The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Opening Reception takes place on Friday, February 3, 2012 along with the start of voting for the AMPC People’s Choice Award.  49 finalist images will be on display from February 3 through June 2 at the Turchin Center for the Visual arts on the Campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

Cast your vote for the coveted People’s Choice Award via a kiosk at the exhibition or online at www.appmtnphotocomp.org.  Voting officially begins with the public reception opening at 7:00 pm, Friday, February 3 and voting will close at 5:00 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012.  The winner of the People’s Choice award receives a $350 cash award furnished by Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitter in Boone and Blowing Rock.

Winners will be announced after March 30, 2012 once votes have been tallied for the People’s Choice Award.

Visit Virtual Blue Ridge to read more about the press release for this year’s People’s Choice Award. We wish everyone the best of luck in choosing your favorite for this year’s PCA, it definitely won’t be quick and easy!

Congratulations from the organizers and sponsors of the AMPC to all the selected photographers and a sincere thank you to everyone who submitted photographs for consideration sharing their vision of the people, places and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

And the finalists are . . .

Remember, the exhibition at the Turchin Center on the campus of Appalachian State University opens on Friday February 3rd, 2012 and the images selected for exhibition will be posted on the High Country Photos website as soon as the People’s Choice Award voting begins on February 3rd. This night also marks the opening reception of the 9th annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition.

To all of this year’s participants: thank you for your support and participation. Together all of you keep raising the bar. Proceeds from the annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition support Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE Trips) at Appalachian State University. Visit www.op.appstate.edu to learn more.

“All of our jurors this year are passionate about the outdoors, possess a significant and varied photographic background, and have been committed to the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition in some way over the years,” states AMPC Competition Director, Rich Campbell. “We are thrilled to have these individuals be a part of the AMPC who are dedicating their time, talent, and expertise to the competition this year.”

William A. Bake

William A. Bake has photographed the South for over 35 years and has created five successful books as well as booklets, prints, and posters. Considered one of the South’s premier landscape photographers, Bake has captured many of the unique landscapes found in the southern Appalachians.

Among his published photography books are Wayfarer: A Voice from the Southern Mountains with James Dickey; The American South: Four Seasons of the Land and Towns and Cities, both with James J. Kilpatrick; and The Blue Ridge. In addition to being a well-regarded photographer, Bake is also an accomplished writer and interpreter of the natural and cultural heritage of the United States.

Ellen Gwin

Ellen Gwin grew up in a family full of artists and fell in love with photography in middle school. Having graduated from Appalachian State University with a double major in Technical Photography and Communication, Gwin has been working professionally as a photographer ever since. She enjoys shooting photography in both film and digital formats.

Passionate about her home in western North Carolina and the amazing natural and outdoor resources available, Gwin strives to promote these resources at every given chance.

Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller developed a passion for photography in the mid-nineties when he began capturing the wild and unique places he found himself working in as an outdoor educator and guide. He continues to work as a freelance photographer capturing the work of artists for print, web, and archival purposes and has had images published in fine art catalogs and WNC Magazine.

While working at Appalachian State University, Andrew developed the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition and Exhibition and oversaw the competition through the first 8 years.

This year’s competition deadline is fast approaching! Be sure to get your photos uploaded by 5:00 pm Friday, November 18, 2011.

Rich Campbell

The AMPC has grown into one of the most prestigious regional photography competitions and we aim to strengthen that position. We have developed a very strong partnership with local entities such as the Turchin Center, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Virtual Blue Ridge, Appalachian Voices, the Mast General Store, Bistro Roca, Footsloggers, Peabody’s, Stick Boy Bread Company, and others.

Connections in the community create so many opportunities for us as a competition. We really want this to continue to be a true community event. We want people who visit the exhibition in the Turchin Center between February and June to feel like they have just seen the best collection of images available that depict the unique character, people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

I have been Associate Director at ASU Outdoor Programs for 15 years, and am thrilled to be more closely linked to the competition. I have directed the Banff Film Festival every year since its inception and I am excited to work closely with both the photography competition and film festival this year. The two events complement one another so well that it is a natural progression.

2011 Banff Film Festival Audience

We have intentionally created the AMPC to be a part of the Banff Film Festival weekend. That weekend has really turned into a celebration of mountain culture. The Banff Film Festival brings films from all over the globe highlighting mountain culture. The AMPC is a way for our community to interact, in a very personal level through photography, with our own mountain region and community. We have Banff bring us films from all corners of the globe, and we have our own community showcasing new aspects of our beloved Southern Appalachian region through the AMPC. It is a great ‘local to global festival’ on mountain culture every spring, right here in Boone.

Our Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE) are programs and trips that are longer and they travel to more diverse locations in North America and abroad. SOLE programs emphasize discovery of self and expedition team members – as well as discovery of the landscapes and cultures of the wilderness areas and countries we explore. We travel in regions of countries that are seldom visited, remote and exceptionally beautiful. Traveling in these settings through adventure education, students learn valuable skills in leadership, perseverance, group dynamics, teamwork, responsibility, wilderness ethics and global perspectives.

[Video for New Zealand SOLE Trip]

Proceeds from the Banff Film Festival and the AMPC make these experiences, that many students share with us as life changing, more accessible to more students.

We encourage photographers to enter this competition regardless of their previous experience. We do have professional photographers who enter, but we have also had plenty of success with amateur photographers in the past, including amateurs who have captured Best in Show. Photographers who capture a unique perspective of a familiar landscape or an interesting take on a familiar subject tend to do really well in this competition.

