They're Very Good

NEW YORK, NY (April 21, 2016) – Today, five photographers triumphed over 1,700 competitors and have been declared winners of the 2016 Audubon Photography Awards, the National Audubon Society's seventh such contest. The winners were chosen from almost 7,000 photos, submitted from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and six Canadian provinces. Judges include birding legend Kenn Kaufman and last year's Grand Prize winner and professional photographer Melissa Groo. Winning photographs will be published in Audubon magazine, Nature's Best Photography magazine and will also be displayed within the 2016 Nature's Best Photography Exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History later this year.

View all the winning photographs at: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june-2016/the-2016-audubon-photography-awards-winners

Restricted by the amount of categories, there could only be five winning photographs. However, the judges for the Audubon Photography Awards put together their Top 100 Birds Photos from the 6,000+ images submitted. Get lost among some of the world's greatest bird photography here.

More information on the contest below. For the full May-June 2016 issue of Audubon please click here.

PRIZES:

• Grand Prize: $5,000 USD
  
• Professional Prize: $2,500 USD
  
• Amateur Prize: $2,500 USD
  
• Fine Art Prize: $2,500 USD
  
• Special youth prize: Five days next July in Maine at the Hog Island Audubon Camp's Photography session for the winner and a parent/guardian (transportation included)

JUDGES (Meet them!)

• Kevin Fisher, creative director, National Audubon Society
  
• Steve Freligh, publisher, Nature's Best Photography
  
• Melissa Groo, wildlife photographer and winner of the 2015 contest's Grand Prize
  
• Kenn Kaufman, bird expert and Audubon field editor
  
• Sabine Meyer, photography director, National Audubon Society

Judging criteria: Technical quality, originality, artistic merit. All photographers must follow Audubon's Guide to Ethical Bird Photography.

To stay updated on all things birds, visit http://www.audubon.org/news, follow @AudubonSociety on Twitter and check out more award-winning bird photography on our Instagram.

The National Audubon Society saves birds and their habitats throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon's state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon's vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.