Photographers, don’t waste any time in submitting your favorite photos of the year to the ninth annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition! The deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18.

The Our Ecological Footprint category was conceived by Appalachian Voices as a way to encourage photographers to examine the influence our society has on the physical world around us. Past finalists submitted photos of the devastation of mountaintop removal, coal ash spills, and clear-cutting. But humanity doesn’t always leave a scar on the natural world. Other finalists submitted photos of a fly-fisherman enjoying the once-polluted Doe River and a horse-drawn cart practicing low-impact logging.

This year, Mast General Store has joined Appalachian Voices in sponsoring the Our Ecological Footprint category, which raised this category’s prize to $500.

Other categories include: Best in Show; Blue Ridge Parkway – A Ribbon of Road; People’s Choice; Culture; Adventure; Flora and Fauna, and Landscape. In total, $4,000-worth of cash and prizes is available to winners of the eight categories.

Visit the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition website for more information, and read our past blog.