Bates County: Meet Our First Place Winner, Braylee Haddix
Braylee Haddix, age 12, captured the winning photograph in the 2026 Show Us Bates County Community Photo Contest, turning an ordinary gravel road into an unexpectedly joyful scene.
A seventh grader at NEVC, Braylee is the daughter of Kirk and Heather Haddix. Her mother, Heather, is a registered nurse in BCMH’s Cardiac Rehabilitation department.
Braylee photographed the gravel road off O Highway near Pleasant Gap Christian Church in June 2025. By choosing a ground-level perspective, Braylee’s photo features the warm evening light of the countryside, reflected in a puddle along the road, with a splash frozen sharply in the foreground.
But the splash wasn’t something Braylee planned.
“I was taking pictures and my little brother threw a rock in a puddle and I captured it by accident.”
That note, included in Braylee’s submission, captivated the attention of the contest’s judging panel. The familiar gravel road is an everyday, nostalgic Bates County scene, but the whimsical splash is the focal point, inviting each viewer to find their own shape or story in it. Judges also admired Braylee’s technical skill, particularly her composition and treatment of light.
Braylee’s interest in photography grew last summer when her cousin, Reegan Koshko, spent time taking her around in her Gator, sharing some of her photography tips. The two later experimented with editing together. For her winning photograph, Braylee chose her own camera settings and made slight adjustments to the image in Lightroom.
She photographed the scene with a Canon EOS R6 Mark II and 50mm lens.
This isn’t Braylee’s first recognition for her photography. Her “splash” photograph was entered in the 2025 Vernon County Fair, where it received a blue ribbon and was selected for display at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. Another of her photographs from this year’s county fair was also selected for state competition.
Braylee’s winning photograph will become part of the Show Us Bates County community collection, helping bring the beauty of Bates County inside Bates County Memorial Hospital and its clinics.
Congratulations, Braylee, on a well-deserved First Place!
About the judging: All photographs were judged anonymously. Judges were not given photographers’ names or identifying information during the judging process. After the initial round of voting, judges were provided with each finalist’s Bates County location and submission notes before making their final selections.
Want to see more? Join us at the BCMH Health Fair on October 6 to see more of the photographs submitted to Show Us Bates County and cast your vote for People’s Choice.
