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First Place: Water Brightly colored sediment paints the Icelandic landscape as at flows towards the ocean. The glacial river, Þjórsá, is the longest river in Iceland. © Kristin Wright/ 2022 TNC Photo Contest

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The Nature Conservancy Opens its Annual Photo Contest for 2023

Expanded categories offer more opportunities to win—while helping to preserve nature

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Today, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced its annual Global Photo Contest will begin accepting submissions on August 30. The competition is open to all, and will be accepting entries through September 29.  By entering your most captivating photos of nature you can help amplify the message that protecting and restoring it is a priority.

While last year’s competition broke records for global participation with over 100,000 entries from a total of 196 countries and territories, the 2023 rendition of this celebrated event is set to be the biggest ever. For the first time in the contest’s history, the number of award categories has doubled, from six to a whopping 12. The expansion will give photographers the freedom to better define their submissions – and provide more opportunities to win.

In 2022, Chinese photographer Li Ping took the grand prize, for his winning shot featuring a drone’s eye view of a lonely highway bordered on each side by gullies extending outward in the shape of a tree.

This year’s 12 categories are Oceans, People & Nature, Plants & Fungi, Freshwater, Lands, Mammals, Climate, Aerials, Insects & Arachnids, Underwater Life, Birds, and Reptiles & Amphibians. Submissions will be assessed by a prestigious panel of judges, including photographer Javier Aznar, photojournalist and filmmaker Morgan Heim and natural history photographer Frans Lanting. Together this panel will select a first and second place winner for each category, plus honorable mentions in all 12 categories. The contest will award over $25,000 in prize money, including a camera kit worth $5,000 for the overall grand-prize winner.

Photographers of all skill levels are encouraged to enter. All winners will be announced in October 2023.

Go to nature.org/photocontest for more info on contest rules, photo specifications and how to enter. To view all the 2022 winning photos please visit: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/photo-contest/2022-winners/

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 77 countries and territories (41 by direct conservation impact and 36 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.