COLUMBUS, OH -- Amateur and professional "shutterbugs" are encouraged to enter Ohio State Parks' Bicentennial Photo Contest. Deadline for submitting entries is June 15, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Photographers are encouraged to use their skills to capture Ohio's rich natural and cultural history - as it is preserved in the state's award-winning state park system.
Photos will be judged in two content categories. Category one involves historic structures in the state parks such as the canal locks at Independence Dam State Park, the iron furnace at Lake Hope State Park, Kennedy Stone House at Salt Fork State Park, the locks and dams on the Muskingum River or the pioneer villages at Caesar Creek, Beaver Creek and Paint Creek state parks. Category two involves heritage events in the parks such as the Frontier Hike at Hocking Hills State Park, the Zaleski Flint Knap-in at Lake Hope State Park, Ohio Heritage Days at Malabar Farm State Park and the Civil War encampment at Harrison Lake State Park.
Entries will also be divided into two age categories: youth (age 18 and younger) and adult (age 19 and older).
Each entry must be a 5-inch by 7-inch print taken in a state park and must include the entrant's name, address, daytime phone, age (for youth entries only), location and date of the photo. Professional photographers must include a rights release. Entries should be mailed to Ohio State Parks Photo Contest, 1952 Belcher Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43224-1386.
All entries will become the property of ODNR for possible use in future publications and promotional material. Winning photos will appear this fall in the Bicentennial issue of the Ohio State Parks magazine.