11 Amateur Photographers Win @GoParks Contest For Stunning Images Of National Parks & Public Lands

This annual contest encourages amateur photographers to share their experiences by submitting their favorite views, moments, and adventures from America’s national parks and public lands.

ACTIVE Network®, the leader in cloud-based Activity and Participant Management™ and data solutions, is powering the Share the Experience photo contest for the fifth year. Over 15,000 photos were submitted with more than 650,000 photo views over the course of the contest, which ran from May 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015.

Second place went to Koustubh Kulkarni of Johnson City, TN for his photo along the 49 Palms Trail at Joshua Tree National Park in California. The shot catches five Big Horn sheep, looking almost posed, against a vibrant orange, yellow, pink, and blue sunset.

Third place went to Sarah Gustafson of San Francisco, CA for her self-portrait on the salt flats of Death Valley National Park in California.

You can view all 11 photos and get the inside scoop about these special moments from the photographers on the National Park Foundation’s blog today. You can also follow @GoParks and @Share_the_Experience on Instagram for more park photos.

The grand prize for the winning image is $10,000, followed by $5,000 and $3,000 for second and third place, in addition to outdoor gear provided by Celestron, hotel packages courtesy of Historic Hotels of America, and an annual Federal Recreational Lands Pass. There are also prizes for fan favorites and the following six category winners:

• Adventure and Outdoor Recreation
• Historical and Cultural
• Scenic, Seasons, and Landscapes
• Every Kid in a Park
• Wildlife
• Night Skies

The 2016 Share the Experience photo contest, sponsored by the National Park Foundation and ACTIVE Network® in partnership with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and Recreation.gov, is now accepting entries through December 31. Share the Experience is the official photo contest of America’s national parks and federal recreational lands, showcasing the more than 500 million acres of federal lands and drawing entries from all across the United States. For a full listing of prizing and rules, or to submit a photo, please visit www.sharetheexperience.org.

Share the Experience is a great example of the countless ways there are to #FindYourPark. Launched in March 2015, Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque is a public awareness and education movement to inspire people from all backgrounds to connect with, celebrate, and support America’s national parks and community-based programs. Celebrating the National Park Service Centennial and setting the stage for the Service's next 100 years, #FindYourPark invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to our nation's natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history.

As part of its commitment to the National Park Service Centennial and strengthening our national treasures for the next 100 years, the National Park Foundation offers many ways to support America’s national parks. From national park-inspired gear, to commemorative coins, to its $350 million Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, there are a variety of unique ways to honor and protect the legacy of these special places.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a $350 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.

ABOUT ACTIVE NETWORK
ACTIVE Network^® is the leader in Activity and Participant Management™ and data solutions powering over 47,000 customers worldwide with SaaS technology that streamlines activity and event administration. Our enterprise-level ACTIVEWorks^® cloud platform, combined with our business intelligence tools, make managing and operating all types of activities, events and organizations smarter and more efficient. ACTIVE Network was founded in 1999 and has offices worldwide. For more information, visit: http://www.activenetwork.com or follow us on Twitter @ACTIVENetwork.

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