Rural developments
Cowpea Festival searching for amateur photographers’ best agri-heritage pics
The International Cowpea Festival and Cook-off in Charleston, Tenn., is still two months away, but time’s a-wastin’ for a key part of the celebration.
Deadline is Aug. 11 for the Agri-Heritage Photo Contest, which rewards amateur photographers for images of farms, crops, disappearing landscapes and rural scenic beauty.
This year’s theme is “Yippea for the Farm.”
“We’ve had some exceptional photos entered since the contest began in 2012, both from adults and children,” said Nancy Neal, coordinator of the contest, in a news release before her recent retirement as vice president of communications for the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re looking for photos from all corners of the Ocoee Region that depict farm work, crops grown in the region, rural scenic beauty, things disappearing from the rural landscape like old barns and farm buildings, farm machinery and anything else related to agri-tourism. The photo opportunities are endless.”
Organizers are looking for recently made images, but Neal said photos taken during 2016 also will be accepted if they were not submitted for last year’s contest “since capturing our agri-heritage is an ongoing project.”
Competition is open to any amateur photographer — one who does not regularly receive income from photography — who lives in the Ocoee Region of Tennessee: Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Polk and Hamilton counties. There is also a Budding Artists division for photographers 13 and younger.
“Entrants may only submit their own original photographs in digital format online, with no more than two photos per entrant,” Neal said.
This year, for the first time, the contest will accept cellphone photos “if they are high resolution or maximum size,” said Neal.
Entries that do not fit the criteria for the contest will not be part of the adjudication process. Organizers of the festival and their families are not eligible to enter the contest.
Winners will be chosen by a panel of photography experts and announced Sept. 9 at Charleston City Park during the daylong festival celebrating Charleston’s legacy as the former “Cowpea Capital of the United States.” (Cowpea is the generic name for black-eyed peas, field pies, crowder peas, Southern peas, silver- and purple-hull peas and cream peas.)
First-, second- and third-place photos in the adult division, along with three Budding Artist winners, will be acknowledged and displayed at the festival and may be used for future projects.
For submission details and other guidelines, visit www.cowpeafestival.com.