The contest, open to photographers at any level using any device, from DSLRs and mirrorless cameras to smartphones, got underway in March, and the first month of the competition saw entries coming in from around the world. Today we’re featuring several images that caught then attention of our judges, from a shot of cypress trees in an iconic North Carolina location to a hovering dragonfly in an iconic Georgia location and a view of traffic in an iconic California canyon.

Now’s the time for you to start getting your entries ready. There are a number of ways to win. In addition to the Open prizes, our partner SanDisk’s ”Share Your World” competition is once again open for entries. (To enter the SanDisk competition, select the “Share Your World” category and follow the instructions there. The SanDisk entries will also be eligible for the Open prizes. You can enter both competitions as many times as you wish.

The Open Grand Prize winner will receive $5,000 and prizes from our partner sponsors. Our finalists will also receive prizes from our sponsors, including a Tamron 35mm F/2.8 Di III OSD (Model F053) for Sony mirrorless $249 value or $150 credit towards any Tamron lens purchase (Note: credit for USA residents only), a SanDisk 128GB Extreme Pro SD card and a PhotoShelter 1 year standard account.

The deadline is August 31, but why wait? Go here for more information on the prizes, judges, and information on how to enter. Meanwhile, check out the highlighted entries from March:
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Robert Slade: “Poise”

Based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Robert Slade is an avid amateur photographer who came to photography through a general love of art. “I appreciate the flexibility and the nuances of the camera paired with the photo editing software,” he says. “It gives you endless possibilities. Photography gives me something to do during retirement and covid seclusion.”

Last June, as the country began emerging from covid lockdowns, Slade shot this photo of a dragonfly while wandering the grounds of Gibbs Gardens, a sprawling 220-acre tourist destination in Ball Ground, Georgia, that filled with varieties of flower gardens. “This is one of many pictures I took that day,” he says. “I hung out by one of their ponds where the dragonflies were hovering and waited until one lit on a water lily.” Slade shot with a Sony a7 III and a Sony FE 4.5-5.6/70-300 G OSS lens.

“Being outside, lighting is always an issue. Sunlight can either cause shadows or bleaching,” notes Slade. “Also, the fact that the dragonfly is constantly moving makes it difficult to get a clear shot.” Nonetheless, he showed poise in his quest for a memorable photo.

See more of Robert Slade’s work at Instagram.
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Chip Freund: “Lake Mattamuskeet Trees”

Chip Freund began his life in photography as a 10 year old, when he started taking pictures with a Kodak 110 Instamatic camera. “I graduated to 35mm camera handed down from my parents, but it wasn’t until my grandfather took me on what he called a 'photo safari' — a great name for a walk about with the purpose of looking for images — that the passion was truly ignited,” he says. Today Freund is a professional photographer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In January of 2021, he was shooting at a the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a location known for the cypress trees that grow in the middle of a large lake.

“I wanted to create an image of them. I needed a foggy day and a cooperative fog bank. Too much fog between me and the trees and I would lose detail in the trees. Too little fog and the far shoreline would clutter the image,” Freund says. He used a Nikon D750 with a Tamron 70-210mm f/4 lens (at 210mm) to capture eight exposures that he later stitched together as a panoramic image.

“By creating a composite panorama, I was able to capture a great deal of detail in the trees that would not have been possible with a single image cropped to a panorama,” notes Freund.

See more of Chip Freund’s work at his website and at Instagram.
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Brallan Perez Favela : “Time Trap”

Just north of Los Angeles, there’s bend in the road that has become a lure for photographers. Indeed, this particular stretch of California State Route 23—a one-time stagecoach trail between the cities of Moorpark and Fillmore through Grimes Canyon—may be one of the most photogenic roads in the USA. “Judging by the number of wrecked cars littering its embankments, Grimes Canyon is also one of the state’s most treacherous,” adds this travel guide.

“This place is especially known for long-exposure photography due to the nature of the road,” says Brallan Perez Favela, serious amateur photographer based in Ventura County, California. “I had some spare time and decided to go out to try a new angle of this location,” he adds. That meant climbing up a hillside filled with rough terrain in minimal light at sunset. Favela shot with a Sony a7 III and Tamron 17-28mm lens (at 17mm). He shot at 53 seconds at f/8 and ISO 250.

Favela took up photography in 2019, after his wife bought him a drone. “That was the gateway into my new adventure,” he says.

See more of Brallan Perez Favela’s photography at Instagram.