JAMESTOWN – Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) has identified the two judges who will choose the Adult and Youth winners and finalists in the 2025 Nature Photography Contest that will award a total of $1,600 cash.

This year’s judges are Sandra Rothenberg and Mark Evans. In addition to decades of experience in photography and multiple exhibitions, both have been recognized for their work and had it published. Details of their backgrounds can be found on the Judges page on the competition website.

Rothenberg and Evans will choose the winners and three finalists in both the Youth (ages 8-18) and Adult categories of Birds, Waterscapes, and Single Blooms.

In the Birds category, any wild birds will be accepted. Photos of birds in captivity, such as pets, zoo residents, or rehab/education animals are not accepted.

In the Waterscapes category, you can submit the photo of your favorite natural waterscape, from large expansive oceans, to rocky stream beds, rushing rivers, and lovely lakes.

Flowers are so incredibly delicate and detailed: For the category of Single Blooms, submit your favorite photo of a singular bloom.

As well as the technical side of the photo (lighting, crispness, and framing of the photo), they will be looking for images that are powerful, that touch them and draw them in. According to Evans, they are looking for photos that, if they were in a gallery, would make them go back two or three times just to look at them again.

All winners receive a $200 cash prize. ACNC will print the winners to exhibit in the Nature Center, and winners will be announced in a news release that is widely distributed, including to their local media when known. Winning and finalist photographs will be displayed on the contest website.

In addition, cash prizes of $200 will be awarded to the Adult and Youth photos receiving the most Community Choice votes online. A photo could receive both the Community Choice and a judged award.

Full details of the competition are at GoGoPhotoContest.com/ACNCPhotoContest2025, where you can submit photos, vote on entries, and see previous contest winners.

The sooner photographs are submitted, the longer the public can vote for them for the Community Choice awards. Photographers are reminded to encourage friends and family to vote for their photo(s). All the social media buttons are right there for postings.

Deadline for submissions is Monday, June 30.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. You can visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve, check in on the live birds of prey, and hike more than five miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free.

The three-story Nature Center building houses interactive displays, a collection of live animals including the Hellbender exhibit, the 2024 Nature Photography Contest winners, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and Sundays, 1-4:30 p.m. Nature Center members and SNAP/EBT cardholders have free building admission daily. Building admission is also free every Sunday for non-Nature Center members.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345, find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook and Instagram, and visit AudubonCNC.org. Check out AudubonCNC.org/about for a quick fly-by visit.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.