“A Prayer for Light” by Nathan Green

2026 Friends of Black Bayou Photo Contest Rules

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We welcome you to participate in the Friends of Black Bayou Annual Photo Contest 2026. This year’s contest objectives are: to encourage protection of wildlife and conservation of natural resources through photographic skills and develop an appreciation of nature on the Refuge.

Please remember that feeding, harassing, removing, or otherwise interfering with wildlife on the Refuge is against federal law!

As always, there are no submission fees for your photos, so get your phones and cameras out and capture nature at its best. We encourage you to select your best photos and submit them by Oct. 1, 2026.  
  1. All images submitted must be taken by yourself (or your child) at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge or one of its sister refuges (D’Arbonne, Upper Ouachita, Handy Brake, and Tensas River NWRs) and submitted by October 1, 2026.
  2. Images should be of sufficient quality to print clearly (10 X 8 inches), or sized between 4 and 10 MB.
  3. Please submit your entry files in .jpg or .png format, using the online form: https://form.jotform.com/262076859666070
  4. Ensure that you submit an appropriate photo for the categories, mismatched images won’t be considered. 9 categories that photos may be submitted to are: i) Birds, ii) Fungi, iii) Herps and Fish, iv) Arthropods, v) Landscape, vi) Macro /Micro, vii) Mammals, viii) Plants, and ix) People on The Refuge.
  5. You can only submit two photos per category.  (Deadline Oct. 1st, 2026).
  6. No identifying marks may be on the photos.
  7. Photos that have won ribbons in previous FoBB photo contests may not be resubmitted, but non-winners may be resubmitted.
  8. Panoramic photos are not allowed. 
  9. All photos including identifiable people, especially child subjects should have been taken with permission of the subjects, parents or legal guardians to publish online and in print.
  10. Participants must check the check box to indicate that you have read this entire page of rules, understand them and have abided by them.
Ribbons will be awarded for the Charles Heck Memorial Grand Prize (best in show) as well as 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, and Honorable Mention in each category. Ties may occur in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places while any number of Honorable Mention ribbons may be awarded. Each person may submit 1 photo in each category. Each person may win only one “place” ribbon per category (except Honorable Mentions, which are unlimited, and Grand Prize, which may be awarded in addition to a “place” ribbon). 
Photos will be judged anonymously by three anonymous, well-qualified judges chosen by the FoBB photo committee. Their decisions shall be final.
Judging criteria:
 • Technical excellence (sharpness, lighting, composition, exposure) 
  • Originality/creativity 
  • Interest/Refuge appreciation 
  • Only minor manipulation should be used to create natural-looking photographs. Cropping is allowed, but adding any elements not existing in the original photo is not allowed. Judges may, at their discretion, disqualify any photos that appear to be manipulated. 
All submitted photo files become the property of FoBB, with proper photo credit given to the photographers if their photos are used or published, which may be done without notice. However, the photographers retain the right to use their own photos in any way they wish. 

The Charles Heck Memorial Grand Prize photo and all first-place photos will be printed and displayed in the Refuge Visitor Center at the October 17, 2026, FoBB Fall Celebration, while all ribboned photos will be displayed online at www.friendsofblackbayou.org/and on the FoBB Facebook group page. A press release listing all the winning photos (including at least the Grand Prize image) will be sent to various news outlets. 
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING and GOOD LUCK!!  Please direct any contest questions, comments and concerns to [email protected]