One of the primary goals of the AMPC is to encourage photographers to grab their camera and create their own story that they want to share with our community. When hundreds of people do this, the end result is a powerful exhibition and an important archive of what is so special to our own mountain community that we call home.

Deadline for submitting entries is Friday, November 18, 2011 at 5:00 pm. Follow Virtual Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition on Facebook for all the latest updates and news.

Professional and amateur photographers are officially invited to participate in this year’s Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition! Every year the competition gets more fierce as photographers from all over the world submit hundreds of entries for review. What will you be submitting this year?

There are a couple of new developments for this year’s comp that we’d like to make everyone aware of.

The prize for the Our Ecological Footprint category is larger than ever, totalling $450. Appalachian Voices will be furnishing $200 cash while Mast General Store will be contributing a prize package worth $250. That makes this category the 3rd largest prize! If you need inspiration on capturing imagery that shows negative impacts on the environment in Southern Appalachia please visit the Appalachian Voices website for the latest news.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s category, Blue Ridge Parkway — A Ribbon of Road, will focus on images of the Blue Ridge Parkway that incorporate some aspect of the roadway itself.

Please note that this year’s timeframe for submissions is a bit different as well. This year’s contest starts August 1, 2011 with a deadline for submissions on November 18, 2011.

As usual, please help us spread the word! We have press releases available on our Media  page, and this nifty banner that you can use on your own websites and blogs. If you’re promoting the comp on Twitter, please use the hashtag #appmtnphoto.

<a href=”http://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/”><img src=”http://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/images/banners/ampc-banner-9th-annual.gif” border=”0″ alt=”9th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition” width=”525″ height=”116″ /></a>

Remember that a portion of the proceeds raised from the AMPC support Outdoor Programs Student Learning Expeditions at Appalachian State University. SOLE trips take students around the world on educational journeys of discovery. Visit the Outdoor Programs website to learn more about this exciting program.

Thank you for your support this year and Happy Shooting!

Thanks to all of the photographers this year for participating, as well as the general public at large for helping us to get the word out with press releases, blog posts, blog comments, etc. If you, or someone you know, would like to participate as a competition sponsor or supporter, please contact Andrew Miller, Competition Director, at 828-262-4954 or contact us using the VBR contact form.

AMPC is funded through the generous contributions of our partners, sponsors and supporters. You can provide needed operational support to AMPC by choosing to make a donation and/or offering us feedback on your user experience.

Below we have listed the the winners for top honors, categories, and special mentions.

Your participation this year will help to make the Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions through ASU’s Outdoor Programs an experience of a lifetime for many students. Thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm!

Click here for AMPC press & media resource information.

This year it comes to Boone for the 15th annual “best of the festival” world tour on Friday April 1st and Saturday April 2nd @ 7:30 pm at Farthing Auditorium. The Banff Mountain Film Festival features the world’s best films on mountain adventure, culture, and the environment selected from hundreds of entries submitted from around the world. Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs choose screenings designed to educate, entertain, and inspire you. Tickets are currently on sale at Farthing Auditorium and Footsloggers in Downtown Boone for $7 (students) and $9 (all others).

It’s always been the case that the Boone stop for the tour has had the biggest turnout, and more importantly those that watch the films show the most enthusiasm for the festival and the filmmakers that make it possible.  It’s definitely a must-see event for the travel and outdoor enthusiast.

Here are some more clips from this year’s films:

I look forward to seeing you there!

Community members and a Crossnore School photography class attended the annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, March 16 at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Brook Bower, Assistant Curator and Andrew Miller, Competition Director spoke about the role AMPC plays as part of a greater celebration of mountain life.

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition is part of a trio of programs coordinated by Outdoor Programs that celebrate our unique mountain culture each spring. April 1st and 2nd will mark the 15th annual screening of the Banff Mountain film festival in Boone to one of the largest audiences on the North American tour. Each year, the festival features the world’s best films on mountain adventure, culture, and the environment selected from hundreds of entries submitted from around the world. We choose screenings designed to educate, entertain, and inspire the high country audience.

Outdoor Programs is also excited to introduce the Appalachian Adventure Achievement Award (A4). Our goal is to inspire youth to adopt a healthy, and active outdoor lifestyle and to celebrate young people in our community and who inspire others through their active, healthy, and adventurous lives.

This years judges then lead the group through the exhibition answering questions and sharing their experience in selecting the 46 finalists from among all entries. “The goal of the AMPC is to give people an active way to connect with the themes of mountain culture, environment, and sport that are highlighted in our annual screenings of the Banff Mountain Film Festival”, says Andrew Miller, Competition Director and Outdoor Programs Coordinator. “To have this additional opportunity to share AMPC with the community is just icing on the cake.”

Bring a bagged lunch to the Turchin Center and we’ll provide the bottled water! We look forward to this Lunch and Learn meeting of the minds.

Sponsored by the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts.

More Details:

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 from noon to 1:00 pm
Contact: Visitor and Member Services
Email: turchincenter@appstate.edu
Phone: 828-262-3017
Location: Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (Google Maps)
Admission: Free

Voting for this year’s People’s Choice Award is still open! Vote here.

A public reception on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 7:00 pm for this year’s finalists chosen for the 8th Annual AMPC will also kick-off voting for the much-anticipated People’s Choice Award. A kiosk will be setup for gallery visitors, but you can also cast your vote by going to the AMPC website. Voting closes at 5:00 pm on Friday, April 1. The winner receives a $350 cash award furnished by Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitter in Boone and Blowing Rock.

