The fifth annual Highland Outdoors photo contest is open for submissions. Winners will be announced in the Winter 2026 issue.

Last Year's Overall Winner Photo "The Universe is Whispering to Us" Photographed by Jesse Thornton

 Sponsored by

The highly anticipated fifth annual Highland Outdoors photo contest is now open for submissions! We’re proud that the contest is sponsored this year by The Nature Conservancy. And we’ve added two new photography categories—Aerial Photography and Adventure–Motorized. Winners will be featured in the December 2026 issue.

The 2025 photo contest saw 76 individual photographers submit a total of 126 images across three categories, and we can’t wait to see what comes in this year. Send in your best shots—you don’t have to be a published photographer to have a chance. And yes, if you’ve submitted before, you can submit again. We’ll publish the winning images in our Winter 2026 issue. Please thoroughly read the contest rules and submission guidelines. Thanks in advance to The Nature Conservancy, to this year’s judges, and to everyone who submits their photos.  

—Dylan Jones, Editor-at-Large

Submit Your Photo

Categories

Landscape

Capture and share iconic mountain scenes, quiet hollows, and peaceful streams. Photos may not include humans. Animals may be included, but photos with a wild animal as the primary subject should be submitted under the wildlife category. Buildings are acceptable if they showcase historic and/or cultural elements or if they are part of the landscape.

2025 Landscape Winner: “The Glow Up” by Leiane Gibson
Sandstone Falls, Raleigh County
Submit Your Photo

Wildlife

Submit your images of West Virginia’s wild creatures, from the tiniest of insects to megafauna like bear and elk. We will not accept photos of domesticated animals, captive wild animals, or wild animals feeding at manmade food sources. Skip the humans—only animals permitted.

2025 Wildlife Winner: “Nature’s Camouflage” by Tina Brannon Chloe, Calhoun County
Submit Your Photo

Adventure—Human-Powered

Capture the spirit that moves Highland Outdoors readers through the natural world. Send your photos of non-motorized mountain adventures, like paddling, biking, hiking, climbing, skiing, etc.

2025 Adventure Winner “Wild and Waterful” by Gabe DeWitt
Cheat River Canyon, Preston County
Submit Your Photo

Adventure—Motorized

New this year, share your winding road trips, rugged trail travels, and mud-caked messes. This one’s for any motor-assisted adventure on an ATV, side-by-side, dirt bike, motorcycle, motorboat, etc.

By Nikki Bowman Mills
Submit Your Photo

Aerial

Rise above it all. Take a new perspective. Photos must be captured from the sky, whether by drone, from a plane, helicopter, etc. However you do it, get your camera up high and show us the world down below.

 "Kayakers Entering Blackwater Canyon"
by Mark Moody
Submit Your Photo

Prizes 

  • There will be 10 winning photographs. All 10 will be published in our Winter 2026 issue. 
  • The overall winner will receive $350 and a one-year print subscription.
  • The overall runner-up will receive $250 and a one-year print subscription.
  • Each category winner will receive $125 and a one-year print subscription.
  • Each category runner-up will receive $75 and a one-year print subscription.

The Judges

Nikki Bowman Mills

Nikki Bowman Mills is the founder, president, and publisher of New South Media, Inc., a multimedia company on a mission to change the narrative around Appalachia—one story, photograph, and magazine at a time. What started in 2008 as a bold idea during one of the worst possible moments to launch a print publication has grown into a nationally recognized media company serving clients across the country. Today, New South Media publishes WV Living, WV Weddings, Morgantown, Highland Outdoors, and Wonderful West Virginia magazines—as well as several custom publications and travel guides. Nikki’s photography regularly appears in the pages, usually because she still can’t resist chasing a good story down a backroad.

Mark Moody

Mark Moody is a West Virginia photographer based in Davis, WV, and is the visual storyteller behind Mon Media. He specializes in weddings, outdoor adventure, tourism, and lifestyle content. Through Mon Media, he blends digital, film, and drone photography to create authentic storytelling inspired by the landscapes and culture of Appalachia and the Monongahela region. His work has appeared in Highland Outdoors and People Magazine, and has been featured with outdoor gear brands like Outex and Immersion Research.

Dylan Jones

Dylan Jones is editor-at-large for Highland Outdoors and lives in Davis, WV with his wife Nikki. Besides Highland Outdoors, he’s had his images published in Freehub Magazine, National Geographic Explorer’s Journal, Wonderful West Virginia, Harvest Hollow, Adventure Journal, Garden & Gun, and West Virginia ArtWorks. When he’s not stopping to admire moss and get lost in the hydrology of a mountain stream, you can find him skiing (or dreaming about skiing) somewhere in Canaan Valley.

Randall Sanger

Randall Sanger is a West Virginia landscape photographer, workshop instructor, and author. Randall is a Juried Fine Arts Photographer at Tamarack. His work can be viewed in galleries around the Mountain State. Randall’s images have appeared in numerous publications, including Highland Outdoors, Outdoor Photographer, Backpacker, Blue Ridge Country, West Virginia Living, and Wonderful West Virginia. Through his photography, his ultimate desire is to glorify God’s creation and showcase the natural beauty of West Virginia and beyond.

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