Michigan Audubon is thrilled to announce that submissions are now accepted for the 2025 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards! This is your chance to highlight the beauty and diversity of Michigan’s birds through your lens. Whether you’ve captured stunning images at a popular birding hotspot or snapped a beautiful moment in your own backyard, we can’t wait to see what you’ve photographed.
This Tree Swallow captured by Steve Jessmore won the 2024 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards.
Eligibility and Prizes
This contest is open to current Michigan Audubon members, and photographers of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. One grand prize winner and three honorable mentions will be selected and announced on July 1, 2025.
- Grand Prize: $250 Visa gift card, plus publication in the Jack Pine Warbler and on the Michigan Audubon website.
- Honorable Mentions: Recognition across Michigan Audubon’s platforms.
How to Enter
Each participant may submit up to three photos via our online submission form. Be sure to review the full contest rules before submitting your entries. Submissions will be accepted until May 31, 2025.
Michigan Audubon requests that all photographers follow ethical practices when photographing birds and other wildlife. For more information, please review Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Bird Photography.
This Northern Flicker image earned Jocelyn Anderson a 2024 Honorable Mention.
Rules
Photographers must be a current Michigan Audubon member at the time of submitting their photos.
Up to three photos will be accepted from each entrant.
No digitally signed or watermarked photos will be accepted.
All photos must be accompanied by a caption, location, date, and photographer’s name. Please name your file using the following format: title_date-taken_photographer-name.jpg (Sandhill-Crane_1.1.2025_firstname-lastname.jpg)
Entries must be photos taken in the state of Michigan. If it is determined that a photograph was taken outside of the state, it will be disqualified.
All entries must be submitted as high-resolution digital prints in .jpg format and should be capable of being enlarged while retaining printable quality.
Limited alterations of photographs are allowed, including:
- removal of dust spots and reduction of image noise
- minor adjustments to color, white balance, tone, lighting levels and curves, shadows and highlights, saturation, contrast, and sharpness
- moderate dodging and burning
Any photo featuring a person must have been submitted with their permission. Any subjects under 18 must have written permission from a guardian for publishing purposes.
All entrants irrevocably grant Michigan Audubon a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use their submitted photographs in any manner related to the contest and Michigan Audubon, including all associated use, reproduction, distribution, sublicense, derivative works, and commercial and non-commercial exploitation rights in any and all media now known or hereafter invented, including, but not limited to the Jack Pine Warbler magazine, blogs, slideshows, brochures, newsletters, articles, reports, calendars, publications, social media posts, physical and digital galleries, and exhibition of submissions.