March 4 also marks the time for final judging, where our 3 esteemed judges will review the finalists to select Best In Show and name seven category winners.

Winner’s will be announced April 3, 2011 once votes have been tallied for the People’s Choice Award.

Visit Virtual Blue Ridge to read more about the press release for this year’s People’s Choice Award. We wish everyone the best of luck in choosing your favorite for this year’s PCA, it definitely won’t be quick and easy!

These films focus on themes of environment, culture and adventure in the mountains and represent the best of the best. Hundreds of entries were submitted from around the world and Outdoor Programs has selected films for this viewing that will not only educate, but will also inspire and entertain you.

Online ticket sales for Banff can be purchased through Farthing Auditorium, or if you’re in downtown Boone, NC you can pick up your tickets at Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters. Tickets are $9 (students can grab tickets at $7).

Check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival trailer for 2010-2011:

For more information on the Banff Mountain film festival, please visit Outdoor Programs, including a list of sponsors that make this event possible, and to see clips of other films available for viewing.

What’s your favorite thing to do on the Parkway when the weather finally breaks? I like to take leisurely strolls on the trails, hopefully with my camera in tow. Pre-season exploration of the Parkway can bring surprises for photographers –like a newly felled tree, or the lack of people in general in areas that stay crowded during peak visitation times.

But one of my favorites is visiting waterfalls. I must admit, I’ve been a life-long resident of Boone and thought I knew the area pretty well when it came to finding waterfalls, but there are a couple of books and maps at the store that showed me otherwise! Weather breaks like this before winter is officially over and springtime arrives means you may get lucky and find icy waterfalls without having to deal with the cold weather that normally comes with it. Just another bonus for checking out the various falls in the area this time of year.

Here are some of my favorite waterfall guides:

Great Waterfalls of North Carolina

This book is great for a photographer, with easy-to-follow driving directions, ratings for trail difficulty and beauty, and even points out the best photographic locations for every waterfall — a great feature for amateur photographers.

Click Here for more info

This map is incredible, listing more than 300 waterfalls and includes Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Even better is the tear-resistant and waterproof paper because let’s face it, maps like this tend to take a beating after a while so it’s nice to have something stand up to long-term use.

Click Here for more info

Congratulations from the organizers and sponsors of the AMPC to all the selected photographers and a sincere thank you to everyone who submitted photographs for consideration sharing their vision of the people, places and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

And the finalists are . . .

Remember, the exhibition at the Turchin Center on the campus of Appalachian State University opens on Friday February 4th and the images selected for exhibition will be posted on the High Country Photos website as soon as the People’s Choice Award voting goes live at 5:00 pm, March 4. This night also marks the opening reception of the 8th annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition.

To all of this year’s participants: thank you for your support and participation. Together all of you keep raising the bar. Proceeds from the annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition support Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE Trips) at Appalachian State University. Visit www.op.appstate.edu to learn more.

Hello friends of and participants in the 8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition,

Preliminary judging for the 8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography has been delayed due to weather conditions and the resulting travel delay experienced by one of our judges. We anticipate completing preliminary judging by week’s end and are sending notifications by Wednesday of next week (January 19).

We will update you of any additional delays as they arise. If you are in an area effected by the current winter weather conditions, bundle up and stay safe. If you have entered photographs in the 8th Annual AMPC, good luck!

Sincerely,

Andrew Miller Coordinator, Outdoor Programs
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-4954
millra@appstate.edu
www.op.appstate.edu

Competition Organizers are excited to announce this year’s Blue Ridge Parkway Share the Journey ® Category theme: The Parkway Tree Project.  The areas comprising the Blue Ridge Parkway boast nearly 100 tree species that contribute to ecological zones of unsurpassed diversity.  The Parkway Tree Project seeks to bring greater public awareness to the rich natural resources of the region and to document significant trees that contribute to the character, environment, and/or aesthetic of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Photographers are encouraged to capture images of trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway that stand out as the most beautiful, the oldest or largest, trees that tell a story or have a place in history, and those that are unique for their shape, species, or character.

Those submitting images to the Parkway Tree Project will be asked to identify the tree species, document the tree’s location (e.g. GPS coordinates, Parkway Milepost, or other identifying indicators of the tree’s location), and describe in a short story of a paragraph or more why the photographed tree is of particular significance.  Entries will be judged on impact, subject matter, center of interest, and storytelling – effectively sharing the journey by celebrating trees along the Parkway.

Photo from Doughton Park, hike to Bluff Mountain from lodge

Optimal color condition exist at Graveyard Fields for landscape photography.  This popular site at Milepost 418 south of Asheville and the Pisgah Inn is a photographers delight.  Go now!

Also become familiar with the enhancement projects for the area being lead by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation!

On the opening eve of the 8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, I want to share with you a couple of highlights from one of the 2010 Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE Trips) which are supported in part by AMPC proceeds.

This summer marked the 7th New Zealand expedition hosted by Outdoor Programs at Appalachian State University. This 28 day short-term study abroad program immerses students in the landscapes and cultures of this remarkable and stunning country. This year marked the 4th time I have served as a leader of this experience and I have to say, the stars really aligned on this one.

Twenty-one students participated in the expedition along with Rich Campbell, Director of Outdoor Programs, and myself as expedition leaders. 10 semester hours of credit offered through 4 separate classes are associated with this active journey of discovery that offers rich and authentic experiences. One of the early in-country components of the New Zealand expedition is an introduction to the Maori culture.

