Enter Mass Audubon's Photo Contest

Mass Audubon recently announced its third annual statewide photo contest, "Picture This: Your Great Outdoors." People of all ages and abilities are invited to submit their favorite photographs of wildlife, landscapes, and family and friends enjoying nature.

The 2012 contest runs now through Sunday, September 30. The Grand Prize winner will be awarded a $250 gift card good for Mass Audubon programs and events and for gift shop purchases at Mass Audubon’s statewide network of wildlife sanctuaries. Winners in specific categories will receive $100 gift cards.

As people continue to forge greater connections with the natural world, organizers hope this year’s interest eclipses even 2011’s banner participation: 2,700 images taken by more than 700 photographers.

“Connecting people and nature is fundamental to the mission of Mass Audubon,” President Laura Johnson noted. “As the photo contest grows in popularity, it has become another way for all of us to share and celebrate the beauty of Massachusetts.”

Mary Dineen of Arlington, a 2011 Grand Prize winner for her image of a painted skimmer dragonfly, noted that photographers who participate in the contest join a community of people who show their love for the outdoors through imagery.

Dineen also noted that “having a camera in your hands makes you slow down, really observe things, and appreciate what’s around you. It teaches us to take advantage of conservation areas and other open spaces, or we might lose them.”

After the contest, the winning images will be enlarged, framed, and displayed in a “traveling gallery” that will visit Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries statewide in 2013.

To submit photos and view the complete rules, visit massaudubon.org/picturethis.