Virginia Wildlife Photo Showcase

The Annual Photography Showcase is offered each year as a way to recognize the rich heritage of Virginia’s wildlife and natural resources and pay tribute to the mission of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR).

Images will be chosen by the editorial staff from those submitted via our online link, available now! Selected images will appear in the July/August 2023 issue, although some entries may appear on our website, blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter sites to promote the mission of the agency and advertise future photography showcases. Promotional usage rights must be available to Virginia Wildlife staff and the Department’s webmaster.

The Categories:

• Virginia Fauna – Native mammals and birds (game and nongame), insects, reptiles and amphibians, underwater images of fish and aquatic life.
• Textures & Patterns – Abstract designs, textures, and patterns found in nature. Make us guess what it is!
• Trail-Cam Images – Images captured on trail cameras that reveal something interesting or funny about the subject.

We’ve kept the 2023 Photography Showcase to the original three categories to make more room for all the photos submitted in those categories. Every year, we’re amazed at the quantity of quality images submitted for each category, so we want to make sure we’re printing as many as we can!

How to Enter

1. The showcase is open to any photographer, amateur or professional, young or young at heart, including employees of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
2. Each photographer may enter up to three (3) images per category. Note that submissions will not be returned and prints are no longer accepted.
3. All entries must be identified by photographer’s name, city/state of residence, and daytime phone number in order to be published. Image location is helpful but not required. Please note that the submission form must also include the brand and model of camera, brand, model, and length of lens used (not mm length shot) and aperture range of lens, ISO, shutter speed, and f/stop.
4. All entries must have been taken in Virginia of plants and animals native to Virginia, within the past five years. We prefer that all photos of wild animals be taken in their natural habitat. We do not condone images taken of animals restrained in any manner.
5. Images submitted must have been shot at the highest resolution and size possible to meet publication requirements (native resolution of 240/300ppi and at minimum 8″ x 10″) but no larger than 64MB per image. PLEASE do not overly sharpen, saturate, crop too tightly, or color correct. Make sure your monitor is calibrated when processing your images as we have received images that are so overly saturated that they can‘t be used.
6. If you have trouble uploading your files, try another browser or update the one you have and restart your computer. Some browsers will not play nice with our system. Google Chrome seems to work best. Internet Explorer can pose challenges.
7. Submissions must be uploaded by 5:00 PM on Monday, February 6, 2023. We do not let you know if your entry has made it in or not because we are hoping it will be a delightful surprise when you receive your subscription copy in the mail! If you don’t have a subscription, now is the perfect time to sign up for one!
   

Submit Your Photos Online

Please remember that each image must not be larger than 64 MB.

The deadline for submissions has passed.