Wilderness Photography Foundation

06/14/2026

Everyone who visits one of our exhibitions is invited to select their top three favorite images—the ones that resonate most deeply and feel deserving of Best in Show recognition.
At each exhibition, votes are cast throughout the entire duration of the exhibition. The People’s Choice Awards bring an added level of excitement and engagement for both gallery visitors and participating photographers. With a total of 850 votes cast at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association Art Center Exhibition, the top 13 People’s Choice Award winners are:

1st place: ‘Peeping Mountain Lion” by Spears McAllester

2nd Place: ‘Wolf in the Woods’ by Bob Maynard

3rd place: ‘Cat House’ by Mike Ramy

4th place: ‘Eggshell Arch’ by Bob Maynard

5th place: ‘Morning Reflection’ by Tricia Raffensperger

6th Place: ‘Utah Sequator’ by Bob Maynard

7th place: ‘Short Tailed Weasel’ by Alan Murphy

8th - 9th - 10th Tie: (listed in no particular order)
‍ ‍‘Happy to See Mom’ by Jenn Cardinell
‍ ‍‘Sol Duc Creel’ by Greg Comstock
‍ ‍‘And Then He Said’ by Tricia Raffensperger

11th -12th -13th Tie: (listed in no particular order)
‍ ‍‘Foggy Sunrise at Caddo’ by Audrey Andersen
‍ ‍‘Long Eared Bat’ by Alan Murphy
‍ ‍‘Dueling Mustangs’ by Elissa Windsor

See more at https://www.wildernessphotographyfoundation.org/blue-ridge-arts-center-2026

06/09/2026

Our national forests are under attack yet again.

​Our public lands are the soul of this nation, yet 5.18 million acres of our most pristine Recommended Wilderness are now at risk of being lost forever. The Trump administration is currently pushing a new directive that would open these untouched forests to industrial exploitation. Areas that were previously set aside for their wilderness character.

​This shift prioritizes short term industrial gain over the long term health of our ecosystems. These landscapes are the last sanctuaries for endangered wildlife like the grizzly bear and the primary filters for our national water supply. Under the direction of the Trump administration, the federal government is systematically dismantling the protections that have kept our backcountry wild. From the move to rescind the Roadless Rule to this latest assault on Recommended Wilderness, the Trump administration is treating our shared heritage as a resource to be carved up rather than a legacy to be protected.

​We are reaching a point of no return. Once these forests are fragmented by roads and heavy machinery, they will never be the same. True conservationists know that our public lands belong to all of us and future generations deserve to inherit a country where wild places still exist. Protecting these forests is not just an environmental issue, it is a fight for the identity of the American landscape against an administration that seems determined to trade our wilderness for private profit. The time to stand up for our public lands is right now.

Remember that the majority of our national forests are already roaded and open to industrial uses and motors.

What are your feelings on our great national forests? Drop your thoughts below

06/04/2026

After a critically acclaimed 2 months at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association Art Center our next Exhibition opens this Saturday June 6th at d' Art Center in Norfolk Virginia. It runs through July 11th, stop by if you are in the area.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dual-art-exhibit-opening-natures-generosity-metal-transformed-tickets-1989414106145?aff=efbevent

05/23/2026

You have just one more week to experience the Nature’s Generosity Exhibition at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association Art Center in Blue Ridge Georgia before the exhibition moves on to the d'Art Center in Norfolk Virginia.

The Wilderness Photography Foundation has assembled the work of 36 top-tier nature photographers for this critically acclaimed exhibition, already being hailed as one of the finest nature photography exhibitions ever curated. The collection celebrates the beauty, diversity, and importance of the natural world through powerful imagery that inspires appreciation, reflection, and conservation.

Additional information at www.WPFus.org

05/14/2026

We are honored to be a part of the 50th Anniversary Spring Arts in the Park Festival Memorial Day weekend May 23rd and 24th in Blue Ridge Georgia. The Nature's Generosity exhibition is on display now until May 30th at the Arts Center - admission is free
Additional information here - https://www.wildernessphotographyfoundation.org/tour-2026-2030

05/12/2026

Environmental decisions have often been presented as progress for both nature and humanity, yet many have fallen short or produced unintended consequences. Nature does not need mankind to reshape or “improve” it, what it needs is mankind to learn how to live within it. The natural world sustained itself for countless generations before human intervention, and despite the damage inflicted upon it, nature continues to offer mankind a second chance. Rather than attempting to control or alter the natural world to fit our desires, perhaps our greatest responsibility is to recognize this opportunity and to respect nature’s balance, understand our place within it, and learn to live in harmony with the very systems that continue to sustain us.
This video from American Rivers is an inspiring example:

Teton River Conservation

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, the women who can hear a child opening a snack from three rooms away.
Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs on Earth: no vacation days, no sick leave, and the pay is usually a handmade card with macaroni glued to it.
Mothers spend years feeding us, cleaning up after us, teaching us right from wrong, and pretending to believe, “It wasn’t me.” Every family has that one child only a mother could love, the one who ate crayons, got stuck in a bucket, and thought jumping off the roof with an umbrella was a solid plan. Everyone else shook their heads, but Mom said, “That’s my baby.”
A mother’s love is patient, unconditional, and apparently blind to common sense. Happy Mother’s Day to the women who survived motherhood with their sense of humor mostly intact. You deserve a wonderful day and at least one meal where nobody yells, “Mom!” from the other room.