Virginia Piedmont, Va. (Sept. 2, 2025) – Calling all professional and amateur photographers. Now through September 30, you’re invited to submit your best images of the beautiful Virginia Piedmont for The Piedmont Environmental Council’s 16th Annual Photo Contest. Submissions must be taken within Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties, or the City of Charlottesville. Photographers can submit up to five images per category.
This year’s contest categories are:
Beautiful Landscapes and Streetscapes, capturing the beauty of the diverse scenes across that nine-county region, from scenic town- and city-scapes to unforgettable vistas of forests, farms, mountains, rivers and more;
Native Plants and Fungi, showcasing the plants and fungi native to our region, from the backyard pollinator plot to the towering forests of Shenandoah National Park;
Wonderful Wildlife, offering glimpses of the incredible creatures that call the Piedmont’s lands and waters home.
Youth Category, for photographers 17 years old and younger, submissions can feature landscapes, streetscapes, wildlife, farms or anything connected to the environment here in the Piedmont.
“Photographs taken by people who live in and visit the Virginia Piedmont offer wonderful perspectives on our region’s vibrant life and the lands and waters that support it. The images that local photographers submit into this contest each year help us connect people to this wonderful place in a way we can’t do on our own,” said Hugh Kenny, PEC’s multimedia communications specialist and contest coordinator.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 30. In early October, PEC staff and professional guest judges will select finalists in each category, which will then be posted for a public voting period to determine the winners.
All finalists will receive a one-year PEC membership and have their work featured in PEC’s upcoming online and print publications. Winners in each adult category will receive a $100 gift certificate to a “Buy Fresh Buy Local” participating restaurant; the youth category winner will have the choice of a $100 gift card for a Buy Fresh Buy Local restaurant or a Visa gift card.
For full contest details and instructions, visit pecva.org/photocontest. For questions about the contest, photographers should contact Hugh Kenny at [email protected].
2024 photo contest winners (downloadable links included):
- Beautiful Landscapes: Luke Christopher of Little Washington in Rappahannock County, for “Looking down from Red Oak Mountain.” Caption: “Looking down from Red Oak Mt. on Shiloh church.”
- Wonderful Wildlife: Dorothy Kray of The Plains in Fauquier County, for “Fool Me Once.” Caption: “We all have that one sibling!
- Native Plants and Fungi: Jim Emery of Ashburn in Loudoun County, for “Snow-Capped Oyster Mushrooms.” Caption: “Snow-capped oyster mushrooms growing on a tree after moderate snowfall in Ashburn.”
- Youth Category: Alden Peterson of The Plains in Fauquier County, for “Rainy Nasturtium.” Caption: “Rainy Nasturtium at Chancellor’s Rock Farm Garden, Rappahannock County, Va”
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Media Contact: Hugh Kenny, Multimedia Communications Specialist
The Piedmont Environmental Council
[email protected]; 540-347-2334, x7024
The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.