Welcome to the 2025 Photo Contest

You’ll find entry information, tips about photos that do well in the contest, and some links to file sharing sites.

ENTRY FORM OPTIONS:

  • First, here’s a link to our 2025 online entry form, for those who have entered previously:
    https://pa-mag.com/2025-photo-contest-entry-form/
  • If you’d rather use a PDF entry form, click HERE. Once the page is in your browser, you can right click and save it to your computer. Then after completing, save it with your name and include it with your entries.

WAYS TO SHARE YOUR ENTRIES:

  • The easiest is to request a Dropbox link to drag and drop your entries into an Internet browser window. Click HERE to send an email to request the link. (or send an email to [email protected] requesting a link).
  • Share a folder or album on GooglePhotos
  • Send a Hightail or other account link.
  • Mail a USB drive (these are not returned)
  • Share a Flickr or SmugMug album with just the entries and images for the magazine.
  • Use a different sharing medium and let us know how to access your entries.

CONTEST PRIZES:

Prizes awarded in each category:
1st Place: $250 cash, a Pennsylvania Mag­azine T-shirt and a one-year subscription
2nd Place: $150 cash, a Pennsylvania Mag­azine T-shirt and a one-year subscription
3rd Place: $75 cash, a Pennsylvania Mag­azine T-shirt and a one-year subscription
Honorable Mentions: A Pennsylvania Mag­azine T-shirt and a one-year subscription

Four HINTS about the types of photos that have a good chance appearing in the magazine and performing the contest:
The image. . .
1. Has a wow factor (appreciation of the photographer’s skill, luck or viewpoint). This is an image that you’d feel compelled to share with someone else in the same room, interrupting them if needed: “hey, look at this!”
2. Connects with a reader’s experience, history, memory or location.
3. Tells a story (this could be the photo itself or the story around how the image was taken (situation) or both.
4. Has a geographic reach for readers of the magazine (one image may be chosen over another because it’s in a county or area that hasn’t received coverage lately.

Send HIGH RESOLUTION images. We rarely use images taken with a cell phone.

We don’t need specific equipment for wildlife photography, but investing in a great lens can dramatically enhance results. Always respect wildlife and avoid causing them to change their behavior due to your presence.

If you have more questions, feel free to write ([email protected]) or call 717-697-4660.

RIGHTS INFO: We typically purchase ONE TIME USE rights. So, you are welcome to submit your image to other publications after it appears on our pages.

MODIFICATION / ALTERATION POLICY: If you’ve significantly altered an image, mark it as such in the photo details. You may also want to add some info. in the photo’s META / EXIF data. We don’t want to publish an image that is not “how things actually appear” (without noting as such) and then have a reader write to let us know the “real view.” If you’ve simply removed a few branches or wires, fine. But, if you’ve removed a building or flipped the image, we’d need to know. In those cases, please include the original capture with your submission.