Believed to have first arrived nearly 1,000 years ago in what is now known as New Zealand, the Maori (mow-ree) people present our students with a unique perspective on both the near universal challenges faced by indigenous populations and an example of a country that is dealing head-on with reparations and integration of their native population.

Te Puna Wanaka and Waikawa Marae (y-ka-wa ma-rye) (both community centers for Maori tribes) welcomed us into their sacred spaces and shared their language, music and culture. We in turn are excited to share our music and culture with them by presenting our own version of traditional Appalachian songs accompanied by traditional Appalachian instruments. This year, our team learned the song Shady Grove and as it always seems, we had several talented individuals adept at playing stringed instruments.

We were able to bring with us a banjo purchased at Appalachian Music Shop and put on our show. After sharing our song at Waikawa Marae, we presented them with the banjo, which has become tradition. From our years of visiting, we have gifted Waikawa a dulcimer, a mandolin, and now a banjo—if we can figure out how to get a standup bass in the overhead compartment of a 747, they will have everything they need for their own bluegrass jam!

Another component and arguably the most complex part of the trip takes place shortly after our departure from Waikawa; an 8-day east to west traverse of the top of the South Island that includes a source-to-sea experience following the Leslie and Karamea rivers.

This has traditionally been not only the most logistically challenging element of the expedition, but also the most physically challenging. 5 days backpacking up and over the northern end of the Southern Alps leading us into the rain forests and river drainages of the west coast.

After 5-days of walking into the wilderness we arrive at a large curve in the Karamea River referred to as the Karamea Bend. Here, the trails end and we await several helicopter loads of gear and guides who will join us for 3-days of navigating the class III-IV rapids of the Karamea. Just to be clear, we are in the middle of nowhere on a river that maybe sees 100 people a year. This is a true wilderness experience that demands focus, resilience and an adventurous spirit. The water levels this summer were ideal, the weather rarely matched, and the group well tuned and highly productive. As I said before, the stars aligned on this one. We followed the Karamea with ease out to the west coast taking off the river less than 1 mile from the Tasman Sea in the small town of Karamea.

Other components of the New Zealand SOLE trip include work with reforestation, in part to off-set our carbon footprint, and a 5-day sea kayak journey along the Abel Tasman coast. These trips are far more than playing outside for the students who participate. They foster cultural competence, independence as well as interdependence, environmental stewardship and friendships that endure long after the last tent is packed away.

The proceeds from AMPC and Outdoor Programs annual screenings of the Banff Mountain Film Festival are used to subsidize the budgets of these trips, lowering the cost and reducing financial barriers for those participating. I, too, see them as a right-of-passage of sorts; something that seems all but lost in modern American society. The students I know before arriving in New Zealand are rarely the same students I see returning from the expedition—as if this experience outlines a new chapter in who they are and what drives their passions.

To learn more about Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions and everything Outdoor Programs offers, visit www.op.appstate.edu.

Kevin Adams, ascending into heaven at sunrise!

Kevin Adams workshop was the most informative that I have attended …  Joe Sikes

Kevin’s  presentation on “Concept Photography” really hits home the message that one can take outstanding pictures if one can open up their mind and let go of the so called “rules of photography”…Sai Chandrasekharan

The retreat is set in a magnificent area with grounds that are truly a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains…Skip Pudney

For schedule information and to enroll:

Vist us here!

On August 23rd workers were placing the boardwalk planking over the first section.  The planking is made of recycled plastic boards. This section of the trail will include an approximately 6′ by 6′ deck where those in wheelchairs can sit and enjoy the view of the lake and lodge. A future section of boardwalk will include a larger deck directly across Abbott Lake from the Peaks of Otter Lodge that could allow for those in wheelchairs to fish in comfort and safety.

The walkway will include bumper type curbing along the edges and handrails where the boardwalk crosses feeder streams above the lake such as the one shown above.

This project was originally planned eleven years ago and is finally coming to fruition.

Photographers are encouraged to capture images of trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway that stand out as the most beautiful, the oldest or largest, trees that tell a story or have a place in history, and those that are unique for their shape, species or character.

Trees are an integral part of the human experience providing the raw materials that shape our homes and the fuel that keeps them warm. Trees inspire us with their stately grandeur, their displays of seasonal color and their annual cycle of renewal that signifies the changing of seasons. The areas comprising the Blue Ridge Parkway boast nearly 100 tree species that contribute to ecological zones of unsurpassed diversity. The Parkway Tree Project seeks to bring greater public awareness to the rich natural resources of the Blue Ridge Parkway and to document its most outstanding trees.

In addition to capturing images of trees, photographers submitting to the Parkway Tree Project are asked to identify the tree species, document the tree’s location (e.g. GPS coordinates, Mile Post, or other identifying indicators of the tree’s location), and describe in a short story of a paragraph or more why the photographed tree is of particular significance.

Entries will be judged on impact, subject matter, center of interest, and storytelling – effectively sharing the journey by celebrating trees along the Parkway. Happy Shooting!

This year’s AMPC will be open for registration and submissions on Friday, September 17, 2010! This should give you shutterbugs a little extra time to squeeze in last minute summertime shots for this year’s comp. The competition will also be closing a little bit earlier than usual, too, so that’s something to keep in mind as you get your submissions together. For a full schedule of events, rules, FAQ and other important info, please visit the website: www.appmtnphotocomp.org.

