Perspectives on Preservation Photo Contest 2024

Photo credit: Wild Onion Cipher by Kirstin Ohrt

We’re excited to announce our 9th annual photo contest, Perspectives on Preservation, sponsored by REI Co-op Princeton.

The Perspectives on Preservation photo contest showcases the diverse forms of beauty that photographers find in the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area and builds awareness of the role Mountain Lakes plays in protecting biodiversity and enhancing quality of life in our community. Our goal is to encourage residents to explore the natural world more deeply and to learn what our community most loves and values about the Mountain Lakes Preserve and surrounding area.

Photographers are invited to submit up to three photographs of the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area, which is comprised of the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, Mountain Lakes North, John Witherspoon Woods, Community Park North, Tusculum Preserve, Pettoranello Gardens, and the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Trail & Boardwalk.

Photos for submission can be taken at any time of year during the past three years as long as they have not been submitted in a previous FOPOS photo contest.

Our judges will select three winners from among the adult (17 and over) submissions, one for each of the following categories:

  • Contemplating Nature: From towering White Oaks to inconspicuous Gray Tree Frogs to glorious New England Asters, the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, and adjacent preserved open space, is home to a diverse population of native flora and fauna. The Contemplating Nature category is for photos of the natural world—the birds, animals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, plants, soil, and rocks in Mountain Lakes, all of which perform critical ecosystem services, including pollination, dispersing seeds, accelerating decay, recharging groundwater, capturing carbon, flood protection, and cleaning the air.

  • Discovering Human Traces on the Land: The streams, fields, and woodlands of the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area have a long history of human use. In the past 300 years, those activities have included farming, quarrying, ice making, private residency, and, now, hiking and recreation. The Discovering Human Traces on the Land category is for photos of discernible human changes to the landscape, including the trails, bridges, dams, buildings, boardwalk, driveway, and other human-made structures within the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area.

  • Enjoying Mountain Lakes: The Mountain Lakes Open Space Area provides a place for community members to walk, sit, exercise, and play in nature. Along with the physical benefits of exercise and fresh air, being in nature improves mental health and relieves stress and anxiety. The Child Mind Institute notes that playing in nature helps children build confidence, use their imaginations, and engage in multisensory experiences. The Exploring Mountain Lakes category is for photos that include people within the landscape of the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area.

Entries will be judged on their aesthetic merit, creativity and originality, and how they help to celebrate the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area as a refuge for nature and visitors. All awards will be given at the discretion of the jurors. Our judges are the final arbiters of which winning photo falls into each category.

In addition to the winning photographs, approximately twenty photos from the submissions will be selected for FOPOS’s annual photo exhibition and sale in December 2024.

SUBMISSION RULES:

  • Photographs must be taken in the following areas: Mountain Lakes Open Space Area, which is comprised of the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, Mountain Lakes North, John Witherspoon Woods, Community Park North, Tusculum Preserve, Pettoranello Gardens, and the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Trail & Boardwalk.

  • Photos for submission can be taken at any time of year during the past three years as long as they have not been submitted in a previous FOPOS photo contest

  • Maximum of three photographs in JPEG format may be submitted per adult. One submission per 16 and under. Maximum of one prize per contestant.

  • Any aspect ratio is acceptable, but please size the file so that the longest dimension is 1500 pixels and set the quality to “high.” Click here for instructions on how to export the largest possible file from an iPhone.

  • Photos in color and monochrome are welcome. Limited digital manipulations are permitted, provided they do not compromise the authenticity of the image. Compositing to extend depth of focus (focus stacking) or dynamic range (HDR imaging) or field of view (panoramic stitching) is allowed as well, but not scene-altering compositing (for example sky replacement or the addition of objects that have not been part of the original scene).

  • Each photograph filename MUST include the photographer's name and the title of the image. For example: if your name is Mary Jones and you are submitting a photo of an oak tree, you might name your file: MaryJonesAnOakTree.jpg. DO NOT send a file with your camera's default filename

  • In order to ensure anonymous judging, please do not include any signatures or watermarks on the photo that would reveal the name of the photographer

  • When submitting to the contest, please provide an Instagram handle, if you have one

  • Entries must be submitted by midnight on Sunday, September 8, 2024, via email to photos@fopos.org, with “2024 Photo Contest” in the subject line

  • COPYRIGHT: The photographer retains full copyright to their images. However, with participation in the contest each contestant agrees to give Friends of Princeton Open Space permission to use the photographs without compensation on FOPOS’s website, in news releases, promotional print material, social media, for the purpose of publicizing a future contest or the FOPOS organization in general. Friends of Princeton Open Space will always include the photographer's name when using a photograph for any purpose.

PHOTO CONTEST PRIZES:

ADULTS: three winners
$100 REI gift card for the winner in each of these categories:
Contemplating Nature
Discovering Human Traces on the Land
Enjoying Mountain Lakes

AGE 11 TO 16: three winners
$25 gift card to Jazam’s

AGE 10 & UNDER: five winners
$5 gift card to Bent Spoon Ice Cream + $5 gift card to LiLLiPiES Bakery

For questions about the photo contest, please email photos@fopos.org.
For nature photography tips, click HERE. View the 2023 contest winners HERE.

A special thanks to REI for their continued support of this contest through the donation of prizes for our contest winners.