In the typical photo contest, you enter a picture that you've already made on a given subject, i.e., nature, human interest, man's inhumanity to wildebeest, etc. But Shoot The Hills, held annually in the Hocking Hills region of southeastern Ohio, is unlike those.
I like to refer to STH as a "photographic rally." All contestants meet in one place at the beginning of the competition. In front of a judge, you set your camera's clock to match the official time clock, format your memory card, then take a picture of an official reference object (usually a judge holding up a card that says "official start photo"). Then you wait, sequestered with the other photo bugs, until the word is given.
When they say "Go!" you have 24 hours to capture your images. You are limited to a geographic region but it's several counties, so it's not the area that's limiting, it's the clock.
The challenge is incredible but the results of the winners are incredible, as well. One of the other regular contestants (I'm sorry I can't recall his name) described it as, "the most frustrating 24 hours you'll ever love." He's spot on with that. I love this contest.
It's held early enough each year that the full spectrum of Hocking Hills' incredible flora isn't available for pictures yet. The only flowers reliably in bloom at the time are trillium. There are invariably a lot of trillium pictures. Dogwoods and red buds are also usually in bloom and ferns are just starting to unfurl. But that's about it. It really adds to the challenge.
Last year (2010) I managed to get two ribbons, one in Landscapes, titled "Lake Hope Sunrise," and one in Flora, titled "Big Four Mayflowers." Both were Honorable Mentions, so I guess that makes me almost good as a nature photographer.
A lot of nature photography that produces great images involves location scouting, advance planning, return trips to the same location under different lighting/weather, and most importantly, significant amounts of patience (with a supply of auxiliary patience in your camera bag). If you're up for a challenge as a nature photographer, this is a good one as most of these things are out of your control. I highly recommend it.
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