Hector David Astorga
Hector David Astorga is a full-time wildlife photographer based in South Texas. His love of nature and the outdoors began as a child in his native country, Honduras. He leads and conducts photography tours & workshops at multiple locations in North, Central, and South America, Scandinavia, and Africa. He is the ranch manager at the Santa Clara Ranch in Texas, a photography ranch that hosts wildlife photographers from all over the globe.
His work is featured in Nature’s Best Magazine, Audubon Magazine, National Wildlife Federation Magazine, Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, National Geographic Guide Books, Texas Highways, Ranger Rick Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Quail Unlimited, and other national and regional publications.
He is a two-time winner of the prestigious Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards Photography Competition. Averaging over 25,000 entries from photographers in 63 different countries the Nature’s Best competition is one of the premier nature photography competitions in the world. His images won the top award in wildlife in 2019 and 2023.
In 2020 Hector was named one of the “We Will Not Be Tamed” Ambassadors for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. The Ambassadors are a group of remarkable Texan outdoorsmen and women who stand together and tell their stories about Texas, the place that given them so much.
Hector is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers (RMOWP), Texas Nature and Environmental Photographers (TexNEP), Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Awards and Recognition
2023 Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Winner - Wildlife.
2023 National Wildlife Federation - Highly Honored - Baby Animals.
2021 North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Showcase - Judges Choice Award - Landscapes
2021 Bird Photographer of the Year - Highly Honored - Birds in the Environment
2020 North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Showcase - Judges Choice Award - Wildlife
2019 Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Winner - Wildlife.
2019 Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Highly Honored - Birds.
2019 North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Showcase - 1st Runner Up - Mammals
2018 North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Showcase - Judges Choice Award - Birds
2017 Wildlife in Focus - Second Grand Prize
2017 North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) Showcase - 1st Runner Up - Macro/Micro/All Other Wildlife.
2017 North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) Showcase - Judges Choice Award - Altered Reality.
2016 North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) Showcase - Best of Show - Macro/Micro/All Other Wildlife.
2015 Wildlife in Focus - First Grand Prize, Best of Show, and People's Choice Award.
2014 Nature's Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Highly Honored - Wildlife.
2013 Wildlife in Focus - First Grand Prize and People's Choice Award.
2013 Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers Photo Contest - Grand Prize Winner
2012 Nature's Best Photography Magazine - Best Backyards Wildlife Photo Contest - Winner
2011 Wildlife in Focus - Third Grand Prize and People's Choice Award Winner
2010 Valley Land Fund Wildlife Photo Contest - First Grand Prize - Open Division
2010 Valley Land Fund Wildlife Photo Contest - First Grand Prize - Professional Division and Best of Contest Professional Division
2009 National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest - First Place - Connecting People w/ Nature
2008 Valley Land Fund Wildlife Photo Contest - First Grand Prize - Small Tract Competition.