What to Know
- Sam Jezak's redwoods snapshot won the top spot in the National Park Foundation's 2019 Share the Experience competition.
- It will appear on a park pass
- The 2020 contest just opened (includes cash prizes)
Anyone who has spent a minute or more in nature knows that the most marvelous and transformative moments can be, and often are, fleeting.
A bright blue scrub jay lands on a branch, for a moment. A rhododendron petal falls to the ground, in a moment. A shaft of sunlight falls on a creek, adding sparkling light for only a minute or two.
People who love capturing nature on film are in tune with the fleetingness of photography in the outdoors, meaning they're forever present, in the zone, and ready to get the perfect shot, even if the sunbeam/bird/leaf is about to move and change the image.
If you're one of those in-the-moment artists, take note: The winners from the 2019 Share the Experience photo contest, from the National Park Foundation, were just announced.
And the top spot went to Sam Jezak, of Redwood City, California.
Mr. Jezak's picture of the redwoods, with a single person standing in awe near the center of the frame, boasts an ethereal, otherworldly quality, and plenty of redwood-regal beauty, too.
But the accolades and honor of winning isn't the only feather in the photographer's cap. The fab photo will appear on the America the Beautiful — the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass.
The foundation received over 9,000 photos for the last go-around of the popular competition. And from those submission? Eleven astounding shots were chosen for top honors.
Way cool, but here's something else that straight from the way-cool files: The foundation's 2020 Share the Experience contest just opened, and it has a "Best of the Decade" theme.
Which means that if you're sticking close to home, and not planning to photograph any national parks at the moment, you can look back through the snapshots you already have, to find the best of the best to submit.
The grand prize? It's $10,000, which would certainly cover many national park-based adventures still to come.
For all of the rules and things you should know before submitting, visit the contest site now.
And to see the 2019 winners, to both admire their work and gain some inspo for what you might submit to the just-opened 2020 contest, peruse this National Park Foundation blog post now.
