Stockbridge — Attention shutterbugs! The 2017 Stockbridge Photo Contest has put out a call for submissions. Entries are due by March 31, 2017. Any photographer, whether amateur or professional, whether living in Stockbridge or not, is invited to submit up to ten photos of Stockbridge’s natural environment. Both landscapes and close-ups are welcome. Photos may be taken in any season, and are not limited to shots taken this year. There is no fee for submission.
Building on the resounding success of last year’s contest, which attracted 140 submissions, this second annual effort is again jointly organized by The Laurel Hill Association and Stockbridge Land Trust. “The contest celebrates Stockbridge’s natural beauty and supports our organizations’ conservation efforts,” said contest coordinator and SLT board member Stewart Edelstein.
Delighted by the chance to help promote the beauty and photogenic qualities of Stockbridge, Mass., The Berkshire Edge will serve as media partner for the contest, will help promote it and will publish the winners on its site.
This year, the contest is in two categories: up to and including age 18, and older than 18. Five winning photos will be selected in each category. Photos will be judged and winners selected by a panel of three volunteer judges: Doug Munson, co-founder of Albumen Works, an internationally recognized photo conservation studio; Berkshires-based freelance commercial photographer and educator Michael Flower; and Lionel Delevingne, internationally known author, journalist, and photojournalist. Criteria for judging will be design, composition, technique and the capture of iconic Stockbridge locations, including abstract images of those locations.
According to Laurel Hill Association president Shelby Marshall, the winning and honorable mention photos will be prominently exhibited in the Town of Stockbridge, and will appear online at both The Berkshire Edge and the Laurel Hill Association website. Winning photos will also appear on cards and other items that The Laurel Hill Association and Stockbridge Land Trust will sell to raise money for their respective organizations. Cards that featured the 2016 winners experienced brisk sales, and local merchants report that demand for the 2017 collection is already building.
Stockbridge Land Trust president Doug Goudey said, “Stockbridge Land Trust and The Laurel Hill Association collaborate on some conservation projects, and our photo contest is a collaboration that will help us fund future projects.”
All proceeds from the sale of the cards will go to Stockbridge Land Trust, whose mission is to preserve the natural, historic, and community resources in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and to The Laurel Hill Association, whose mission is to do such things as shall serve to improve the quality of life and of the environment in Stockbridge.
For contest rules and to submit photos, go to www.laurelhillassociation.org/photo-contest.
