By Madison Fisler Lewis
Nov. 18, 2014. For 12 years, the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition has given professional and amateur photographers a chance to showcase their skills, while at the same time bringing to light the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. This year, submissions have been pouring in from all over, and if you haven”t submitted your own work yet, there is still time.
The deadline for submissions for the Appalachian Mountain Photography Contest is on Friday, Nov. 21. The competition has several categories, and all categories are open to amateur and professional photographers.
“We have all types of people who enter this competition,” said Rich Campbell, associate director of outdoor programs at Appalachian State University in a previous interview.
“Amateurs, professionals, teenagers, students. People from all walks of life and from all over the place. You don’t have to be from here to enter, the images just have to be of something in Southern Appalachia. This is a homegrown competition, so many of the submissions are from local photographers, but we have had entries from a lot of different places over the years.”
Categories include Adventure, Blue Ridge Parkway-Beyond the Blacktop, Culture, Our Ecological Footprint, Flora/Fauna and landscape. Once the submission deadline approaches, jurors will begin the judging process for all of the submitted photographs.
After submissions are closed, jurors will begin the judging process and select photographs to be showcased at the exhibit at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone. The exhibition will begin on March 6. The jurors will also select from the exhibited photographs the winners for various prizes.
A private reception for all finalists who have images in the exhibition, jurors, sponsors, and invited guests will be held on March 28. On this date, winners of the various competition awards will be announced.
The winning photographs win various cash prizes which are sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters and Appalachian Voices. The prizes include the following:
- Best in Show – $1,000
- Category Winners – $250
- Blue Ridge Parkway Ecological Footprint Award – $500
- People’s Choice Award – $350
On April 3, a public reception celebrating the competition, the photographs and the photographers will be held at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts from 7-9 p.m. The exhibition will officially close on June 6.
Those wishing to participate are encouraged to start taking photos as early as possible. Submissions can be made online here.The submission limit is 3 images per photographer per category. Cost for submission is $6 per image.
You must be logged in to post a comment.