
In springtime, before the salmon start running up the creeks, many bald eagles hang out on the icebergs in Tracy Arm looking for food. © Mark Kelley
How many of your images will win? The 2018 NANPA Showcase competition is accepting entries until October 1, 2017 at 11:00 p.m. EDT. The annual competition is a wonderful opportunity for you to submit your best photography and have it evaluated by three notable professional nature photographers- George Lepp, Roy Toft and Darrel Gulin . You may even have your image published in our annual Expressions publication which features the top 250 images from those entered. For more details about the 2018 NANPA Showcase competition, check out the website.
Over 3,300 images were submitted last year. One of the key NANPA Showcase 2017 winners is Mark Kelley, a photographer based in Juneau, Alaska. Mark had nine images featured in the 2017 Expressions, including Best in Show for “Eagle Hell,” Judge’s Choice for “Hiker Inside Glacier Ice Cave,” and First Runner-Up for “Drizzly Bear.” All of these images were made in Alaska and reflect the photographer’s passion for this beautiful state.

“Eagle Hell” Best of Show winner in the birds category for the 2017 NANPA Showcase Competition. A smudged up bald eagle use a discarded stool as a perch in the Adak dump where it scavenges on caribou hides and carcasses left by hunters. (See hide in lower left corner) © Mark Kelley
“Mark is Alaska,” says one of his associates about the accomplished photographer who has made his home in Juneau for the past forty years. Bringing a photojournalist’s eye to the field, Mark travels through Alaska and runs across great moments and captures them with his ever-present camera. Mark travels light with a Nikon D800 and a few lenses, including the Nikkor 80-400mm zoom lens, which gives him a broad range of focal lengths.
Photo books, calendars, children’s books, and note cards are among the many items Mark offers that feature his images. Moreover, Mark’s work reflects the notion that photographers who are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects make the best photographs. Check out all of Mark’s 9 winning 2017 Showcase Competition images.
Good luck to everyone who enters the 2018 NANPA Showcase Competition! Don’t forget the competition closes October 1.

A black bear cub got separated from its mother and climbed in a spruce tree waiting to be found. The cub stood in the tree bawling until the mother bear finally heard its cub and came to the rescue. © Mark Kelley

A cross-country skier enjoys miles of untouched snow in Spaulding Meadows, just above Auke Bay in Juneau, Alaska. © Mark Kelley

The bird cliffs on Saint Paul Island are really windy, hence the wind-blown tufts swirling around this puffin’s head. © Mark Kelley
Mark Kelley, a 9-time winner in the 2017 NANPA Showcase competition has lived in Juneau for forty years and has become one of Alaska’s most prominent and devoted nature photographers.