Be sure to review the rules this year as they have been updated, and please review the comprehensive FAQ found on the main competition website. I would love to hear suggestions for adding to this section to make everyone’s experience as smooth as possible.

We look forward to this year’s competition and hope you are too!

Thanks for helping us get the word out. You can use this handy code for a banner graphic to use on your own website or blog:

<a href=”http://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/”><img src=”http://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/images/banners/ampc-banner-8th-annual.gif” border=”0″ alt=”8th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition” width=”525″ height=”116″ /></a>

Follow the Conversation on Twitter:
Use the hashtag #appmtnphoto and follow Virtual Blue Ridge.

In my opinion, Flat Top Manor is a hidden gem of the Parkway. With only a brown sign reading “Moses Cone Memorial Park”, I never imagined there could be a 3,600-acre estate on the other side of those trees.

As I navigated my car down the narrow road leading to the Manor, I had a feeling it was going to delight my camera lens.

Sure enough, the view was breathtaking and the house looked just remarkable in its surroundings. Immediately, I could see why Moses and Bertha Cone spent every summer relaxing among the rhododendron blossoms and breathing in the mountain air. Runners, hikers, and those who had horses could be seen all throughout the property trails.

On the porch of the manor sat a Ranger who was in charge of organizing the tours. After she passed out a tag to all those who had made prior reservations for the tour, we gathered on the front porch. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the Manor made the tour worthwhile.

Not only did she tell us interesting information about the home, but she also shared many stories about the family that helped us understand why and how they went about their daily lives. The upstairs contained no furniture but beautifully let sunlight in through every window.

The craft demonstration that I got to observe was a man making wine toppers. As I spoke with him, I found out he was using a small machine called a mini lathe. The colorful wood was cut from a larger chunk of wood and whittled down by the machine into the shape of a wine topper. This woodcraftsmen was from Alabama and had journeyed up the Blue Ridge Parkway to share his abilities.

For more information about Moses H. Cone and his estate visit Virtual Blue Ridge.

Also click here for a virtual tour of the manor, visitor center and craft shop.

Photo Gallery:

These are scenes from a family hike taken on July 2 on the Apple Orchard Falls Trail just north of the Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

The Apple Orchard Falls Trail can be found at the Sunset Fields Overlook at Mile Post 79 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail is a moderately steep downhill hike for approximately 1.4 miles to the falls. The hiker will then have to retrace their steps up hill to return to their car. You should allow at least 2 hours for a leisurely hike. Several other trails can be accessed from this area including the Appalachian Trail.

The area is a beautiful mixture of habitats and abundant in deer, bear, and turkey. As you progress down slope you will detect a thickening of vegetation and increase in humidity as the springs along the mountain side feed into a drainage producing the stream leading you to the falls.

The trail head is on National Park Service land, but the hiker will spend most of this hike on lands managed by the US Forest Service as part of the George Washington/Jefferson National Forests.

Thanks to all of the photographers this year for participating, as well as the general public at large for helping us to get the word out with press releases, blog posts, blog comments, etc. If you, or someone you know, would like to participate as a competition sponsor or supporter, please contact Andrew Miller, Competition Director, at 828-262-4954 or contact us using the VBR contact form.

AMPC is funded through the generous contributions of our partners, sponsors and supporters. You can provide needed operational support to AMPC by choosing to make a donation and/or offering us feedback on your user experience.

Below we have listed the the winners for top honors, categories, and special mentions.

Your participation this year will help to make the Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions through ASU’s Outdoor Programs an experience of a lifetime for many students. Thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm!

For AMPC press & media resource information

Voting for this year’s People’s Choice Award will begin in conjunction with the opening of the AMPC exhibitoin at the Mezzanine Gallery in the Turchin Center March 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm.

A kiosk will be setup for gallery visitors, but you can also cast your vote by going to the AMPC website. Final judging for this year’s Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition will take place mid-March, and winners will be announced April 1, 2010. One winner will be chosen from each of the seven categories, along with one image chosen for Best In Show and one image chosen for People’s Choice.

Hope you can make it to the public reception and good luck picking a favorite photo for this year’s PCA – it won’t be an easy decision considering the fantastic group of finalists this year.

The 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition will be remembered as a seminal year in the competition’s history.  This is the first year that we received more than 1,000 submissions, receiving in fact 1,116.  We have also received unprecedented media attention and have been approached by various businesses and organizations that want to be a part of this growing national competition.  I wanted to share with you the two newest supporters to join the ranks of the businesses and organizations willing to put their time, money and energy into AMPC.

Smoky Mountain Living Magazine will lend support as a media representative, and will contribute to the prize packages of all winning photographers.  Dedicated to featuring the history and heritage of the Great Smoky Mountain Region and Western North Carolina, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine focuses on exciting developments important to this region, and explores the richness of the traditions of indigenous mountain people.   Winning photographers will each receive a one-year subscription to Smoky Mountain Living and a set of two, 75th Anniversary special edition issues celebrating the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  In addition, winning images from the 7th Annual AMPC will be featured in the summer 2010 issue of Smoky Mountain Living. 

Also added to the mix in this year’s competition is Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Reynolda House is currently exhibiting William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961–2005 on view through June 27.  The exhibition features 58 photographs, one sculpture, and three signs which chronicle the effects of the passage of time on the buildings, back roads, and landmarks in rural Hale County, Alabama, the artist’s former home.  The hope of this collaboration is to connect more people to the imagery of the rural south highlighted in both the AMPC and Chirstenberry exhibits.   All winning AMPC photographers will receive two visitor admission passes to the Reynolda House Museum and a William Christenberry exhibition poster.  

