AUGUST 20, 2009 ISSUE
Environmental Focus Encouraged in 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photo Contest
Submissions Open September 18
Appalachian Voices has joined ASU’s Outdoor Programs, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Turchin Center in supporting the High Country’s annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Contest. As a sponsor, it will promote the environmental category in the contest to highlight environmental concerns.
The photography contest, now in its seventh year, will open to photographers 13 years of age and older for registration and submissions on September 18. The contest will close on January 31, 2010, and approximately 46 winners will appear at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts March 5 through June 5, 2010. The event supports students in ASU’s outdoor and international travel programs.
“Appalachian Voices became involved with the…environmental category in order to support photographers documenting the environmental injustices taking place in the central and southern Appalachians,” Jamie Goodman, communications coordinator for Appalachian Voices, said.
“As much as we strive to protect our natural resources, our society—through lack of foresight, or greed, or both—also negligently destroys some of the most biodiverse mountains and forests in the world.
“By participating in the environmental category, Appalachian Voices hopes to encourage photographers to point their lenses toward documenting detrimental practices that are devastating the rich eco-systems of the region. Consequently, we hope these images will create for the viewing public a visual connection to the scope of the environmental damage occurring in Appalachia and empower people to become involved.”
Appalachian Voices employs grassroots campaigns to educate the public and promote policy change on environmental issues affecting central and southern Appalachia.
Andrew Miller, coordinator of ASU’s outdoor programs, said there are seven different categories that photographers can submit entries for. Previously, the environmental category received the fewest entries. This year’s Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s special category is Picnicking on the Parkway. Footsloggers will sponsor a People’s Choice award.
The early announcement of the opening of this year’s competition is “to get people thinking about it now so they can take advantage of the summer and fall and the good times to be shooting,” Miller said.
Virtual Blue Ridge manages the website, said Miller, who also said that with the Internet, the event, which “started out as a local competition…has grown into something much broader. We received international submissions last year.”
For more information, click to www.appmtnphotocomp.org.
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