The Pinelands Preservation Alliance and a volunteer committee composed of professional and amateur photographers will host their annual juried photography exhibit focused on the Pinelands National Reserve.
The exhibit will hang in PPA’s newly renovated barn at its headquarters in Southampton from Nov. 10 to Dec. 14.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 15. An opening reception will be held Nov. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m.
This year, PPA celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Pinelands Protection Act, the landmark state legislation that established the current framework for Pinelands protection.
They will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the PPA, established in July 1989 to protect the natural and historic resources of New Jersey’s Pinelands National Reserve.
Black and white and color images taken within the boundaries of the National Reserve depicting its landscape, flora, wildlife, communities and people will be eligible for more than $2,500 in cash awards.
Photographers of all skill levels are welcome to apply.
All submissions will be digitally displayed at the opening reception and at the exhibit.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 15.
Registration information is available at www.PinelandsPhotoExhibit.org.
This year the contest will place special emphasis on expanding student participation.
In April, students and teachers from Shawnee, Cherokee, Lenape and Rancocas Valley Regional High Schools participated in a focus group meeting on the topics of photography, the Pinelands and participation in this year’s exhibit.
In May, 20 students took a photography walk at the Black Run Preserve in Evesham led by award-winning photographer Richard Lewis.
The alliance is excited to see how these young people capture and memorialize their experiences, whether it is with a digital camera or a smart phone.
Photographers are welcome to submit up to three images for $30 and $5 for each additional image up to a total of six total submissions.
Student (18 years of age and younger) entries are $10 for three images and $5 for each additional image up to a total of six.
This year’s Exhibit Judge is Richard Lewis, photographer and educator.
“My love for photography started in 1973 when I met my wife and her 35mm camera,” Lewis said. “Ever since then I’ve been involved with photography both as a fine art and professional photographer. My mother owned an art gallery in New Hope, Pennsylvania in the 1960s and 1970s so my earliest exposure to art came from painters.”
According to Lewis, biggest influences for his work are the great American landscape painters, especially the Hudson River School and Andrew Wyeth.
“As a result, I call my photographic style ‘Painting with a Camera,’ which involves equal amounts of time in both creating and editing photographs,” Lewis said. “While I love to photograph the American landscape, no place is more special to me than the New Jersey Pinelands. The unique beauty hidden in these pine trees and tea colored water is a treasure and a landscape that I especially love to explore, photograph and share.”
Learn more about Lewis and view his work at www.richardlewisphotography.com.
For more information or questions, contact
Steve Sebastian, (609) 859-8860 ext. 124 or [email protected].
Juried Exhibit Committee members include Lewis, Christopher Kosseff, Albert Horner, Bonnie Rovere, Cathy Melfi, Charles Riter, Ed Tenthoff, Janet Giardina and Peter Hewitt.