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition has no budget.   Our growth and success over the years is directly attributed to those individuals, businesses, and organizations that have lent their time, money, and energy in support of our mission to highlight diverse interpretations of the unique people, places and pursuits that characterize the Southern Appalachians.   We are excited to welcome Smoky Mountain Living and Reynolda House Museum into the mix.  We encourage you to share your enthusiasm for AMPC with our partners, sponsors and supporters and thank them for their contributions whenever you have the chance.

The judges reviewed over 1100 images, a record-setting total this year. I wonder if the judges’ eyeballs wanted to go “plop plop” at the end of the day! Below is a table listing the 47 images that make up this year’s final selections. These 47 images were submitted by 37 photographers, so you can see how talented some of the photographers were to be chosen more than once!

This year’s category finalists are:

Please join the AMPC organizers and sponsors in congratulating this year’s finalists of the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition—all of you deserve lots of applause! Remember, the images for this year’s group will be posted on the High Country Photos website as soon as the People’s Choice Award voting goes live at 7:00 pm, March 5, 2010. This night also marks the opening of the AMPC Exhibition at the Mezzanine Gallery in the Turchin Center on the Appalachian State University campus.

To all of this year’s participants: thank you for your support and participation. Together all of you keep raising the bar.

Jamie Goodman

Jamie currently serves as Communications Coordinator for Appalachian Voices – and if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you already know that Appalachian Voices is the sponsor for the category “Our Ecological Footprint.” A perfect sponsorship if you ask me, and will hopefully bring more awareness to this often overlooked category in the competition.

As the Communications Coordinator, Jamie oversees the organization’s communication efforts, including print and online publications. As with any non-profit organization, however, you can imagine just how many other hats Jamie wears on any given day.

I spoke with Jamie about the upcoming judging process, and how she was feeling about being a judge. She said:

I’m really excited to see all of the submissions this year. We have an amazing amount of talented photographers in the area.

I’ve been following the competition since its beginning, and I’ve noticed the disparity between the submissions for the environment category, and the true purpose of the category. With Appalachian Voice’s involvement, I feel that more attention will be brought to the environmental threats the Appalachian Mountains are currently facing.”

Jamie, I couldn’t agree more!

Troy Tuttle

As the Senior Photographer for Appalachian State University for the last 10 years, Troy has won numerous awards for his photography. His images have even been accepted into the photographic collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Unfortunately, Troy doesn’t have a website to showcase his work, which is a shame really, because I’ve seen it and I gotta tell you guys, it’s amazing. (hey Troy, get a website!)

I asked Troy about what he looks forward to the most as being a judge this year:

I was a judge the first year of the competition, and I’m really impressed by how far the competition has come, from the participation to the increasing quality of the photography.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the community is doing, and how they see the area. I’m not a nature photographer – more of a studio photographer – but I appreciate it a lot. It’s the idea of waiting for that perfect moment.”

Katie Langley

Katie brings a journalistic style of photography to the world, and she has found success in the highly competitive world of portraiture photography. Katie stands out as an artistic wedding photographer, who’s not afraid to bring a special and unique perspective to a person’s special day.

I had a good time laughing with her about how you couldn’t pay me a million dollars to be a wedding photographer. Too much stress and all. She just laughed and said she gets that a lot.

When I asked her about what she looks forward to the most with being a judge this year, she said:

Seeing all the talent. There are so many talented photographers in this area, professional and amateur, and that’s just based on seeing last year’s winners.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the creative submissions this year. It’s so interesting to me to see how people can see the same things so differently. As a first time judge, I am anxious to see the High Country and surrounding Appalachian Mountains through the eyes of other artists.”

Every year the quality of the photography increases, so my heart goes out to the judges this year as they take on a very daunting task of narrowing down nearly a thousand entries to a few dozen.

Good luck to everyone this year and don’t forget, the deadline is right around the corner: 5:00 pm Friday, January 29, 2010.

Helpful AMPC Resources

• Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition website
• Gallery for past AMPC Finalists and Winners
• Virtual Blue Ridge on Twitter (don’t forget, AMPC hashtag #appmtnphoto)
• Appalachian Outdoor Programs
• Turchin Center for the Visual Arts

As the newest supporter of the AMPC, Appalachian Voices has helped to revitalize a previously underrepresented category for the competition. Sandra Diaz, Development Director for Appalachian Voices, said “We hope the images submitted will create for the viewing public a visual connection to the scope of the environmental damage occuring in Appalachia and empower people to become involved.”

The Ecological Footprint category is for imagery documenting environmental concerns in Central and Southern Appalachia.

To learn more about this new cash award offered by Appalachian Voices, please read the press release.

Remember, the deadline is fast approaching – January 29, 2010!

Retweet this using the Twitter hashtag: #appmtnphoto

The time is upon us once again to gear up for the 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition. Each year we see a tremendous amount of growth in participation and interest, and the competition gets tougher and tougher with each click of the lens.

Our rotating Share the Journey® category this year will be Picnicking on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Definitely a favorite pastime of Parkway travelers, the AMPC staff is anxious to see what kind of submissions this category will bring to the table.

We’re also really excited about a new sponsor for this year’s comp – Appalachian Voices. This group organizes people to solve environmental problems affecting the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. With this new sponsorship comes a change to what was formerly known as the “Environment” category.

