Press Room

Audubon Invites Photographers to Enter 2018 Photo Awards Contest

Winning entries will be published in Audubon magazine and displayed within the Nature’s Best Photography Exhibition at the Smithsonian for one year.
By National Audubon Society
Published January 08, 2018

NEW YORK — Today, the National Audubon Society, in association with Nature’s Best Photography, announces its annual bird photography contest: the 2018 Audubon Photography Awards.

Judges include birding legend Kenn Kaufman and 2015 Grand Prize winner Melissa Groo, as well as Allen Murabayashi, chairman and cofounder of PhotoShelter. Winning photographs will be published in Audubon magazine and Nature’s Best Photography magazine, and they will also be displayed within the 2018 Nature’s Best Photography Exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  More information on the contest, prizes, and submission guidelines can be at  audubon.org/photoawards.

Categories:

  • Professional (individuals currently earning $5,000 or more per year selling photography)
  • Amateur (individuals currently earning less than $5,000 per year selling photography)
  • Youth (individuals aged 13 to 17 who are making less than $5,000 a year selling photography; children 12 years old or younger are not eligible)

Entry Period:

January 8 – April 9, 2018.

Entry Fees:

  • $15 per image from 12:00 p.m. EST on January 8 through 11:59 a.m. EST on April 2          
  • $20 per image from 12:00 p.m. EST on April 2 through 11:59 p.m. EST on April 9  
  • No fee for Youth category entries or entries submitted via the mail
  • No limit to number of images submitted

Contest Prizes:

  • Grand Prize: $5,000 USD
  • Professional Prize: $2,500 USD
  • Amateur Prize: $2,500 USD
  • Youth Prize: Six days at Audubon’s Hog Island Audubon Camp (Arts and Birding/Photography Track) on July 8–13, 2018 for the winner and one parent/legal guardian.

How to Enter:

Judges will score eligible photographs using the following criteria: a) Technical Quality (30 percent); b) Originality (30 percent); and c) Artistic Merit (40 percent). Judges include:

  • Kevin Fisher, creative director, National Audubon Society
  • Steve Freligh, publisher, Nature’s Best Photography 
  • Melissa Groo, wildlife photographer and 2015 grand prize winner
  • Kenn Kaufman, bird expert and Audubon field editor
  • Sabine Meyer, photography director, National Audubon Society
  • Allen Murabayashi, chairman and cofounder, PhotoShelter

For more information on the Audubon Photography Awards, please read the contest rules and Frequently Asked Questions. Last year’s winners can be found here.

Contest begins 1/8/18 and ends 4/9/18. Must be at least 13 years of age and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or Canada (excluding Quebec) to enter. Entrants under the age of majority must get permission from their parent or legal guardian to enter. Subject to Official Rules, which will be posted 1/8/2018. Void where prohibited.

About Audubon

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety on Twitter and Instagram.

Contact: photography@audubon.org, 212-979-3000.

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