Action: Images submitted in this category should showcase motion—birds or winged insects in flight, autumn leaves softly falling to the ground, trail running, splashing in mud in the Nature PlayScape, or maybe even dancing under the summer sun.

Ephemeral Beauty: Images submitted to this category represent "fleeting nature"—a plant that only blooms for a short period of time, a bird just before they take flight, a vernal pool at the height of its season. This category is open to the photographer's interpretation.
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Small Worlds: Interpret this category how you see fit! This can be anything from close-up macro photography to teeny-tiny landscapes. Get artistic!

Mobile Photography: Mobile phone pictures may be submitted into any other category, however, only photos taken on a mobile device are eligible in this category. The images can be of any nature subject taken on Nature Center property.

Youth: Contestants ages 16 and under are judged in a separate category and may submit up to nine photographs of any subject category.

Deadline for all entries is December 31, 2026 and winners will be announced by February 3, 2027. A panel of judges will review the entries and select the winners. The decisions of the judges are final.

Adult contestants may submit one original photograph per subject category. Adult contestants may not submit the same photograph in multiple categories.

Youth contestants (ages 16 and under) may submit up to nine original photographs to any category of their choosing. These entries will be judged separately from the adult entries in a youth-specific category.

No. Submitted photographs will only be judged if they have not been submitted to previous Cincinnati Nature Center Photography Contests or Mobile Guide Contests.

Photos are allowed to be edited to reflect the natural beauty you saw and enhance your subject matter.

Examples include: focus stacking or sharpening your photo to make your image clearer/more in focus; editing to reflect warmer or cooler tones and correct white balance; clone stamping/spot healing a distracting stick or otherwise take out of the photo to enhance the photo subject; modifying light levels to correct darkness or overexposed images; adding contrast, etc.

Photos with special effects will not be judged.

Examples of editing not allowed include: converting an image to black and white (your images must be full-color); colors that have been modified to be unnaturally saturated; adding vignettes or feathering of edges in order to stylize images, etc. Photos with signatures, watermarks, and time stamps will not be judged.

Submitted photos must be less than 12 MB each, at least 9"x12" at 300 DPI, jpeg or tiff preferred. Make sure your camera is set to take high-quality photos before you take them. Once a photo is taken with a lower setting, the quality cannot be increased later.

Photos should be named in this format: SuzieSmith_Wildlife.jpg (your name, underscore, category name)

The photographer is responsible for obtaining written permission on the Likeness Release form for any person in any submitted photo. Any children in photos must have signed parental/legal guardian consent to be featured. Photographs without signed Likeness Release forms will not be accepted.

If you need to print a Likeness Release form, please rename in the following format and submit alongside your images: SuzieSmith_SubjectName_LikenessRelease.pdf

No. The photography contest is open to everyone—member and nonmember. However, nonmembers will be required to pay daily admission per visit. Click here to learn more about membership!

Cincinnati Nature Center staff and contractual partners, and their immediate family members, are not eligible. Nature Center volunteers ARE eligible to participate.

Submitted photographs showing visitors breaking rules will not be accepted. Examples of this may be but are not limited to going off trail, handling wildlife, evidence of trespassing or destruction of property, or dogs off-leash.