Daniel Bowler couldn't believe his eyes when he got home from a three-hour hike with his golden retriever and camera in tow.

Bowler has taken thousands of pictures over the years, often on visits to Lake Tahoe with his canine companion Beau.

"They say walking in the woods is really good for your health and longevity, and it's really beautiful up there," he said.

'Kind of an accident'

On that day, Beau was playing in the lake, jumping from rock to rock, while Bowler tried to capture the action.

When he opened his computer later to look at the photos, he was stunned by one: Beau standing peacefully still, looking into the distance, the sky pure azure, the water aquamarine.

He immediately knew what he would call it: "Golden Peace."

"I think it's the best picture I've ever taken in my life, and it was kind of an accident," the proud dog-dad said. "I've never seen a picture like 'Golden Peace' in my life. To me, it's a prayer for peace on Planet Earth in the form of a photo."

Watching his rankings climb

When Bowler learned about America's Favorite Photos, he couldn’t wait to enter the picture into the competition.

"The competition really celebrates photography and the sharing of it," he said. "You can sign up for free. Every round there are new images, pictures you would never otherwise see. It's not a competition of one subject matter, it's wide open. It's fun, it's dynamic. The images are always changing. I enjoy it quite a bit."

Bowler's photo "Golden Peace" earned him – and his dog – a following in the competition in June.

"There were people from all over voting for Beau and sharing it with their friends," Bowler said.

He was thrilled watching the photo rise in rankings, hitting first place at times, he said. But at the end, another image won. "That burst my balloon," he recalled.

But in July, Bowler entered again, and this time “Golden Peace” topped the competition.

"When I saw that we had won I put Beau on a leash, and we ran for an hour and a half," Bowler recalled. "I tried to sit down with our dog park friends, and I couldn't. I was somewhere between Planet Earth and the moon, and I really didn't come down for another three days!"

"And on that third day, guess what I found in my mailbox?" Bowler said. "The cashiers check. There it was. All real!"

Winning together

Bowler said he now has friends who are submitting their own photos to the competition and voting for and rooting each other on. The free double vote days are a big help, he noted.

"This photo competition is wide open. Anyone can win it," he said. "People were messaging me that they have their friends and family all voting for me. That's where the power of people voting for you is really valuable."

'A great way to celebrate photography'

Bowler encourages everyone to submit a photo they believe in and that has meaning to them.

"At the end of the day, you have to have a great photo that people are emotional about, so they care enough to come back and vote every day," Bowler said. "If you want to win, that's where you start. If you don't believe in your photo, who will?"

Bowler says he enjoys taking photos because they can tell a story to someone with one glance. He's glad America's Favorite Photos brings the joy of these stories to so many people.

"It's a great way to celebrate photography," he said.

Everyone is welcome to enter a photo in the next upcoming competition at AmericasFavoritePhotos.com

View Daniel's
Winning Photo