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Submissions Coming In for 17th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition; Deadline Nov. 22


It’s that time again! The 17th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition is open for registrations and submissions. Amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to submit at www.appmtnphotocomp.org prior to the competition’s close at 5pm on Friday November 22, 2019. The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition offers numerous categories that will be chosen as winners with over $4,000 in cash and prizes.  

A partnership between Appalachian State University Outdoor Programs, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and Virtual Blue Ridge, the AMPC celebrates the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians. Attracting entries from across the United States, the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition has grown into one the region’s most prestigious photography competitions with almost 1,000 submissions last year and viewed in person by over 6,000 people at the Turchin Center for Visual Arts. The AMPC is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Mast General Store, who are providing generous gift certificates for each category winner. Supporters of the AMPC include: Appalachian Voices, Bistro Roca, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Footsloggers, Peabody’s, Nikon Professional Services, and Stick Boy Bread Company.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating our 17th year of the competition” states Rich Campbell, Associate Director for Outdoor Programs and Competition Director for the AMPC. “We have built a long history of celebrating the people, places, and pursuits of the Southern Appalachians through photography. In addition, our streamlined website that has been designed by sponsor Virtual Blue Ridge.com offering photographers a user-friendly experience. In addition to easy navigation, it also offers one click access to every finalist image from the past 16 years, creating an archive of images that is one of the most comprehensive juried photography galleries of the Southern Appalachians.”

Competition organizers are excited to announce this year’s Blue Ridge Parkway Category theme, sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and Nikon Professional Services, which is Where’s the Water? This year we ask that photographers share photos of the world’s most precious resource within America’s Favorite Drive. Images should highlight our natural water resources that can be accessed from the Blue Ridge Parkway and will be judged on creativity and it’s relevance and proximity to the area it is found on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The winning image in this category will receive a $250 cash award, provided by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and a fantastic camera from Nikon Professional Services.

Another exciting category for the AMPC this year, highlighting our commitment of raising awareness of the natural environment through this competition, is the Our Ecological Footprint Category which is intended to document environmental concerns in the Southern Appalachians. Photographers are encouraged to capture an image that represents our ecological footprint in a creative and poignant way. Appalachian Voices and the Mast General Store are partnering to present this award which will go to the photographer who best captures the spirit of this category with a $500 cash/gift certificate prize package.

Additional competition categories this year include Best in Show, which wins a $1,000 cash prize, the People’s Choice Award presented by Footsloggers which will receive a $350 gift certificate, and the following categories of Culture, Adventure, Flora and Fauna, and Landscape, will each win $250 prize packages from the Mast General Store.

In celebration of the 17th annual AMPC exhibition, and back by popular demand, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) is bringing back portfolio reviews open to all photographers who submit their artwork to the annual competition. In-person portfolio reviews will be available on a lottery system, which will give photographers a chance to have a one on one portfolio review with one of our professional photographers who are leading the reviews this year. Everyone who submits an image to the competition this year is eligible to have an opportunity for a portfolio review slot which takes place on Sat. March 21 at the Turchin Center.

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition offers numerous categories that will be chosen as winners with over $4,000 in cash and prizes.  A panel of professional photographers will review all entries and narrow them down to approximately 50 images that will be displayed in exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, March 6– June 1, 2020. From those images, the judges will select the final winners which will be showcased during the exhibition.

Thank you for your support this year and we look forward to receiving your submissions!

About Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition:

The AMPC is a partnership between Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs and The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. AMPC is made possible through the sponsorship of Virtual Blue Ridge, the premier online resource for the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Mast General Store. AMPC receives generous support from Appalachian Voices;  Bistro Roca, Inventive American Cuisine; the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation; Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters; Peabody’s Wine and Beer Merchants; Nikon Professional Services: and Stick Boy Bread Company. For more information about this photography competition, please visit www.appmtnphotocomp.org, or call Outdoor Programs at 828.262.2475.