Grab Your Cameras: WTA's Photo Contest is Now Open

It’s August, and that means it’s time to lace up your boots, grab your camera and enter your photos in WTA’s annual Northwest Exposure Photo Contest! There are a few changes to this year’s contest to check out, including a brand new bonus category for your Eastern Washington adventures and some fun prizes. 

Our annual photo contest isn’t just about prizes (as nice as it is to win them). In fact, it’s bigger than an individual photo (even when you managed to catch the perfect morning light on the side of Mount Rainier). It’s about telling stories and speaking for the places that need us, as hikers, to do the talking for them. Your photographs help make WTA's work for trails possible by providing rich and vibrant imagery for our magazine, hiking guide, how-to resources and social media. Without your entries, we can’t tell the same impactful stories about Washington’s trails — stories that inspire countless others to get outside and support trails. 

I've been running WTA's photo contest for around seven years now, and every single year I'm blown away by the incredible photography that comes in from across the state. But the greatest thing about the contest (aside from awarding prizes and putting winning images in our annual calendar) is seeing all the work your photos help WTA do year-round. Washington's trails and public lands wouldn't have the voice they do without you, and that's something to be proud of. So on behalf of my fellow contest judges, the whole WTA team and me, thank you for entering the contest this year!

One of last year's winners taken by photographer Rowan Phipps. We love seeing trails and hikers on them in entries!

I'm so excited to see all the amazing wildlife, hiking friends and family and stunning vistas in the photos you submit! Without further introduction, here's some key information and the categories for 2023. 

Key Dates

Contest opens: Today, August 17, 2023
Contest closes: October 17, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
Winners will be announced publicly in January 2024.

Categories

We're bringing back a few favorite categories you may recognize, including:

• Trailscapes: Winding trails and the incredible landscapes where they take you. Photos from your local park or green space are encouraged!
• Hikers in Action: In camp or on trail, capture the experience of people enjoying the outdoors. 
• Trail Family: Show us the faces of the people you love to hike with. 
• Flora and Fauna: Woods, wildflowers and all things four-legged and furry. 

This year, we’re also featuring two bonus categories:

• Instagram: Show us how you hike by following @washingtontrails and using the tag #nwexposure2023 on Instagram. Photos must be posted to Instagram and tagged between August 17 and October 17, 2023 to be eligible to win prizes. One winner will be selected from this category.
• East of the Cascades: Show us where you hike east of the Cascade Mountains! This category's focus is landscapes with or without hikers present, though the landscape should be the prominent feature. Photos must be taken east of the Cascade Mountains only, not within the range itself. One winner will be selected from this category. 

With all of our work, and especially the photo contest, it's incredibly important to us at WTA that our images are representative of everyone who loves the outdoors in Washington. We know that outdoor media tends to overwhelmingly feature white and male hikers, and that isn't an accurate depiction of everyone who loves the outdoors in Washington. We want to change that and show the wide array of people who enjoy the outdoors. Therefore, we encourage entries of photos taken by and featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks, as well as people of all body shapes and sizes, so that everyone can see themselves reflected in the outdoors.

Another winning entry from 2022 taken by Ingunn Markiewicz. Smiling faces in the Trail Family category are always great to see!

Remember, you can enter photos from 2023 or any prior year, so don’t feel too bad if you’re like me and didn’t get out on trail as much as you’d have liked this summer (that said, the contest doesn’t close until October 17, so you have plenty of time still to grab a photo to enter this year).

All set to enter? Hit the button below and get more information on the prizes, categories, and rules — then enter your photos! We can’t wait to see your amazing work!