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Washington State University

IYRP Photography Contest

Southwest Washington Grasslands and Grazing Photography Contest

 

Agricultural photography can convey stories about farming, natural resources, and the day-to-day lives of farmers. No matter your skills, consider participating in this photography contest to showcase your work and tell the story of local, grass-based agriculture. Farmers have the inside story, so producers themselves are encouraged to join in!

This contest focuses on grazing lands and prairies in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston Counties, and is timed to generate artistic content for the 2026 United Nations “International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists”. All submissions are eligible for public arts exhibits.

Timing

The contest will run from May 1st, 2025 through September 10th, 2026.

 Contest Details

  • Submit individual images, a photographic series, or some combination of up to five photos.
  • All submissions must be printed, mounted on foam core (strongly encouraged but optional), and delivered to the WSU Thurston County Extension office (see below for instructions)
  • Digital copies of images need to be uploaded along with the entry form at the link HERE

Purpose

  • Education through art
  • Increase awareness of farming and farmers in the region, and support farm viability and sustainable agriculture
  • Inspire action and support of farming communities and landscapes

Judging

  • Reviewed by a panel of three judges in person (location TBD)
  • This will be a public event
  • Refreshments, review of entries, and comments by local ranchers and conservation workers

Prizes: A cash prize of $75…and maybe more!… will be awarded to the winner in each category. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three places in each category, in addition to a people’s choice award.

ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS

  • Delivering prints in advance. During the period through September 10th, 2026, print entries may be delivered during business hours to WSU Thurston County Extension, 3054 Carpenter Rd SE, Lacey, WA 98503. No entries will be accepted after 5:00 pm on Nov 14.
  • Print protection and identity. For protection of your prints and to keep your images grouped with the entry form, place them in a bag or package of some kind. Prints must be accompanied by a sheet of paper with name, print numbers, and titles that match the online entry form.
  • Judging. Prints will be judged on during a public event on the weekend of September 19th or 26th, 2026, beginning at 10 a.m. (location TBD). Exhibitors are encouraged to attend the judging, all community members welcome. Refreshments and comments by local farmers.
  • Print handling. WSU Thurston County Extension and The Olympia Camera Club will exercise all possible care in the handling and processing of prints for this exhibition. They are not responsible for loss or damage while the prints are in their custody.
  • Picking up your prints. Following the September judging event, selection of photographs for a fall/holiday 2026 exhibit will be completed by September 30th, 2026. Participants willing to allow their images to be displayed will be notified by that time. Photographers of prints not selected for exhibits will be notified by January 15th. Contest winners and prints selected for exhibits are not necessarily the same. Prints may be picked up at the WSU Extension Office between January 20th and January 29th, 2027 (Tu-Fri 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m). Entries will not be mailed to exhibitors. Entries not picked up by January 29th will be left in the WSU Thurston County Extension Office.
  • The exhibitor of the print must be the original maker of the image. The use of AI software shall be limited to minor repairs, noise reduction, sharpening, etc. The use of AI to generate significant content is not allowed.
  • The image may have been made in any type of camera, including camera phones. Images may be computer enhanced.
  • A print entry must be at least 8” x 10” and up to 16” x 24” in size (including mat, if applicable). Odd-size entries are acceptable, so long as the shortest side is no more than 16” and the longest side is no larger than 24”. Panorama images are an exception to this rule but may not exceed a 12” x 36” measurement. Square prints can be submitted up to 18” x 18”. Minimum dimensions: at least 1200px on the shortest side.

Mounting and Delivering photographs

The WSU Thurston County Extension Office is located at 3054 Carpenter Rd SE, Lacey, WA, 98503. The office is open to take in photographs from 8am to 5pm Tuesday-Friday. Images can be commercially mounted or photographers can access a tutorial developed by Olympia Camera Club to learn how to mount on foam core themselves. If you are unable to mount your photographs please submit unmounted prints. 

Categories

  1. Wildlife (or more broadly ecosystem services) in prairies/grasslands
  2. Rural livelihood from grasslands and grazing (including sustainable livestock products linking sustenance to land)
  3. Traditional knowledge (indigenous or Euro-American) and culture connected to grasslands
  4. Pastoralist/rancher/grazer women and youth
  5. Grassland loss
  6. Global grasslands and pastoralists

IYRP Rights in Use/Photo Submission Guidelines

Thank you for contributing photographs to the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) and Western SARE. These guidelines ensure clarity, consistency, and responsible use of your work.

FILE LABELING (REQUIRED FORMAT) Subject_City_State_Affiliation(optional)_PhotographerName_YYYY.filetype Example: SheepWool_SanLuisObispo_CA_WSU_JordanFreeman_2025.jpg

PERMISSIONS

By submitting photographs, you confirm that:

  • You are the copyright owner of the images, or you have permission from the copyright owner to submit them for use in this project.
  • You grant IYRP and Western SARE a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use your images for non-commercial, educational, outreach, and promotional purposes related to the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, including future educational use of this body of work.
  • Images may be used in print materials, reports, exhibitions, presentations, websites, digital toolkits, social media, and press/outreach directly tied to IYRP and Western SARE.
  • Images may be cropped or lightly edited (exposure, color balance, contrast, and minor cleanup) strictly for clarity, formatting, and consistency across IYRP and Western SARE materials.
  • You retain full copyright and may continue to use your images elsewhere without restriction.
  • If identifiable individuals appear, you have obtained consent or they are depicted in a manner consistent with ethical public presentation.
  • You are not aware of any restrictions that would prevent the images from being shown publicly for IYRP and Western SARE purposes.

Duration of Permission

This license remains in effect for the full duration of the IYRP initiative and any future educational use of these project materials. No renewal or additional permissions will be required.

STANDARD CREDIT (UNIVERSAL ACROSS ALL MATERIALS)

All images will be credited as follows: Subject, Location [Year]. Courtesy of [Affiliation]. Photo © [Photographer] Example: Sheep Wool, San Luis Obispo, CA (2025). Courtesy of WSU. Photo © Jordan Freeman This credit format will be used consistently across all publications and platforms.