Contact:
Hugh Kenny, Multimedia Communications Specialist
The Piedmont Environmental Council
[email protected]; 540-347-2334, x7024

Virginia Piedmont, Va. (Sept. 6, 2024) – Now through Sept. 30, professional and amateur photographers alike are invited to submit their best images of the beautiful Virginia Piedmont in The Piedmont Environmental Council’s 15th Annual Photo Contest. Submissions must be taken within Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties, or the City of Charlottesville. Photographers can submit up to five images per category.

This year’s contest categories are:

Beautiful Landscapes and Streetscapes, capturing the beauty of the diverse scenes across that nine-county region, from scenic town- and city-scapes to unforgettable vistas of forests, farms, mountains, rivers, and more;

Native Plants and Fungi, showcasing the plants and fungi native to our region, from the backyard pollinator plot to the towering forests of Shenandoah National Park; 

Wonderful Wildlife, offering glimpses of the incredible creatures that call the Piedmont’s lands and waters home.

Youth Category, for photographers 17 years old and younger, submissions can feature landscapes, streetscapes, wildlife, farms, or anything connected to the environment here in the Piedmont. 

“Photographs taken by people who live in and visit the Virginia Piedmont offer the very best stories of this region’s vibrant life and the lands that support it. The images that local photographers submit into this contest each year help us connect people to this wonderful place in a way we couldn’t do on our own,” said Hugh Kenny, PEC’s multimedia communications specialist and contest coordinator.

The deadline for submissions is Sept. 30. In early October, PEC staff and professional guest judges will select finalists in each category for a public judging period to determine the winners.

All finalists will receive a one-year PEC membership and have their work featured in PEC’s upcoming online and print publications. Winners in each adult category will receive a $75 gift certificate to a “Buy Fresh Buy Local” participating restaurant, while the youth category winner will have the choice of a $75 gift card for a Buy Fresh Buy Local restaurant or Amazon.

For full contest details and instructions, visit pecva.org/photocontest. For questions about the contest, photographers should contact Hugh Kenny at [email protected].

Our 2023 photo contest winners:

• In the category of Beautiful Landscapes: Cassidy Girvin, of Charlottesville, for “Albemarle Aurora Borealis.” Caption: “The aurora borealis dancing in the northern sky from high up in the Shenandoah.”
• In the category of Wonderful Wildlife: Malcolm Andrews of Charlottesville, for “Signs of Affection.” Caption: “A pair of Cedar Waxwings pass a serviceberry back and forth in an apparent sign of affection in Albemarle County.”
• In the category of Native Plants and Fungi: Rod Erickson of Bluemont in Loudoun County for “Bluebells in Morning Light.” Caption: “Early rays of sunshine painting the forest floor covered in Bluebells along the Shenandoah River, Cool Springs Battlefield, Clarke County, VA”
• In the Youth Category: Dexton Meurer of Charlottesville, for “Dirty Feet.” Caption: “Dirty Feet in Crozet, VA. ”

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The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.