Display of NWC Photo Contest winning photos continues through September at KNHP Visitor Center

The North Woods Conservancy’s photo exhibit highlighting winning photos from its “Get to Know the North Woods” Photo Contest opened August 24 in the Keweenaw National Historical Park’s Visitor Center in Calumet. The exhibit continues through the month of September.

The photo contest and exhibit celebrate the Upper Peninsula’s great north woods, a unique overlap area of plant and animal species characterized by biological abundance, diversity, dynamism and beauty. The contest, created for non-professional photographers, encouraged the public to explore the north woods through visiting NWC’s five Keweenaw County Natural Areas and taking pictures of their visit. iPhones, as well as traditional cameras, were encouraged. A double blind selection process was used for selecting winning photos. The judge was Eric Munch, a well-known Keweenaw professional photographer.

Top winners are:

WILDLIFE – Thimbleberries (1st place) by Ann Marie Dodge, and Bufo Amongst the Balsam (2nd place) by Alex Helman;

SCENERY – A Sliver of Sun (1st place) by Ann Kopka Ryan, and Beautiful Day at Seven Mile Point (2nd place) by John Robert (Jay) Dodge;

and PEOPLE PLAYING – Father and Daughter on Beach (1st place) by Ann Marie Dodge, and The Triple Threat (2nd place) by Ann Kopka Ryan.

All winning photos are on display at the KNHP’s Visitor Center in Calumet through September. All photos submitted are viewable as a digital image show within the exhibit.

Now is also the time to think forward to the 2016 NWC Photo Contest and plan a visit to one or all of the NWC’s five Natural Areas: Dore Woods, Merganser Pond, Gratiot River North, Conglomerate Falls, and/or Seven Mile Point, to take pictures this fall or winter to submit in next year’s contest! Details for 2016 will be available at www.northwoodsconservancy.org.