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Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Ramps Up For 2009
September 18, 2008
(Boone, NC) – The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) will open for registration and submissions on September 26th. "We are opening the competition earlier this year and encouraging photographers to get out and shoot during the late summer and fall seasons," said Andrew Miller, Coordinator with Outdoor Programs at Appalachian State University. Entering its sixth year, AMPC has grown to be a prominent regional competition attracting the work of amateur and professional photographers from up and down the eastern seaboard. A partnership between Appalachian State University Outdoor Programs, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, AMPC celebrates the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.
"Each year since we started AMPC, we have looked for ways to improve the experience for both the competitors and the public that will view the works selected for exhibition," said Miller. One change for the 2009 competition will be a revision to the Blue Ridge Parkway Share the Journey® category. Sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Share the Journey® category will feature a specific theme each year that encompasses the collective Parkway experience of individuals, families, friends, pets, and special events. "Dog owners love their dogs," states Houck Medford, executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. ''It is part of the Parkway journey and seems fitting that Dogs on the Parkway be the focus of the 2009 Share the Journey® category!"
Revisions and enhancements are also being made to the online registration and submission portal. "It became apparent at the conclusion of the 2008 competition that the addition of online submissions was an overwhelming success," said Joe Veler of Virtual Blue Ridge "and while we were very happy with that process, we are excited to implement some important changes for 2009." Returning photographers will find a new and permanent home for the AMPC web site at www.appmtnphotocomp.org as well as a cleaner submission interface. "We saw a dramatic spike in participation and a substantial decrease in print and slide entries when we introduced online submissions" said Andrew Miller of Outdoor Programs, "so for 2009 we will only accept images uploaded through the AMPC web portal. This change will allow us to enhance the administration of the competition and create a more balanced presentation of works to our judges."
The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition offers seven separate categories for submissions including two sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. A panel of professional photographers are tasked with reviewing all entries and narrowing them down to approximately forty-six that will hang in exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, March 6 through June 6, 2009. "Our judges' photographic backgrounds have varied considerably over the years from fine art to photojournalism. In general, they look for images that relate a unique perspective of the subject and that evoke interest and/or emotion from the viewer," states Miller. "The Judges often start by looking for a strong balance of composition and exposure and then interpret how well an image reflects the category it was entered in. It is an interesting process to observe and I see our panelists getting most excited when an image presents a unique or challenging perspective on a subject that maintains some degree of familiarity."
AMPC is a community partnership supported by Bistro Roca and Antlers of Blowing Rock, Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters, Peabody's Beer and Wine Merchants, Mast General Stores, and Virtual Blue Ridge. For more information about the 2009 competition and its partners and sponsors visit www.op.appstate.edu. Deadline for submission is Saturday January 24, 2009 at 5 pm.
For press & media resource information, please visit:
http://www.virtualblueridge.com/contests/app-mtn-2008/media-and-press/
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