2023 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest

Congrats to all of this year's winners!

The Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest is a joint project between the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) and the Alabama Tourism Department (Tourism). Any amateur photographer not employed by ADCNR is encouraged to enter.

The Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest focuses on traditional photography techniques and the use of handheld cameras. No cellphone, smartphone, game camera, or drone photography will be chosen as winning photos for nine of the 10 categories. Smartphone and tablet photos will be accepted in the Young Photographers category. A total of 8 photos per person may be entered in the following categories. You may enter all 8 in one category or among several categories. Read more below on the categories, contest rules, and more.

Categories

Alabama State Parks

Scenics or people taking part in recreational activities at any of Alabama’s 21 State Parks. A list of eligible parks is available at the Alabama State Parks website, www.alapark.com. When entering this category, the name of the State Park must be included in the description. Note: Tannehill Ironworks and Historic Blakely state parks are not part of ADCNR’s State Parks system.

Birds

Native or migratory songbirds, hummingbirds, game birds, and raptors.

Bugs and Butterflies

Bugs, insects and arthropods. Examples include bees, butterflies, centipedes, dragonflies and spiders.

Cold-blooded Critters

Turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, salamanders, crayfish, and fish.

Nature-Based Recreation

Photos of people enjoying outdoor recreation. Examples include hunting, fishing, shooting sports, boating, paddling, hiking, camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, and surfing. Hunting and fishing photos are highly encouraged. Note: No organized sports.

Scenic

Waterfalls, mountain and canyon vistas, beach and coastal scenery, landscapes, swamps and bayous, wetlands, sunrises and sunsets, and nighttime photos such as astrophotography are included in this category. The photos may include people, but the scenery must be the prominent feature.

Shoots and Roots

Wildflowers, foliage, fungi, fruiting bodies, and other parts of plants or trees can be entered in this category. Native flora and fungi are highly encouraged.

Sweet Home Alabama

Photos in which natural or manmade landmarks or other inanimate objects are prominent. Photos of regional festivals throughout the state may also be entered in this category. Examples include Birmingham’s Vulcan statue, Alabama’s Natural Bridge, city skylines, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s Saturn V, and the National Peanut Festival.

Wildlife

Mammals such as deer, squirrels, black bear, bats, otters, foxes and almost anything else with fur. Note: No pets or livestock.

Young Photographers

This category is reserved for photographers ages 17 and younger. The subject matter can be any of the categories above. Cellphone photos will be accepted in this category ONLY. Ages 18 and up must enter any of the other categories.

Rules

Entries will be accepted online at www.outdooralabama.com. Deadline to enter is the 2024 contest, TBA.
The contest is open to any amateur photographer not employed by ADCNR. An amateur is defined as someone who does not earn the majority of his or her living from photography. ADCNR employees and members of their immediate families are ineligible to enter.
Photos must have been taken in Alabama between 2022 and 2023.
Eligible format is high-quality digital images from handheld cameras only. No cellphone, smartphone, game camera or drone images will be accepted.
File size must be between 5MB to 10MB. See “How to Prepare Photos for Contest Upload” section below.
Photographers may enter up to 8 photos total, all in one category or across different categories.
Each photo must be described during the upload process (species, location, etc.).
Minor adjustments of color/contrast, sharpening, spotting, dodging and burning are acceptable.
Photographs manipulated for artistic purposes by applying special effects such as HDR, collage or photo composites will be disqualified.
Images with borders, watermarks, dates, and names will be disqualified.
Judges will make selections based on quality, composition, content, originality, uniqueness, creativity and general appeal with a focus on traditional photography techniques and the use of hand-held cameras.

How to Prepare Images for Contest Upload

Files should be no smaller than 5MB and no larger than 10MB.
When preparing your photos for upload, first change the resolution to 300 dpi for each image.
Next, adjust the longest side of the image (width or height) to somewhere between 2,500 and 4,500 pixels. Make sure the proportions are locked so that the photo is resized correctly.
Note: Images less than 2,500 pixels on the longest side may be too small for the judges to properly view and too small for printing if selected for the exhibition.
JPG format only

Prizes

First, second, third, and honorable mention winners will be selected in all categories. The judges reserve the right to decide whether a category contains work that merits awards. Prizes will be awarded to each winning photographer and may include items courtesy of ADCNR and Tourism. The winning photos will also be included in a traveling exhibit. Winners will be notified by email no later than February 2023.

Only the contest winners will receive an email.

Traveling Exhibit

The winning photos will be displayed in a traveling exhibit throughout Alabama.

If your organization or venue is interested in hosting the Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest Exhibit, please contact Kenny Johnson with ADCNR’s Communications & Marketing Section by email or call (334) 242-3163.

Submissions

By entering the contest, photographers grant permission to ADCNR and Tourism to use their images online and in print. ADCNR may use any photo entered into the contest for non-commercial purposes and provide photo credits. Those non-commercial purposes include, but are not limited to, educational and news purposes such as print, digital, social media and television. The photographer retains all rights to their photos and may use them in any way they choose.

For More Information

Email: billy.pope@dcnr.alabama.gov

Phone: (334) 242-3151