The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is always interested in striking photographic images taken throughout the state of Delaware. Each year, the department holds a photo contest to find and feature photographs that highlight Delaware’s natural beauty and focus on subjects such as waterways, landscapes, native plants, wildlife and aquatic life, and people enjoying nature, hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. All entries must be taken in Delaware, with the location identified in the entry form.

The 2026 DNREC Photo Contest

The 2026 DNREC Photo Contest runs from Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, through Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

There are four categories for entries. One youth winner will be chosen as well.

• People Enjoying Nature
• Watersheds: Landscapes and Waterways
• Wildlife and Aquatic Life
• Hunting and Fishing

Entrants may send in no more than three photographs, which can be all for one category, or spread among up to three categories. The first photo submitted is free, and each additional photo entry will have a $10 entry fee.

Details on how to enter are below.

Winning submissions to the inaugural DNREC Photo Contest, in 2025, are found throughout this page.

How to Enter

First, read all of the information between here and the form at the bottom of this page.

The entry form will be live starting on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.

Complete the online Entry and Photo Release Form (below) and upload your photo or photos under the appropriate categories. Photos must be taken in the State of Delaware.

If the photographer is a child under the age of 18, the child’s parent or guardian must complete and submit the online form(s).

If any children under the age of 18 can be seen and recognized in a submitted photo, a separate photo release form must be completed for each child by the child’s parent or guardian and submitted to DNREC.

Images must be submitted at a resolution of at least 1650 by 2100 pixels and be no larger than 10 MB in size. Images must be submitted in .jpeg or .png format. AI generated photographs will not be accepted.

Each photographer may submit a limit of three photos, which can be all for one category, or spread among up to three categories. Once a second photo is added, photographers will be charged a $10 entry fee per additional photo, for a maximum of three photos and a $20 fee per entrant.

The filename of each photo submitted must contain photo information in the following format:

Category–Title-by-Photographer’s Name–Date.File Format

Please use dashes, and not spaces, underscores or dots (except before the format). Example:

People-Enjoying-Nature-Kayaking-the-Nanticoke-by-Lee-Smith-2026-04-15.jpg

Photo metadata also is very important to give proper photo credit to artists, and for organizing entries. This year, DNREC asks that all photos include metadata listing the artist and the copyright of each photo.

Watch this video or read a description of how to edit the metadata of your photo before submission. 

Only photos that meet these criteria and are submitted with a properly completed entry form will be eligible.

Official Rules

Deadline for Entry

The photo submission, and the completed entry and release form(s), must be submitted by Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. 

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (“DNREC”) shall not accept late or incomplete entries, or entries that have not followed these Official Rules.

DNREC reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control. DNREC will take reasonable steps to notify of any adjustments made to deadlines.

Content

Photo submissions must not contain inappropriate, indecent, obscene or unlawful content. DNREC has sole discretion in determining whether any photo submission contains such content. Photo submissions determined by DNREC to contain such content shall be rejected by DNREC.

Photo submissions must be original, previously unpublished and created solely by the submitting entrant(s), and not violate the intellectual property rights, copyright or right of property of any third party. DNREC will reject photo submissions that it determines, in its sole discretion, contain copyrighted materials. Photo submissions that have been entered into other contests, or have been published elsewhere (newspapers, magazines, online, etc.) are not eligible.

Photo submissions should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified. Allowable standard optimization includes removal of dust, cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color, and contrast, etc.

AI generated photographs will not be accepted.​

Photos may not include names, signatures, logos or other identifying marks.

Categories

People Enjoying Nature – Photos of a person or people engaged or interacting with nature, such as boating, hiking, biking, picnicking, birdwatching and other outdoor activities. Examples: Canoeing or kayaking with family or friends; hiking out on the marsh to watch and photograph birds; biking park trails.

Watersheds: Landscapes and Waterways – Artistic, scenic photos that capture Delaware’s natural beauty throughout the state in any of the four seasons; people can be included but not as the main focus. Examples: picturesque views of the land or overlooking the water; wildlife footprints in the snow; a storm rolling in or an exceptional blue sky. Think light, color, composition and balance. Entrants must track the watershed that the photo was taken in using the Find Your Watershed tool.

Wildlife and Aquatic Life – Photos featuring Delaware’s native species in their natural habitat as the focus; no people included. Examples: a chance to frame a fawn, heron or other wildlife up close; underwater photos of fish or other aquatic life;

Hunting and Fishing – Photos of people engaged in hunting, trapping, fishing, crabbing or clamming. Examples: Besides showing off a big fish, prize wild turkey or eight-point buck; hunters sitting in a deer or duck blind, anglers casting a line or pulling in crab traps.

Youth Entries – Entries by those under 18 in any of the four categories above.

Eligibility

This contest is open to photographers of all ages and skill levels who are legal residents of the United States at the time of entry.

DNREC employees and children of DNREC employees may submit photos in accordance with these Official Rules. However, DNREC employees and children of DNREC employees are not eligible to win prizes.

Winners cannot win again in the same category for three years.

If a photographer does not pay the entry fee before the contest deadline, all photos submitted after the first photo entered, which is free, will be disqualified.

Judging and Selection of Winning Entries

The judging panel will include a panel of five judges, including at least one of each: a photographer, an educator and an environmental scientist.

One adult winner will be selected from each of four categories: People Enjoying Nature; Watersheds: Landscapes and Waterways; Wildlife and Aquatic Life, and Hunting and Fishing.

One youth winner will be selected from any of the four categories.

Photo submissions shall be judged and winning entries for each category shall be selected based on how well the photos represent the following criteria: visual effectiveness (40%), originality/creativity (25%), universal appeal (25%) and message/theme (10%).

DNREC has sole discretion over the selection of winning entries for each category. By entering this contest, entrants waive any right they have to dispute or otherwise challenge DNREC’s selection of the winning entries.

Prizes for Winning Entries

The winners in each category will receive the following: a $500 gift card, a Delaware State Parks daily pass, a gift bag and an award certificate.

DNREC will make reasonable efforts to notify winners by phone or email by May 1. Contest winners will be announced publicly via email, news release(s) and social media on or around May 15. All winners will be invited to participate in the DNREC Awards ceremony on Governor’s Day in July at the Delaware State Fair.

General Provisions

Photo Release

By entering this contest and submitting this completed release form, I, on behalf of myself and, if applicable, the child identified on this release form, grant permission to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and its employees a royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, nonexclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the photo submission, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any State of Delaware or DNREC purpose, including, but not limited to advertising and promotion of DNREC in print, its website, and its publications. By entering this contest, I further agree that the photo submission complies with to these official rules. I will make no monetary or other claim against DNREC or the State of Delaware for the use of any content provided DNREC in connection with my or my child’s participation in this contest.

DNREC is an agency of the State of Delaware subject to Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act (29 Del. C. 10001 et seq). Participants are advised that any information provided to DNREC in conjunction with this contest may be deemed a public record under FOIA.

Related Topics:  contest, dnrec, forms, landscape, nature, outdoors, photography, recreation, waterways