2025 Friends of Blackwater Photo Contest

Enter our contest on the ArtCall website. See previous winners.

The Friends of Blackwater (FOB) are hosting a digital photo contest from February 1, 2025 through March 31, 2025 to showcase Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and raise funds for Refuge projects. Visitors are invited to submit photos taken between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, in Refuge areas open to the public, which includes the Wildlife Drive, Marsh Edge Trail, Woods Trail, Tubman Road Trail, paddling trails, the Visitor Center butterfly garden, Key Wallace Drive (bridge area), and Refuge property along Maple Dam Road, as well as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center Legacy Garden.

Winners and honorable mentions will be determined by our 3 judges. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive monetary awards and will be invited to exhibit framed prints of the winning submissions at the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center.

Entrant Categories, Fees, and Awards

Adult: Age 18 and older as of March 31, 2025.
Fees: $30 for up to first three (3), $10 for each additional photo. Maximum of 6 photos total.
Awards in each photo category: 1st Place- $100, 2nd Place- $75, 3rd Place- $50.

Youth: Ages 13-17 as of March 31, 2025.
Fees: Free to enter. Maximum of 3 photos total.
Awards in each photo category: 1st Place- $50, 2nd Place- $25, 3rd Place- $15.

Photo Categories

Wildlife (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc.)
Flora and Macro (plants, fungi, spiders, insects, etc.)
Landscapes and waterscapes
Nightscapes

Judging Criteria

Technical excellence (sharpness, lighting, composition, exposure)
Accurate representation of Blackwater NWR
Originality/creativity
Interest

Image Submission Criteria

Photos must be original and not overly manipulated or merged (composite)
Digital image format - jpg/jpeg
Minimum of 960 pixels on the shortest side
Maximum of 4800 pixels on the longest side
Less than 4 MB in size
For this contest, a photographic image is an image captured on a light-sensitive device or surface. A photo created with artificial intelligence (AI) is not a photographic image and will not be accepted. AI renderings generated via text prompt may not be used in whole or part in the creation of a submitted image.

Resources

Blackwater NWR Wildlife Drive map (PDF, 229 KB)
Blackwater NWR brochure with Refuge map (PDF, 2932 KB)

Terms and Conditions

The Friends of Blackwater Photo Contest is open to all photographers who are at least 13 years of age, except Blackwater NWR (BNWR) staff and board members of FOB, and their immediate families. Entrants 13 to 17 years of age as of March 31, 2025 must only enter the youth category. Participants 18 years or older as of March 31, 2025 must register as an adult entrant and are prohibited from entering the youth category. FOB reserves the right to verify, in its sole judgment, entrants eligibility. Participants agree to abide by the Rules and Regulations set forth in the 2025 Friends of Blackwater NWR Photo Contest call for entry. Submitted photos must be original, taken during the allotted time frame between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025 within the areas specified under Photo Eligibility, and in compliance with BNWR rules and regulations. The photographer grants unlimited use of the photos by FOB and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as described under Photographer's Rights. Credit will be given to the photographer.

Photographer’s Rights

The photographer grants unlimited use of submitted photos by Friends of Blackwater NWR and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for publications, web pages, social media, presentations, exhibits, and other promotional, and educational products now and in the future. Credit will be given to the photographer. The photographer may continue to use the photos, however the photographer agrees not to sell or sign away the copyright to any other person or entity. Neither Friends of Blackwater NWR nor U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are liable for copyright or other legal disputes that may arise from this competition.