Keep Iowa Beautiful Opens 17th Annual Photography Contest

Keep Iowa Beautiful Opens 17th Annual Photography Contest

What does Iowa look like through your lens? It might be a quiet morning on a gravel road, a favorite view of Fairfield, wildlife along a trail, or people at work in the community.

Keep Iowa Beautiful is inviting amateur and professional photographers to submit images for its 17th Annual Photography Contest. The contest celebrates the landscapes, places and people that give Iowa its character, with more than $2,000 in cash awards available.

Photographers may enter in six categories:

• Iowa Landscape: Fields, hills, forests and other Iowa scenery

• Iowa Water: Rivers, streams, ponds and lakes

• Iowa Cities: Streets, landmarks and urban scenes

• Iowans in Action: People living, working and playing

• Iowa Wildlife: Animals, birds, fish, insects and other wildlife

• Hometown Pride: Participating Keep Iowa Beautiful Hometown Pride communities

For Fairfield area photographers, this is a chance to share a view of Iowa that others might walk past every day. Consider the people and places that tell a story in a single frame, whether you’re choosing from photos you’ve already taken or heading out with your camera this fall.

Entries are due by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, December 11, 2026. Photos must have been taken in Iowa and submitted by the person who took them. There is a $5 entry fee per photo; photographers may submit multiple images. Keep Iowa Beautiful also provides file requirements and complete contest rules on its website.

View the rules, see past winners and enter the contest on the Keep Iowa Beautiful website.