All 2025-26 Categories will be open for submission shortly!  But in the meantime, here they are:

September

• Animals:   Photographs of animals, be they pets, wild animals, in the jungle or at the zoo. 
• Light and Shadow:   Dynamic lighting - and by extension shadows - to create mood and composition. For example: beams of light through fog, light filtering through trees or window blinds. 
• Food:   Any photo of food. The image should evoke the food’s best traits and its inherent deliciousness. If your mouth doesn’t water when editing your photos, you did something wrong.
• Open

October

• Seasons:   A capture emphasizing one of the four seasons (e.g., snow, blossoms, fall colors, etc.)
• Wheels:   Wheel(s) of any kind - from a car, a train, a toy, Ferris wheel, etc. - as long as the wheel is the main subject of the photo.
• Sports:   Anything that is considered a sport, athletic activity, or athletes.
• Open

November

• Reflections:   The reflection must be the main subject of the photo.  It could be from an ocean, lake, puddle, or even rain drops.  Resources such as metal, tiles, mirrors and anything with a shiny surface can also be used.  The actual subject being reflected does not need to be in the image.
• Explore Your Backyard:   Whatever's in your backyard (or a family member's or neighbor's backyard) qualifies.  These could be gardens, swingsets, birdhouses, whatever.
• Tracks:   Marks left behind by a person, animal, place or thing.  (Marks from multiple people, etc., are fully acceptable too).
• Open

January

• Leading Lines:   A compositional technique in which lines are used in a photograph to direct the viewers’ attention to the main subject of the image and/or create a natural path for the viewer to follow and provide interest to the overall image. 
• Bugs / Insects:   A bug or insect must be the primary subject.  These could be bees, butterflies, spiders, moths, ants, you name it.
• Show me a mood or emotion:   Show a photo that clearly expresses a mood or emotion in some way, be it joy, sorrow, boredom, excitement, etc.  This could be expressed by a human being, a large crowd, even a pet or wild animal (let's face it, puppies often express joy). 
• Open

February

• Landscape:   Photographs of land, water, clouds or a combination of these in the outside environment.  A landscape photograph may include people, manmade objects and wildlife but these should complement the scene as a whole and not be the primary subject.
• Still Life:   Depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects arranged as the subject for the picture. Popular categories include flowers, food, and desk space - among others.
• Long-Exposure:   The possibilities are almost endless for long-exposure photography. Examples include light painting, streaks of car headlights, the blurred motion of a runner or athlete, or the silky motion of a waterfall.
• Open

March

• Architecture:   Photographs of buildings or other permanent structures.  This can be a group of structures, a single one, or even a small portion of one that is particularly intriguing.
• Smoke and Fog:   Must contain dramatic elements of smoke and/or fog.
• Negative Space or minimalist:   The negative space of an image is anything other than the subject (often water, sky, walls, sand, etc.)  It’s the foreground, the background, and the visual “breathing room” all around the scene. Negative-space compositions are often minimalistic, with a single eye-catching element surrounded by emptiness. 
• Open

April

• Flowers:   Images that highlight the beauty, colors, and intricate details of diverse types of flowers be they in natural habitats, in gardens, or in other types of environments.  Show us how the flower celebrates the beauty and intricacy of the natural world.
• Geometric Shapes:   Focus on an image with prominent geometric lines, circles, squares, and triangles.  These are not organic shapes, which occur frequently in nature (e.g, curves in the petal of a flower).  Geometric shapes are straight and symmetrical (e.g., often found in buildings, roads, and bridges.)
• Statues:   Any kind of statue, from huge iconic statues (Statue of Liberty) to beautiful ones in museums to small pixie statues on your back deck.
• Open