Sure, taking selfies can be fun, but naturies are where the real money is at.
Teenage shutterbugs from around the state are invited to submit their finest nature photographs for a chance at up to $5,000 in prize money, courtesy of Arizona Highways magazine, The Nature Conservancy and Cox Communications.
The 10th annual “Adventures in Nature” photo contest is open to students and amateur photographers ages 13-18.
Participants have until the end of the day on April 12 to submit two high-resolution photos highlighting Arizona’s natural beauty, wildlife or people in nature. Entries will be judged anonymously based on photographic quality, creativity and effectiveness in conveying the subject matter, with the winners to be announced on May 11.
The top 10 finalists will share more than $10,000 in prize money, with $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second, $1,500 for third and $250 each for seven honorable mentions.
Winning photographs could also be featured in Arizona Highways and promotional materials for future contests.
Go to https://www.arizonahighways.com/photography/photo-contest to read the official rules and enter the online contest.
The contest was created in 2013 to highlight amateur student photographers’ work and connect young people to Arizona’s natural beauty.
Photos: Rancho Romero and the establishment of Catalina State Park
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
The site of the home on Rancho Romero. Original photo ran in the Tucson Citizen Around Your Home section July 4, 1964.
Rancho Romero, home of Mr. and Mrs. J.E. McAdams. Photo originally ran in the Tucson Citizen Around Your Home section April 19, 1958.
Views from Rancho Romero are spectacular in every direction. Photo originally ran in the Tucson Citizen Around Your Home section April 19, 1958.
An overhang of redwood slats shades the inner entry court to the home of the William C. Jordans on Rancho Romero. Thus interesting sun patterns are cast through the partly open overhang. Outside construction of the home is of burnt adobe. Original photo ran in the Tucson Citizen Around Your Home section July 4, 1964.
The Tucson-Florence Highway (Oracle Road) lower right, and Rancho Romero, center of the photo, alongside the Cañada del Oro Wash in 1973. Further on, the CDO intersects with the Sutherland Wash in what is now Catalina State Park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in November, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in May, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in May, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in May, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in May, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in May, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in August, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in August, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in August, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Rancho Romero (now Catalina State Park) in August, 1973. Gov. Jack Williams signed legislation in May, 1974, authorizing the state to acquire more than 13,000 acres in Pima and Pinal counties to help establish a new state park.
Wayne and Dianne Allen of Austin, Texas, retired for six months, sit under a tree in their camping spot at Catalina State Park on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 in Tucson, AZ. The couple are on an extended vacation heading to Utah and Denver to see their kids. They were preparing a vegetable dish in a gas oven, foreground, they just bought and put on the grill outside.
Late afternoon sun peaks through the leaves of a tree as a catus stands in the background at Catalina State Park on Tuesday, April 30, 2013.
A view of the Catalina Mountains looking east just after sunrise at Catalina State Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.
John and Kathy Mulligan from Tucson sit with their dogs Max, left, and Wiley in the Canyon del Oro Wash at Catalina State Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Tucson, AZ. They were having lunch prior to taking a hike on the Canyon Loop Trail.
Poppies along the Sutherland Trail at Catalina State Park on Feb. 23, 2012.
Horseback riders on the Canyon Loop Trail at Catalina State Park in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 15, 2103.
Tucson hikers Kevin Duckett and his wife Melanie Duckett look at stone ruins along the Romero Ruin Interpretive Trail at Catalina State Park.
The Santa Catalina Mountains from the Romero Ruin Interpretive Trail at Catalina State Park in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 15, 2103.
Saddlebrooke resident Seth Basker and his son Jonathan walk past a Desert Willow that has been dedicated to Steve Schulman inside Catalina State Park on Friday, November 25, 2011, in Oro Valley, Ariz. The park is starting a Tree Dedication Program where a native tree is planted there in celebration of a loved one, a newborn, an anniversary or for any occasion.
Jill Wheatley enjoys the view from a hill along the Romero Ruins Trail in Catalina State Park with the Santa Catalina Mountains in the background and their dusting of snow from a morning storm, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010.
Park ranger Courtney Nault, right, leads the way up a stair climb as about 20 hikers take part in the Romero Ruins Adventure Hike at Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Oro Valley, Ariz. The hike was one of several featured as part of Jan.1 First Day Hikes in state parks across the country.
From right, Levi Milton, 13, Beth Busse, Pierce Burns and Simon Burns, 8, enjoy a New Year’s Day trek on the Romero Trail in Catalina State Park. A winter storm brought snow to the upper elevations as well as the metro area on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day in Tucson on Jan. 1, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz.
Grasses bring a cloak of green to a woodland at Catalina State Park north of Tucson.
Sutherland Wash in Catalina State Park is flowing fast with snowmelt from the Catalina Mountains.
From left to right, Gabriella Porreca, Edita Navratilova and Frank Porreca hike past a bed of Mexican and California Gold Poppies on the Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Rd., in Oro Valley, Ariz., on March 10, 2020.
Edita Navratilova, right, takes pictures of a group of Mexican and California Gold Poppies on the Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Rd., in Oro Valley, Ariz., on March 10, 2020.
A group of Purple Owl's Clover stand out in front of a bed Gold Poppies on the Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Rd., in Oro Valley, Ariz., on March 10, 2020.
The historic ruins of Francisco Romero's mid-1800s ranch at Catalina State Park.
Jose Lazarini, right, shows wife Maria the proper drawback technique on an archery bow during an Arizona State Parks' Family Campout Program on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road, in Oro Valley, Ariz. The Lazarinis, who came with their two children from Cave Creek, are on their first campout ever. During the overnight campout, families are helped with proper tent set-up, propane stove cooking and some outdoor fun with nature hikes, archery and slingshots.
Jose Lazarini, center left, poses questions as he leads a fun game of Family Feud with (from left) Jet McMurrary, 10, children Gilma, 6, and Jose Jr., 7, and Leah Sweatman, 9, during an Arizona State Parks' Family Campout Program on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road, in Oro Valley, Ariz. During the overnight campout, families are helped with proper tent set-up, propane stove cooking and some outdoor fun with nature hikes, archery and slingshots.
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and Oro Valley resident Jack Dykinga photographs a flower grouping at Catalina State Park north of Tucson, AZ. Dykinga, who shoots for National Geographic and Arizona Highways, among others, has had an artistic re-birth he says, since a life saving lung transplant.
From left, Suzanna Schleck hikes with son Drew, right, and his girlfriend Amy Fritz along the 50-Year Trail in Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road, northwest of Tucson, Ariz. Their family, scattered throughout the country, all met up for a sightseeing Christmas holiday in Tucson. Arizona State Parks is offering a series of guided "First Day Hikes" on New Year's Day. Photo taken at her home on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015.
A Star reader shared this video of seven javelinas he saw while at a Tucson resort Saturday, March 25.
