Nature in Focus
FOHR Photo Competition & Exhibition - 2024
The Friends of Heinz Refuge (FOHR) Nature in Focus Photo Competition opens Monday, April 15, 2024 and ends Thursday, August 15, 2024.
Who May Enter
FOHR’s Nature in Focus photo competition is open to photographers of all ages and skill levels using any type of camera – film, digital, cell phone. Heinz Refuge employees, FOHR employees and current FOHR Board Members are not eligible to participate.
Age Divisions
- Children (12 and under)
- Teens (13 Thru 17 – 18 if in High School at time of contest entry
- Adults (18 and over.)
** Participants under 18 years of age must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission to enter.
Categories (In Each Division)
- Wildlife Photography – photos whose subject is a wild animal including birds, mammals, reptiles and insects.
- Nature Photography – includes a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying elements such as landscapes, plants, close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Wildlife may appear in the image but not as the primary subject of the photo.
Eligible Photographs
All photos submitted must be images captured within the confines of the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and must be the original work of the entrant. No domestic animals, pets, or ornamental flora are permitted and invasive plants & species may not be the central focus of the submitted photo (e.g. Phragmites, Swans, Snakehead fish).
Photos generated using Artificial Intelligence are prohibited. Normal processing of the original photo is acceptable including cropping, minor adjustment to color, white balance, tone, lighting levels and curves, shadows and highlights, saturation, contrast, sharpness, moderate dodging and burning, and reduction of noise.
Photographs that have been digitally or otherwise altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified. This includes HDR stacking, stitched panoramas and images that have been manipulated by addition, removal or alteration of anything in the original subject or scene photographed. Borders, signatures or watermarks imbedded in the photograph are not permitted.
Photos taken with drones are prohibited.
How To Enter
All entries must be submitted online through SmarterEntry.com. First, go to https://client.smarterentry.com/FOHR to create a user a Username and Password. Once registered, log-in and select the appropriate FOHR Nature in Focus Contest: Children, Teen or Adult and follow the directions for submitting your photos.
Teens and Adults may submit up to 3 photographs. Children may submit 1 photograph.
- Children and Teens may submit photos for Free.
- Adults will be charged $10.00 for each photo submitted.
- Adults with current FOHR Memberships may submit photos for free with a FOHR Membership Coupon Code.
The coupon code may be obtained at the FOHR Nature Store located in the Heinz Refuge Visitor Center or you may request the code by sending an email to info@fohrefuge.org.
To become a FOHR member, go to https://fohrefuge.org/involved/join/ and sign up.
- Photos submitted must be jpegs and no larger than 5 MB.
NOTE: Parents/Guardians must register at SmarterEntry on behalf of their Children and Teens as required by Child Online Protection Act (COPA).
Judging Criteria
The Judge will score eligible photographs using the following 4 criteria:
- Technical/Quality
- Storytelling/Message
- Impact
- Composition/Intent
In case of ties, the judge will determine winners by direct comparison of the photos and will assign rankings accordingly.
A selection of the top scoring photos in each Age Division Category will be invited to display their photos in the Nature in Focus 2024 Exhibition at the Heinz Refuge Visitor Center.
Awards
Wildlife and Nature Photography – First, Second and Third Place Awards will be awarded in each Age Division Category. Photos must be displayed in the exhibition to be eligible for prizes.
People’s Choice Award – This award will be based on voting of the viewing public. The public will be invited to vote for their favorite photo of all photos displayed at the exhibition in the Heinz Refuge Visitor Center.
Bill Buchanan Award – This award will be chosen by the Refuge Manager who will select his favorite photo in the exhibition.
Award Amounts
Adult Wildlife and Nature Photography Categories
- First Place – $150
- Second Place – $75
- Third Place – $35
Teen Wildlife and Nature Photography Categories
- First Place – $100
- Second Place – $50
- Third Place $25
Children Wildlife and Nature Photography Categories
- First Place – $50
- Second Place – $25
- Third Place – $10
People’s Choice Award
- $50
Bill Buchanan Award
- $50
Photo Exhibition
The Nature in Focus Photography Exhibition will be on display at the Heinz Refuge Visitor Center in September. Awards will be announced at a reception to be held at the annual Heinz Refuge Fall Festival.
If your photo is selected for the Exhibition, you will receive an email with instructions for dropping off the photo. Children and Teen Photos selected will be printed and mounted on foam boards by the Friends of Heinz Refuge at no cost to the photographer. (Note: Optionally, Teen and Children photographers may print and mount or mat their own photos for the exhibition.)
Photos selected for the exhibition must meet the following standards:
- Photos may be either mounted on a foam board or matted, but not framed.
- Photos may be no longer than 14 inches on the longest side including the mat or border.
Questions/Help Requests
Any questions regarding the competition or requests for help may be submitted by email to: info@fohrefuge.org.
Competition Judge
Ned S. Levi is an internationally known professional photographer, travel journalist and columnist.
As a photographer, Ned has specialized in travel and wildlife photography across the globe. In the twenty-first century, with eco-travel becoming more important, responsible travel to the natural world for the purposes of conserving the environment and sustaining the well-being of local and indigenous people, habitat and wildlife, travel photography today includes wildlife photography. Ned has been a leader in educating photographers in travel and wildlife photography technique and ethics.
As a member of both the National Press Photographers Association and the American Society of Media Photographers Ned has been an active photojournalist for many years.
Ned is involved in photography education, leading workshops on general, travel, and wildlife photography, as well as leading groups on photo walks including leading wildlife photowalks regularly at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.
You can view some of Ned’s photographic work at nslphotography.com.
While also writing for industry newsletters, Ned writes a weekly column about consumer, government and corporate travel issues as well as travel photography for Travelers United, the oldest continuously published travel news and commentary website on the Internet. You can also find Ned in the Nikonians Forums where he is a moderator of several forums, including the Travel Photography Forum.
Ned holds a BS from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ned is a member of the National Press Photographers Association, the American Society of Media Photographers/North American Nature Photography Association, Nikon Professional Services, the Copyright Alliance, the National Audubon Society, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Sierra Club, the National Resources Defense Council, the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and Friends of Heinz Refuge (FOHR) at Tinicum.
