Photo Contest 2021

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The 2021 Hill Country Photo Contest has ended - Thank You to all who participated!

Check here for recent photo contest news and updates: https://hillcountryalliance.org/photocontest/

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2021 Photo Contest – “Solace and Strength: Portraits of Resilience in the Texas Hill Country”

The Photo Contest is open from March 15 through May 31, 2021. Photographers of all ages and skill levels, from amateurs to professionals, are invited to participate. Winners will receive cash prizes and their photos will appear in HCA’s 2022 Calendar. HCA’s annual Texas Hill Country Calendar features stunning photography from each year’s photo contest. Both the photo contest and the calendar aim to highlight the beauty of the region, provide an informative resource on Hill Country conservation, and inspire folks to learn more and become involved in the issues important to keeping the natural resources of this unique region intact.

The last year has been unimaginably difficult for so many of us. We have missed milestones and family members, traded neighborly potlucks for Zooms, and seen our worlds upended time and again. Through it all, the rugged beauty of the Hill Country has been restorative, offering calm and solace in a growing din of uncertainty. For the 15th annual Hill Country photo contest, HCA asks photographers to take out their cameras and share their view of “Solace and Strength: Portraits of Resilience in the Texas Hill Country.”

This year’s photo contest challenges photographers of all abilities to capture the calm tranquility, gritty resilience, and persistent beauty of the Texas Hill Country. Whether the Hill Country has been a place of solace, solitude, inspiration or comfort for you, all of us have grown in our appreciation for the natural world and its ability to persevere through adversity in the past year. We particularly encourage photographers to consider submitting shots that feature the diversity of the Hill Country, its people, and its future.

HCA’s annual photo contest spotlights the Texas Hill Country’s unique region of pristine springs, sprawling landscapes, diverse wildlife, star-filled skies, multi-generational land stewards, historic towns, and hidden oases. With a rapidly growing population and increasing development coming into the region, many of these special qualities are at risk of being lost forever. As always, we hope the photo contest will allow photographers to share images of the Hill Country they want to capture and protect forever.

Winning Photos and Prizes

Winners:

13 winners will appear in HCA’s 2022 Texas Hill Country Calendar.  Other photos will be featured throughout the calendar in cameo appearances.  In addition to a full page photo feature, winners will receive a cash prize.

Grand Prize:    $300
First Prize:       $200
Second Prize:  $150
Third Prize:     $100

All other calendar page winners:  $50

People’s Choice Honoree:

This year’s photo contest will provide an opportunity for the public to view the photos that have been entered into the photo contest and vote for their favorite. The photo receiving the highest number of votes will be named the People’s Choice Honoree. The People’s Choice recipient will receive a $100 prize and a feature in HCA’s 2022 Texas Hill Country Calendar.

Enter Your Photos

Important tips:

  • Read the Terms and Conditions carefully to make sure your photos qualify before uploading your photos
  • Only color photographs will be eligible
  • Only photos with horizontal/landscape layout will be eligible
  • Do not add text (including names and dates), borders, or frames
  • Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified (see Terms and Conditions for details)
  • Only photographs taken in the 17-county Hill Country region will qualify – see map
  • After uploading your photos, go to the “your images” tab and click on each image to make sure it uploaded properly. If you are not satisfied with a photo you may delete your photo and try again. Be aware any votes for your photo will be lost upon deleting.

Remember – the HCA photo contest and calendar are all about conservation! Focus on entering photos that feature native plants and wildlife, starry skies, Texas heritage, and examples of people enjoying our healthy riparian areas, waterways, landscapes and land stewardship practices! 

Map shows counties and major cities considered to be part of the Texas Hill Country and therefore eligible for entry into the photo contest.