It’s that time again! The 18th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition is open for registrations and submissions. Amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to submit at appmtnphotocomp.org prior to the competition’s close at 5:00 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020. 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 thousands of people at the Turchin Center for Visual Arts in Boone, North Carolmina. The AMPC is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Mast General Store, with support from Appalachian Voices, Bistro Roca, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Footsloggers, Peabody’s, Nikon Professional Services, and Stick Boy Bread Company.
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 “Blue Ridge Parkway: Nature’s Escape.” In this difficult year, we have all been impacted by COVID-19. In the face of fear and uncertainty, many have sought refuge in the country’s natural places, where open spaces allow for natural social distancing. The Blue Ridge Parkway offers countless locations where visitors can escape life’s stresses and immerse themselves in beautiful Appalachian scenery. Photographers should submit images that capture scenes of the Parkway’s use as a refuge of escape into the peaceful open spaces of the Appalachians.
The winning image in this category will receive a $250 cash award, provided by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and a 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 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.
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 5 – June 5, 2021. From those images, the judges will select the final winners which will be showcased during the exhibition.
The AMPC website, designed and maintained by Virtual Blue Ridge, features the competition’s archives of finalist images. The Galleries section of the site offers one-click access to every finalist image since the competition’s beginning, making the AMPC archives one of the most comprehensive juried galleries of the Southern Appalachians.
Thank you for your support this year and Happy Shooting!
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 appmtnphotocomp.org, or call Outdoor Programs at 828.262.2475.