One of our favorite community activities is the annual photo contest and we’re excited to kick it off! This contest is open to all project leaders and volunteers who participated in a 2023 Wilderness Volunteers project. It’s time to sit down with your phone, your laptop, or your camera and submit your finest work.
The 2023 photo contest categories are:
- Nature. Photos depicting wildlife, wildflowers, trees, vegetation, landscapes, etc, from a 2023 Wilderness Volunteers project
- Hard at Work. Photos that depict work during a 2023 Wilderness Volunteers project (think tools, working volunteers, the scope of work, etc).
- Wild Card. Compelling or interesting photos from a 2023 Wilderness Volunteers project. Submissions can include camp life, food, hiking on trails, and day off activities.
- Group Photo. A group photo from a 2023 Wilderness Volunteers project.
Click on each category above for the upload page.
The contest will close on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at the end of the day. One winner will be selected for each category with one grand prize winner being selected. You can enter as many photos as you like, just be sure to do so before the deadline. The winners will be contacted via email.
Official Contest Rules:
- All submissions must include your full name in the file title and which 2023 project your image is from. (eg. LizLemon_NewRiverGorge.jpg). We cannot stress this requirement enough. Every year we are forced to disqualify stunning pictures because this criterion is not met.
- All photos must be taken on a 2022 Wilderness Volunteers Project and the subject matter must comply with Leave No Trace ethics & principles.
- The same photo cannot be entered into more than one category. Judges reserve the right to switch images to other categories.
- The contest is open to all WV project participants and leaders, except for Wilderness Volunteers staff, contest judges, and their families. WV reserves the right to verify, in its sole judgment, entrant eligibility.
- Photographs will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit. Awards will be selected by a panel of judges, and all decisions are final.
- Submitted photos with added text will be ineligible for consideration.
- Entries must be submitted to the Wilderness Volunteers photo gallery no later than 11:59 pm UTC by Sunday, January 14, 2024, to be eligible.
- Judges may exclude entries that do not meet the above criteria.
- Winners will be notified by email. Wilderness Volunteers is not responsible for lost or damaged prizes.