As a category, Our Ecological Footprint will be about imagery documenting environmental concerns in Central and Southern Appalachia. The threats to this region are real folks, so if you’re feeling inspired by this category, check out the Appalachian Voices website for more information on ecological concerns in the area. We really look forward to seeing the statements made with these images.

A comprehensive FAQ has been created as a way to help registrants with the registration and upload process, as well as other generic questions. Questions related to technical and registration issues should be covered, but we are always open to your ideas and suggestions. Please leave a comment on the blog, or submit a support ticket with your suggestion.

I have a feeling that this year will once again top the previous, and I encourage all of you to break out of your shell, take risks and leave fear at the door. This may be a “regional” competition, but the photographers entering are not all from this area. Last year we saw the first international submissions! The greatest thing about this competition is seeing how all of you push each other to reach the next level – amateurs and professionals alike. Make us proud!

Don’t forget to promote the competition on your own websites and blogs, too. We have code conveniently placed for you below featuring the same banner as the one seen here on this post. Thanks again for your encouragement, suggestions, and overall participation in this competition and we look forward to being awed once again with your submissions!

AMPC Banner Graphic:

<a href=”https://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/”><img src=”http://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/images/banners/ampc-banner-7th-annual.gif” border=”0″ alt=”7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition” width=”525″ height=”116″ /></a>

Follow the Conversation on Twitter:
Use the hashtag #appmtnphoto and follow Virtual Blue Ridge.

Many of you know Houck Medford the Philanthropist but are you familiar with Houck Medford the Photographer? This biography details Dr. Medford’s adventure with photography and how it has influenced his work as Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Written by Greg A. Kiser with Four Forty Six Photography.

A short while ago, I went on a Trek to the Blue Ridge Parkway and spent a little bit of time on the trails of the Rough Ridge. While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet none other than the founder and executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Dr. Houck Medford. While we were talking, our conversation quickly turned to photography and I realized that he was a fairly serious shooter in his own right.

Dr. Medford grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina which for those unfamiliar is some of the most unspoiled landscape to be found in the state. By the time he graduated from Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC, Dr. Medford and his Dad had hiked all of the trails in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Of course, this wasn’t actually their goal at the time, it was just a natural thing to do. When he looks back at his childhood he recalls always being outside. The beauty of the North Carolina Mountains is infectious and will send anyone’s creative side into overload.

Read the full story

Picnicking on Rough Ridge near the Linn Cove Viaduct

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has annouced the call for its prestigious Blue Ridge Parkway 2010 photography competition with this year’s new theme in the “Share the Journey” category — Picnicking on the Blue Ridge Parkway. For the traditional Parkway “Vista” category and the “Share the Journey”, cash prizes of $200 and $350 are being offered respectively for the Parkway categories.

The Blue Ridge Parkway categories are part of the 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, held each year to support Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs.
“We wanted to announce the specialty category now, because of the large number of inquisitive calls ‘what will it be this year?’ and to give all those shutter bugs time to collect their photographs during the height of the Parkway season,” stated Mari Jo Turner, the Foundation’s director of development.
2010 is the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

7th Annual Competition Calendar

• Friday, September 18 Competition opens for registration and submissions
• Friday, January 29, 2010 @ 5pm Registration and submissions close
• Friday, February 5, 2010 Notification of selected works for exhibition (Due to the large number of submissions, only those with works selected for exhibition will be notified)
• Friday, March 5 – Saturday, June 5, 2010 AMPC Exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC
• Friday March 5, 2010 – 7 to 9pm Exhibition opening reception and start of People’s Choice Voting Friday
• March 26 @ 5pm People’s Choice Voting closes

Links:
Appalachian Mountain Photo Competition
2009 Winners
2008 Winners
2007 Winners
2006 Winners
2005 Winners

Jonathan Burton, Parkway photographer, wins competition with "Revenge of the Baysitter."

It is not the Blue Ridge Parkway, but Jonathan Burton of Jonathan Burton Photography in Boone, was honored for an exceptional photographic image, titled “Revenge of the Babysitter”, entered in the Miller’s Professional Imaging Baby & Child Contest. The portrait placed first in the humorous category out of over 10,000 entries coming from professional photographers located throughout the United States.

Jonathan has been photographing children, families, and weddings for 17 years, winning numerous awards for his creative talent and exceptional photographic quality. Jonathan sponsors every year “Children at Moses Cone”, his portrait program which benefits the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The program usually occurs in May. When the event is posted, it can be found at found on the Foundation’s events page.

Black Mountain and Club Gap from the Pounding Mill Overlook

I consider myself only an average photographer, but one that keeps improving. That “improving” can be attributed to a lot of things but mostly about developing connoisseurship. I have always liked student/ teacher relationships having been in both roles professionally for most of my life. An expectant religious moment of rapture almost always occurs if the relationship endures and I have recently had mine, with a new mentor in this particular incident being Bill Lea.

I have heard Bill speak twice in the last eight months and I was even more impressed the second time. I had thought that I was going to hear the same presentation again (titles were similar!) but it was new, fresh, and filled with unseen images (to me) and new stories. A good photographer has to be a good storyteller, too!

It rained last night on Big East Fork. The sky was only beginning to show its first light. Time to go!!! There was still coffee in the pot from the day before and the microwave quickly provided warm cups to stimulate our innards.

Hurray! Let’s go! The sun will just be coming up.

