2022 Photo Contest Winners – The Piedmont Environmental Council

We’re excited to share the winners of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s 13th Annual Photo Contest. Congratulations to Cassidy Girvin, Joshua Rector, Dorothy Kray and Simon Wray for their submissions in our four categories!

The public selected this year’s winning shots through popular vote:

Beautiful Landscapes

sunset falls over a reservoir surrounded by autumnal foliage and green pastures, with mountains on the horizon — **“Sunset Casts a Warm Glow Over Crozet at the Peak of Fall Foliage” by Cassidy Girvin**

Native Plants and Wildlife

a short eared owl is camouflaged in a grassy meadow, with black and gold eyes peering out — **“Spotted” by Joshua Rector**

Local Farms and Food

a brown and white mother cow with horns nuzzles its calf — **“A Mother’s Love” by Dorothy Kray**

Youth

a raccoon clings to a tree trunk and stares at the camera through blurred green foliage — **“Raccoon Scaling a Tree” by Simon Wray**

Thank you so much to everyone who entered a photo or cast a vote this year. The intent behind this contest is to share an appreciation of the Virginia Piedmont through photography. This year’s submissions were stronger than ever and we’re looking forward to showcasing them in the coming weeks and months.

If you missed out on participating in this year’s contest, now is a great time to start taking photos for 2023!

Lastly, a huge thank you to our guest judges, local professional photographers Molly Peterson, Ken Garrett and Callie Broaddus, who helped us select the finalists – all of which can be viewed on Flickr.