8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Opens for Registration and Submissions

@ White Fang by Lynn Willis, 2007 Special Mention, Adventure. Courtesy ASU Outdoor Programs

(Boone, NC) -- The 8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) will open for registration and submissions on Friday, September 17, 2010. Amateur and professional photographers 13 years of age and older are encouraged to submit at www.appmtnphotocomp.org prior to the competition's close at 5:00 pm on Friday, December 17, 2010.

A partnership between Appalachian State University Outdoor Programs, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the AMPC celebrates the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians and attracts entries from across the United States.

Competition Organizers are excited to announce this year's Blue Ridge Parkway Share the Journey® Category theme: The Parkway Tree Project. The areas comprising the Blue Ridge Parkway boast nearly 100 tree species that contribute to ecological zones of unsurpassed diversity. The Parkway Tree Project seeks to bring greater public awareness to the rich natural resources of the region and to document significant trees that contribute to the character, environment, and/or aesthetic of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Photographers are encouraged to capture images of trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway that stand out as the most beautiful, the oldest or largest, trees that tell a story or have a place in history, and those that are unique for their shape, species, or character.

Those submitting images to the Parkway Tree Project will be asked to identify the tree species, document the tree's location (e.g. GPS coordinates, Parkway Milepost, or other identifying indicators of the tree's location), and describe in a short story of a paragraph or more why the photographed tree is of particular significance. Entries will be judged on impact, subject matter, center of interest, and storytelling - effectively sharing the journey by celebrating trees along the Parkway.

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition offers seven separate categories for submissions and $4,000 in cash and prizes. Competition categories include: Adventure; Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas and Share the Journey ®; Culture; Our Ecological Footprint; Flora and Fauna; and Landscape. A panel of professional photographers is tasked with reviewing all entries and narrowing them down to approximately forty-six that will hang in exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, February 4 through June 4, 2011.

Posted: August 14, 2010