Michigan Audubon is seeking entries to the 2023 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards that celebrate the diverse avian world in our state. We are excited to see the thought-provoking images you have captured during your outdoor adventures in Michigan, from raptors to warblers to dabbling ducks.
The 2022 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards winning image of a Song Sparrow by Chris Hendra.
The contest is open to current Michigan Audubon members, and we encourage all levels of photographers to participate. One grand prize winner and three honorable mentions will be announced on July 1, 2023.
The grand prize winner will receive a $250 Visa gift card, and the winner’s photo will be featured in the Jack Pine Warbler and on the Michigan Audubon website. The winner and those awarded honorable mentions will have the opportunity to do a weeklong Michigan Audubon Instagram takeover to share their photography with thousands of followers.
Photographers can enter up to three images for the contest through our online submission form. Please read the full rules before submitting photographs. You must enter your submissions to our 2023 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards by June 10, 2023. If you have questions, email Communications & Marketing Coordinator Molly Keenan at mkeenan@michiganaudubon.org.
Michigan Audubon requests that all photographers follow ethical practices when photographing birds and other wildlife. For more information, please review Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Bird Photography.
Great Blue Heron. Photo by Jocelyn Anderson | MAPA
Rules
Photographers must be a current Michigan Audubon member at the time of submitting their photos.
Up to three photos will be accepted from each entrant.
No digitally signed or watermarked photos will be accepted.
All photos must be accompanied by a caption, location, date, and photographer’s name. Please name your file using the following format: title_date-taken_photographer-name.jpg (Sandhill-Crane_1.1.2022_firstname-lastname.jpg)
Entries must be photos taken in the state of Michigan. If it is determined that a photograph was taken outside of the state, it will be disqualified.
All entries must be submitted as high-resolution digital prints in .jpg format and should be capable of being enlarged while retaining printable quality.
Ruffed Grouse. Photo by Joseph Malott | MAPA
Limited alterations of photographs are allowed, including:
- removal of dust spots and reduction of image noise
- minor adjustments to color, white balance, tone, lighting levels and curves, shadows and highlights, saturation, contrast, and sharpness
- moderate dodging and burning
Any photo featuring a person must have been submitted with their permission. Any subjects under 18 must have written permission from a guardian for publishing purposes.
All entrants irrevocably grant Michigan Audubon a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use their submitted photographs in any manner related to the contest and Michigan Audubon, including all associated use, reproduction, distribution, sublicense, derivative works, and commercial and non-commercial exploitation rights in any and all media now known or hereafter invented, including, but not limited to the Jack Pine Warbler magazine, blogs, slideshows, brochures, newsletters, articles, reports, calendars, publications, social media posts, physical and digital galleries, and exhibition of submissions.
