HILLSBORO, W.Va. — A star-filled sky above a Civil War battlefield, a magnolia warbler among the leaves, and a dog cooling off in a mountain stream are among five photographs selected this year to capture summer in West Virginia’s state parks and forests.
The winning images were taken at five destinations across the state and came from hundreds submitted to the West Virginia State Parks Foundation‘s spring and summer “Mountains Are Always Free” photo contest, according to Brad Reed, the foundation’s executive director.
The competition was open to professional and amateur photographers and included photographs taken at state parks, state forests, and W.Va. Division of Natural Resources-managed rail trails. Reed said entries competed in five categories—summer beauty, wildlife, plants, pets in parks, and outdoor recreation.
Three photographers captured the five honors. Jessica Poling, of Salem, won the plants category, and Leslie Carpenter, of Martinsburg, and Stasha Ray, of Morgantown, each won two categories.
“We received hundreds of submissions from across the state, as well as from folks in other states who share a love for West Virginia State Parks,” Reed said.
“There were so many outstanding images that selecting the winners was no easy task.”
Five parks, five winning images
Leslie Carpenter won the summer beauty category with a nighttime photograph at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park in Pocahontas County.
The photograph silhouettes the park’s observation tower against a star-filled sky, with the mountains and scattered lights of the Greenbrier Valley stretching into the distance.
The setting suits the photograph well. Droop Mountain, neighboring Watoga State Park and Calvin Price State Forest comprise an International Dark Sky Park encompassing nearly 20,000 acres of public land.
The largely forested landscape is buffered by undeveloped portions of the Monongahela National Forest and designated wilderness, helping protect the night sky from light pollution. DarkSky International says the area has long attracted amateur and professional astronomers and photographers.
Droop Mountain also preserves the site of the Battle of Droop Mountain, fought during the Civil War in 1863, and its observation tower has become a popular location for viewing both the surrounding mountains and the night sky.
Carpenter also won the wildlife category with a photograph of a magnolia warbler at nearby Watoga.
The photograph brings the tiny bird into sharp focus against a deep-green forest background, revealing its yellow breast and contrasting black, white, and gray markings.
Watoga and Droop Mountain share the same dark-sky designation, but by day their extensive forests also provide habitat for a wide range of wildlife. At more than 10,000 acres, Watoga is the largest park in the West Virginia state park system.
Jessica Poling’s winning photograph in the plants category moves from wildlife to the forest floor.
Taken at Holly River State Park, the image focuses on a cluster of orange mushrooms emerging from a bed of wet, deep-green moss. The Foundation did not identify the mushroom species, and the photographer entered the photo simply as “Mushrooms at Holly River State Park.”
The contrast is striking against the contest’s larger landscape photographs, showing how some winning scenes were found on a much smaller scale.
Stasha Ray’s outdoor recreation winner captures one of the West Virginia park system’s most distinctive hiking environments.
At Audra State Park, a hiker follows the wooden boardwalk beneath the immense rock overhang known as Alum Cave while the Middle Fork River flows through the wooded gorge below.
Despite its name, Alum Cave is an overhanging rock shelter, not an enclosed cave. The park’s 2.7-mile Alum Cave Trail follows the Middle Fork River and carries hikers along the boardwalk beneath the formation. West Virginia State Parks describes the trail as one of the park’s signature attractions.
Ray also won the pets-in-parks category with a photograph taken at Coopers Rock State Forest.
Her subject, Jemma Jolene, appears to have found her own way to enjoy a West Virginia summer — stretched out in the shallow water of a rocky mountain stream.
Hundreds compete for five honors
Reed said the spring and summer contest ran from May 1 through Aug. 7 and followed a winter edition of the “Mountains Are Always Free” competition that also attracted hundreds of photographs.
For the summer competition, photographers could submit up to three photographs in each category. Contest rules limited entries to original photographs and permitted only light editing and enhancement.
State park employees and foundation board members reviewed and scored the entries, Reed said.
“We had two multi-category winners in this contest,” he said. “Any time you can combine that kind of talent with the beauty of our state parks, amazing results are going to happen.”
Foundation Treasurer Kim McCluskey, who participated in the final selection process, said choosing among the photographs proved difficult.
“These pictures were just so special,” McCluskey said. “I wish we could have awarded all of them a first-place prize.”
Contest winners receive a two-night stay at a West Virginia state park resort along with additional prizes and recognition from the foundation.