National Natural Landmarks Photo Contest Winners Announced

Crystal clear emerald waters of Colorado, the sun rising over Florida rosemary scrub, and sedimentary rocks against a starry Kansas night sky epitomize the beauty and diversity of America’s natural places. These are just a few of the scenes captured by photographers in the 2011 National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Photo Contest.

One hundred and fifty-two images representing 92 different NNL sites across 31 states were submitted to the 8th Annual NNL Photo Contest. A National Park Service-wide vote took place in mid-August and we are pleased to announce the top 13 winning photographs. Top honors went to Debra Miller of Highlands Ranch, Colorado for her photograph of Hanging Lake, east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Second place went to Reed Bowman of Sebring, Florida for his photo of that state’s Archbold Biological Station, and third place to Rob Graham of Great Bend, Kansas, for his image of Monument Rocks Natural Area in northwest Kansas. These photos and 10 Honorable Mentions will be featured in the 2012 NNL calendar, specially designed to commemorate the NNL Program’s 50th Anniversary. “These stunning photographs not only highlight the beauty of these spectacular places, but the longevity of the National Park Service’s relationship with partners for resource conservation,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Monument Rocks was designated in 1968, only six years after inception of the National Natural Landmarks Program, and Hanging Lake was one of the most recently designated sites in June of this year. Next year, as the program reaches its quinquagenary, the National Park Service is pleased to be celebrating 50 years of supporting conservation of America’s natural landmarks.”

There are 591 national natural landmarks across the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. NNLs are designated by the Secretary of the Interior following rigorous scientific study, and include features on private, state, municipal, and federal lands. Participation in the program is voluntary.

To view the 13 winning photographs from this year’s contest, please visit http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/photocontest.cfm

A complete list of national natural landmarks and additional information about the program can be found at http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/index.cfm.

I feel as though a lot of shots I've seen on this forum from tanngrisnir and others could have beaten just about all the honorable mentions and maybe the placed photos. More than one of those shots had a very distinct "point and shoot snapshot" look them where there was little in the way of dramatic lighting or depth of field.

I'll have to try next year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2011 04:22PM by dqniel.