The Natural Landscape Photography Awards entries are open until the end of May.  Deadlines have been moved back a couple of months earlier than last year.  The NLPA contest has very strict guidelines to ensure that the photos judged are accurate representations of the photos taken in the field.  Post-processing is allowed, but generative AI as well as excessive use of object removal techniques or extensive dodging and burning to create light that was not present is not allowed. 

This year I am entering the 6 photos shown here in the contest.  The deadline this year came ahead of some week-long photo outings planned for the summer, so my entries are fewer than the 12 photos I entered last year.

In the photo at the top of the page, I captured a fall sunset at Lake Daingerfield State Park in northeast Texas last November. Below, this view of a trail through tree roots on the forest floor was taken in the Big Thicket National Preserve in February 2023.  

A summertime scene of praire grasses and wildflowers with a lone pine and the Taos mountain range in the background was taken in July 2023 on a photo workshop with Geraint Smith, an outstanding photographer and workshop provider in the Taos area.

The image below was taken right outside my hotel room at sunset in Ivins, Utah in June, 2023.  I had photos from this vantage point at sunrise also,  but these turned out to be overly contrasty.  It wasn't until I got around to editing this photo in December that I found the beauty in the soft sunset colors in the sky and on the red rocks at this location.

I made several wildflower trips to various places in Texas this spring starting in mid-March.  I have several of these photos that I thought turned out great, but this one has the advantage of not having a distracting fence or road in the foreground.  This lone oak tree sits atop a field of Indian paintbrushes on a cloudy morning in the Brenham, Texas area.

A stop at the Great Sand Dunes National Park last September yielded this photo of the "Wall of China" sand dunes winding toward the mountains in the distance.  This national park must be seen to be believed, and I'm grateful for the experience.

The NLPA provides specific feedback for each photo submitted, including the ratings by individual judges in additon to how far the photo progressed.  This sets the contest apart from many,  and provides objective feedback on how your photos are received.  I'm excited to participate again with this set of images!

Thanks for visiting my website and reading this blog entry!

Scott