Still time for Cape photographers to enter Mass Audubon statewide photo contest
Picture this: A beach at night, surf in motion, sea-weathered wood pilings of an old dock crossing the boundary between sand and tide like two parallel lines of brown-skinned selkies returning to the embrace of the waves. Overhead rises the Milky Way, a dusty lane stretching as if someone has grabbed handfuls of sand from the beach and tossed them into the sky.
This image of a Falmouth beach captured the attention of the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 2018, earning photographer Evan Guarino the grand prize in the organization's annual statewide photography contest that year.
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Could one of your photographs taken in Cape Cod's outdoors, or elsewhere in Massachusetts, be the next grand prize winner, or earn honors as a winner or runner-up in one of the subcategories?
You'll never know, unless you enter. But time is running out.
Cape images often among contest winners
The photography contest, Picture This: Your Great Outdoors, is down to its final days. But Mass Audubon staff is still encouraging shutterbugs of all abilities to enter. The 2022 competition, which started on June 1, runs through Sept. 30.
Ever since the contest began 12 years ago, Cape Cod has been well represented, with images of everything from its diverse animal and marine life to its iconic landscapes garnering at least 38 awards in the various categories.
Just last year, a photo of a girl in silhouette playing in the surf against a deep orange sunset, snapped on a Dennis beach by May Adams, won first place in the "People in Nature, Under 18" category.
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Last year's Cape Cod accolades also included an honorable mention for a photo by Gregory Anderson of a red-breasted merganser diving head first into the glassy waters of the Cape Cod Canal.
In 2020, youth photographer Kieran Barlow claimed the winning prize in the "Birds, Under 18" category for an image of a common tern diving toward the water off a Chatham beach.
There were three other Cape Cod images that got recognition the same year: an honorable mention was awarded to Broderick Lee for a photo of a scallop in the water at the Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary in Barnstable, its shell open to reveal the pale tentacles and blue eyes of the mollusk within; another honorable mention went to Jenny Zhao for a photo of a red fox sitting on a beach in Provincetown with the sun low on the horizon behind it, and at third honorable mention was given to Nancy Orbe for her image of a yellow breasted Northern Parula resting on a branch in Provincetown.
Other winners over the years have captured sweeping beachscapes and salt marsh landscapes, dramatic coastal dawns and twilights, seals, marine birds, crashing waves, and many other subjects.
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Since it began in 2010, the contest has become increasingly popular, especially over the past few years as more people have been "appreciating the outdoors and nature during this time of uncertainty," Mass Audubon said.
"2021 was the biggest contest, with more than 8,000 photos entered," said Mass Audubon Interim Vice President of Marketing & Communications Hillary Truslow via a recent email.
"Every year, we are just astonished by the quality and creativity of the photos entered," Truslow noted. "They really do highlight the wonders of nature in Massachusetts, from rare bird sightings to backyard mammal encounters to breathtaking natural landscapes of the incredible diversity of habitats found across the state."
How to enter the contest
Entering the contest is free. Photographers of all abilities are welcome to enter up to 10 images. Entries are judged by a panel of Mass Audubon staff according to age groups —18 and older, as well as under 18 — and category. The categories include: People in nature, birds, mammals, other animals, landscapes, and plants and fungi.
Photographs must have been shot in Massachusetts or at Mass Audubon’s Wildwood Camp in Rindge, NH, but can have been taken any time prior to or during the 2022 contest period.
One grand prize winner will be awarded a $250 gift card, in addition to being featured in Mass Audubon’s member newsletter, Explore.
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Eleven winners will receive $100 gift cards, and at least six honorable mentions will win $50 gift cards. Additional honorable mentions may be awarded at the discretion of the judges.
All gift cards are to be redeemed at a Mass Audubon shop or wildlife sanctuary.
To enter and to review contest information, visit massaudubon.org/picturethis
Past winners can be viewed at massaudubon.org/news-events/photo-contest/previous-winners
How to take a winning photo
Following are some tips from Mass Audubon on how to take a winning photo:
Know what your camera can do.
Depth of field — The area in front of and behind a focal point that remains in focus. Landscapes require a longer depth of field while wildlife and plants benefit from a shorter one.
Sharp focus — All the elements that are meant to be in focus are very crisp, with no hint of blurriness.
Balanced colors — Time of day, overhead lighting, and the white balance function on your camera all play into how colors will appear in the finished product.
Good exposure — Overexposed images are distracting and underexposed images lose details. Play with the exposure compensation on your camera to fine-tune the contrasts.
Focus on creative composition boundaries — Look carefully around all the boundaries of the frame before you take the photo. What’s in the picture? What’s not? What should be? Vary your positioning and perspective based on the answers to these questions.
Leading lines — Identify directional elements that will drive the eye to the depth of the photo. Diagonal lines tend to be more interesting than vertical or horizontal.
Framing — Adding a frame helps tell the story by giving it a sense of place or time. It can also help create the perception of greater depth. Just be careful that your frame doesn’t compete for attention.
Rule of thirds — To help you determine where the subject should be, divide the viewfinder/screen into a tic-tac-toe board. Items of visual interest should be placed along the vertical or horizontal lines, not in between.
See some of these examples in action and check out Mass Audubon's Photography Composition Cheat Sheet
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Still time for Cape photographers to enter Mass Audubon statewide photo contest