Our routine and short-line destination is the Pounding Mill Overlook. We anticipate not only what the sunrise will bring us but who else that we find in the parking lot. We greeted one soul, already at work. I always gauge the seriousness of the photographer by a simple question “Got a permit?” I am teasing of course, but if he mumbles back — I don’t talk to him or her any more because they immediately label themselves as all too serious. This guy was great. He immediate said “I do!” and started fumbling in his pocket to produce it. (there is no permit required).

In the direction of the sunrise was the expected perfunctory sunrise with low clouds settled in the Pink Beds. Wow! But to the south was an acute edge of a storm that was making its way across the the Davidson River headwaters and shoulder of Looking Glass. I shot furiously with bracketed sets and my wife holding the umbrella until the rain and lightening strikes forced us to dash for the protection and security of the car.

Bill, in his presentations had told me that a storm often has two edges, and this being the summer time, the cell would probably be small. Well, we did find the back edge of the storm at Devil’s Courthouse — more wonderful light.

Thank you, Bill Lea.

Devil's Courthouse from the Courthouse Overlook; lucky lightning flash on the distant horizon

But the sources from which a historian works (letters, reports, newspapers) are often mostly verbal, and our understanding of many of the events that those documents record (legislative debates, allocation of funds, administrative decisions, meetings) wouldn’t be helped much if we had supporting visuals.

In other cases, especially in dealing with landscapes like the Parkway, our understanding can be substantially enhanced by being able to see before, during, and after pictures. The problem for the historian is finding the images that document the history among the much more plentiful photographs of Parkway scenery – flowers, vistas, the Mabry Mill, most of which obscure as much as they reveal.

Still, several archival collections have hundreds of relevant historical images, some of which I used in my book. Especially productive were the Blue Ridge Parkway archives in Asheville, the North Carolina Collection at UNC, the special collections department at UNC Asheville, the National Archives in Washington, the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh, and, perhaps most surprisingly, the archive of the Norfolk and Western Railroad at Virginia Tech (found at the last minute via a Google image search). Thank goodness for the Internet!

As I compiled the final set of illustrations for Super-Scenic Motorway, though, I was frustrated that I could not find several images that I knew must exist – and that I knew would confirm some findings that emerged from the documents. What were some of those wished-for images?

1930s timbering at Grandfather Mountain. Many North Carolinians expressed urgent concern about destructive timbering that Champion Paper was doing at Grandfather Mountain in the 1930s. “When we think of the devastation of that beautiful Mt. of God’s special gift to man, being cut down and destroyed by a lumber company, 1930s timbering at Grandfather Mountainfor the sake of gain, we feel that it is a tragedy from which our Mt. country will never recover,” wrote women of the Wise and Other-wise Club of Lenoir, NC to Congressman Robert Doughton in 1933. After a lengthy search, I did find at the Parkway archives several dark images of a timber company plank road through cut trees across Grandfather at that time, but I never could find something that gave a clearer and more panoramic impression of the devastation that was vividly evident to the women of Lenoir and many others.

Photographs of the building of the toll road up Grandfather to the Mile High Swinging Bridge in 1952. I do have two rather grainy photocopies of the blasting that construction of this road required, but nothing that is reproducible or that clearly shows the damage that several key observers said that Hugh Morton’s entrepreneurial project had caused to one of Grandfather’s peaks.

A videotape of a June 1962 joint appearance on WRAL-TV of Hugh Morton and National Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth in an exchange over the routing of the Parkway at Grandfather Mountain. WRAL claims it has no footage of the broadcast, which several documents said was crucial in turning public opinion against the Park Service.

There is considerable irony in the fact that three of my most-desired images have to do with Grandfather Mountain, whose owner Hugh Morton was one of North Carolina’s most active photographers, and by all odds, its most prolific purveyor of his own preferred pictures of that mountain (the bridge, Mildred the Bear, the Linn Cove Viaduct, etc.).

Fortunately, we now have reason to expect that the images I was looking for and many others will soon emerge from the enormous Hugh Morton photograph collection now being processed by archivists at UNC-Chapel Hill’s North Carolina collection.

Meanwhile, if anyone reading this knows of other locations where any of these images might be, please contact me.

The selected images from the 2008 Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition are now on display at the Mezzanine Gallery of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on the ASU campus. The public will be able to view the prints from March 7 through June 7, 2008. These finalists are also eligible for the Footsloggers People’s Choice Award, which kicked off on March 7. To vote for your favorite image, please visit the Virtual Blue Ridge voting gallery.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation for six years has been a part of this contest and this year has created a new category to represent the brand and trademark, Share the Journey.

Remember! Your vote counts!

A view off the escarpment ...

I enjoy solitude and the Parkway can provide it – particularly in winter.

Early one morning my decision was to get on the Parkway at Hiway 80 near Burnsville, NC. No one would normally go here because the Parkway is closed north towards Little Switzerland (because of downed trees) and the Parkway is closed south of the Mt. Mitchell turnoff (because of a fallen retainer wall at Craggy Gardens). The evening before I was a guest of Bill and Judy Carson, proprietors of the Orchard at Altapass. And from their front porch at Little Switzerland and looking south off the escarpment, the valley above Marion was a literal sea of sloshing cloudcover. We could see blue sky above and the the tops of the South Mountains below — an occurrence of visuals which only happens maybe once a year.

If only this would wait until morning …

In my round trip to Mt. Mitchell the next morning, I did not encounter one automobile — only a deer which proved fatal only for her. It almost spoiled my day, but what I was to behold was a unique sunrise that must have been prepared just for me.

Share the Journey!