We had more than 850 photographs entered in our first ever Virginia State Parks digital photography contest held in honor of our 75th Anniversary. Prizes are being awarded to the top photograph in five categories, a best in show, and four top photographs in the Kids Viewfinder Contest for youth 15 and under. Several honorable mention prizes have also been awarded in the adult category.

Winners are listed here but the photographs will be showcased over the next several weeks.

Best in Show

Early Summer Morning by Roderick Perkinson
shot at Shenandoah River State Park

Click here for a list of the prizes. Here are the other contest winners. Look for the articles featuring their photos soon.

People and Nature

Winning photograph: Evening Paddle - Douthat State Park by Tamara Somerville

Honorable Mention: Discovery by Roderick Perkinson

Flora

Winning photograph: Peek A Boo by Carrie Sheya

Fauna

Winning photograph: Yellow Crowned Night Heron with Mud Crab by Robert Brown

Honorable Mention: Male Osprey Provides for His Family by Robert Brown

Seasons

Winning photograph: Dogwoods and Redbuds in Fog by James Adams

Honorable Mention: A Deer in Winter by Chris Wilson

Honorable Mention: Appalachian Autumn by Michael Hodges

Camping, Hiking and Picnicking

Winning photograph: Morning in Camp by Sally Aungier

Kids Viewfinder
People and Nature

Winning Photograph: Mom by Evan Mallery age 13

Flora

Winning Photograph: From Underneath of Abby Shepherd age 14

Fauna

Winning Photograph: Butterflies by J. Matthew Hicks age 11

Seasons

Winning Photograph: Douthat in the Morning by Jason Hickman age 11

We had an incredible number of great photographs submitted for the contest and it was difficult selecting the winners. We used a panel of judges to select the finalists and a smaller panel to select the winners. Our thanks to everyone who entered! We will be uploading most of the photographs to our Flickr set eventually and will provide a link when we have them loaded so we can share the great entries.