From the President: Tom Haxby
It is always amazing to look back through my collection of older NANPA Expressions magazines (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019) featuring the top 250 photos from the Showcase competition for that year. I may be missing a few years in my collection, but I am sure the photos in those years are incredible too. NANPA has a lot of really, really talented photographers and I am always in awe of the award-winning nature images our members capture. Occasionally, I have been fortunate to have an image place in the top 250 and I always enjoy seeing my photograph along with all of the other spectacular photos.
Once again, it’s time to submit your best photographs for the Showcase 2020 competition for the opportunity to be recognized among the best nature photographers in the world. Submissions are being accepted through 11 p.m. eastern time on September 16, 2019.
This year a new category has been added for images that illustrate a conservation issue – positive or negative – and will illustrate the value of conserving a species, a place, an ecosystem, etc. for the benefit of wild and/or human communities. If you have not considered how to tell a conservation story with a photo, our recently published Conservation Photography Handbook is a useful resource.
The cash prize for the Best of Show in each category is $350. First runner-up in each category receives $250 and twelve judge’s choices are awarded $200. There are many other great prizes and all are listed on the Showcase competition webpage.
Before you enter your images, you may want to watch our recorded webinar entitled “Photo Contest Secrets Revealed with Wendy Shattil.” This excellent webinar gave useful tips on photo contests for Showcase and other photo competitions. I learned a lot from Wendy about how images are viewed by judges. This webinar is available in the members’ area of the NANPA website along with all of our other recorded webinars.
You may also want to review the NANPA blog from August 16, 2019, “Top Six Tips for Choosing Winning Images for Photo Contests.” Tips 2,3,4 and 5 – Don’t do what everyone else is doing; Be creatively new; Catch the rarely caught and See what’s never been seen are keys. Those once-in-a-lifetime shots or uniquely creative images will always stand out with judges. There is even more helpful information at the bottom of the blog post. And, if you did not receive this blog post earlier, you may want to consider signing up to receive the NANPA blog.
After you have done all of your homework, think of images you have that could be winners. In addition to the great prizes, contests like Showcase are a great motivation to work on getting your best ever photos.
Thank you in advance to all of our judges for their work in making this a great showcase for NANPA members. I would also like to thank all of our sponsors and everyone who helps to put together the Expressions publication.
Finally, I wish everyone all the best of luck in the Showcase 2020 competition and I cannot wait to see all of the incredible winning photos in the 2020 edition of Expressions.
