Amateur and professional photographers alike are invited to traverse Ohio’s Hocking Hills region — just a two-and-half-hour drive from Cincinnati — and snap its essence in a fun photo contest this May.
The “Picture Hocking Hills” photo contest will be held Friday-Saturday, May 17-18 with an awards ceremony on Sunday, May 19. Any photos being submitted to the contest must be shot between 2 p.m. May 17 and 2 p.m. May 18. The contest will be limited to just 70 photographers, who will need to register at explorehockinghills.com. Registration is $50 and on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Organizers say this is meant to be a fun and lighthearted contest. There will be $100 prizes for the best photo in each category for each division, as well as a grand prize of $500 for the Best in Show overall photo.
Each photographer can submit up to three photos in any category, and a panel of expert judges will select both an amateur and a professional photographer winner in each of the four categories: Landscape, People, Flora and Fauna and Wild Card (a photo that doesn’t fit any of the other three categories). Scoring will be based on how each photo captures the essence of Hocking Hills, as well as its emotional appeal and impact, composition, originality and technical quality. Light editing is allowed.
Photos may be taken in Hocking County, as well as contiguous counties, including Athens, Perry, Vinton and Fairfield. If you’re taking photos of any people, you must also include a signed photo release form for each photo with people who can be easily identified. Photos of people without a signed form will be disqualified.
Organizers also want to remind photographers to stay on all trails, to leave no trace, to not pick or damage wild plants and to respect the space of wild animals.
All contest photos will need to be uploaded as JPEGs. If you need help uploading them, Wi-Fi and staff assistance will be available at the Logan Theater on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The awards ceremony will be Sunday, May 19 at the Logan Theater at 2 p.m. for contestants and one guest each.
For all the official rules or to register, visit explorehockinghills.com.
