(Boone, NC) ‐ The 7^th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) will open for registration and submissions on Friday, September 18. Amateur and professional photographers 13 years of age and older are encouraged to submit at www.appmtnphotocomp.org prior to the competitions close at 5pm on Friday, January 29, 2010. “Last year’s competition was a tremendous success highlighting photographers from the Southeast and beyond and I am really excited to get the 7^th annual competition underway” says Andrew Miller, Coordinator for Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs and competition Director. AMPC attracts entries from across the United States and last year’s competition marked the first ever international submissions. A partnership between Appalachian State University Outdoor Programs, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, AMPC celebrates the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

 

Appalachian Voices, a grassroots environmental organization based out of Boone, North Carolina has become the competitions newest supporter. “We are always looking at ways to better the competition and partnering with Appalachian Voices seemed like a natural progression” says Miller. “The Environment category has consistently received the fewest submissions of the 7 categories of the competition. Appalachian Voices advocacy on issues important to the Southern Appalachians will bring focus to this category and will allow us to tap into the broad network they have developed in more than a decade’s work.”