Prizes

First place: $5,000

Second place: $2,500

Third place: $1,000

Dates to know

June 12: Submissions open

July 23, 11:59 pm EST: Submissions close

July 30: Winners announced

About this Challenge

Being outdoors has taken a whole new meaning over the past couple of months. Walks to the beach or a weekend hike are now activities we treasure and look forward to, arguably more than we ever did—so we want to capture nature and celebrate the joy it brings us. For this, we're calling on all photographers who have a certain ability to capture beauty in exceptional ways. Now, we're not only asking professional photographers to join—we want all of you, no matter your photography experience, to share your best outdoor shots.

Whether you have a high end camera or are more of a phone photography person, all is welcome in this Challenge! Share your best outdoor shot and tell us everything about it. Why did you choose that photo? Where were you? Does it bring any particular memories?

You're more than welcome to edit the final shot, but walk us through the process if you do so—did you edit it a certain way? Do you use any apps for this? Include as many details as possible to support your photo and put your best nature photography foot forward.

Requirements

For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until July 23, 2020, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

All photos entered must be original.

The Outdoor Shot Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more or upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 35 countries will not be eligible to win.