2026 Photo Contest
Alpine Reflection
Colorado
Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, '27
"As the sun sets on the San Juan mountains and an alpine lake mirrors rocky peaks, we too are called to reflect on our values. Voters in the west overwhelmingly see water supply and water quality as a pressing issue. Political tensions over water allocation build as climate change and overuse increasingly drain water supplies. When we visit places where wild water resides, we are encouraged not only to take in the beauty, but also to recognize it as a force that gives us life, something deserving of respect and diligent treatment. Simply visiting these places may not be enough; we must use our love for land as momentum to change how we treat our resources."
The State of the Rockies project invites students to submit up to three photos and a description of each photo(s) taken from the Rocky Mountain West that reminds us why, how, and/or what conservation efforts are necessary to preserve and protect nature. Students are required to describe how their photo submission(s) relate to a conservation topic covered by this year's State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll.
Students sent us photos they took from the Rocky Mountain West that shows us Top of Mind conservation issues in the West! Students are required to describe how their photo submission(s) relate to a conservation topic covered by this year's State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll.
JUDGES ANNOUNCE WINNERS FOR 2026 PHOTO CONTEST
1st Place
Rainbow Elk
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado
Photo by Macy McCauley, '25
Driving back over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, a perilous journey even on a much milder day, a herd of elk crossed the road. Almost simultaneously, a rainbow appeared. While perhaps simply serendipitous, this coincidence seemed a gentle reminder to protect both the parks and sacred spaces in the West and everything in it, like this vulnerable elk. Overwhelmingly, voters in the West support measures to protect public lands and prevent development. While the recent spate of attacks against conservation and public lands seems discouraging, this rainbow represents the hope that now, more than ever, is essential.
2nd Place
Water Tanks in the Desert
Bears Ears National Monument
Utah
Photo by Charlie Marks, '26
"Water Tanks in the Desert." This is a photo taken after a series of fall storms fell over Bears Ears National Monument. Pools of water like these are rare sights in red rock country and can mean life or death for animals scouring the desert for water. As climate change increases the number and severity of drought in the West, it is important that we listen to voters that are concerned about our dwindling water supply and over consumptive society. This photo is a metaphor for how water is valued and how we take it for granted.
3rd Place
The Bridge
Summit County
Colorado
Photo by Ryan Keating, '28
This photo was taken on the 7th segment of the Colorado trail on the westward side of the Tenmile range. Sandwiched between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain, owned by the two behemoth corporations of modern skiing, this photo represents the many boundaries one faces exploring Colorado. Private lands continue to infringe on public ones that many have taken for granted, and many are witnessing the industry and consumerism that has taken over the area. Despite its proximity to this ever-consuming culture, this trail remains unbothered and quiet, a sanctuary for personal reflection. This photo captures my hope that this bridge will never burn.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNERS
1st Choice: 154/433 Votes
Black Lake
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado
Photo by Annie O'Neill, '26
1st Runner-up: 142/433 Votes
Fenced From Beauty
Saguache County
Colorado
Photo by Ezra McGinley Smith, '29
Honorable Mentions
Help us pick the PEOPLE'S CHOICE Popular Vote Winner!
STEP 1: View the 2026 student entries by clicking on the button above.
THEN: Choose the voting method you like best
To VOTE online:
- From the website, choose the avatar and name of your favorite image for which you wish to vote from the list of images.
- Click the LINK to VOTE
- Only one vote per person.
- WINNERS posted on this site Thursday April 23, 2026, by noon.
To VOTE with QR Code:
-
- SCAN (take image of) the QR code on this slide with your cell phone device.
- From the website, choose the avatar and name of your favorite image for which you wish to vote from the list of images.
- Only one vote per person.
- WINNERS posted on this site Thursday April 23, 2026, by noon
Contest Rules
Submit your photos by emailing chines@coloradocollege.edu
Please send up to three photos taken in the Rocky Mountain Region. Submission Deadline, April 11 @ 1159PM.
Please submit a photo description for each image that tells us why, how, or what conservation topic covered by the 2025 Conservation in the West Poll your image addresses. Please include where the photograph was taken.
Please submit photos at 600dpi.
You may share a link to a google folder or your one drive.
Judges announce 1st through 3rd place Winners on Earth Day at the Gaia Masquerade (Bemis Hall 6-8pm).Popular Vote winner announced April 22rd.
1st place $500 2nd Place $250 3rd Place $100 Popular Vote winner $100
Unsustainable Architecture (2024 Entry)
Eastern Colorado
This photo was taken in the plains of Eastern Colorado. It invites viewers to contemplate the fleeting nature of landscapes and structures in the region. Nestled within the often-overlooked expanse of arid and dry fields, the solitary building depicted stands as a testament to both resilience and impermanence. The structure pictured is made from cement that has outlived its residence and its surroundings. As Colorado’s infrastructure continues to rapidly expand, we must think in terms of building and consuming sustainably. Beyond mere conservation, this image compels us to consider responsible creation, thoughtful building practices, and harmonious coexistence with our environment.
Photo by Matan Fields, '26
This student event is made possible by funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and is sponsored by The Colorado College State of the Rockies Project.
Judges
Heather Oelklaus is the Print Work Shop Supervisor for the Colorado College Art Department. She has based her life around art for the last 30 years. After attending the Kansas City Art Institute, Heather moved to Colorado Springs where she has been creating artworks that incorporate her passion for photography, printmaking, sculpture, painting, fiber, and collage. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums and is held in private collections around the United States. Heather explores the boundaries of photography and experiments with alternative processes and technologies. When she is not creating photographs, she can be found plein air painting, weaving on her loom, and researching new techniques for her art making.
Jamie Cotten is an award-winning photojournalist, and the photographer/photo editor in the Office of Communications & Marketing at Colorado College.
As a freelancer for nearly two decades, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN, San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Telegraph and in media outlets via Polaris Images, among others.
“It’s amazing to see the way people open up to photographer Jamie Cotten,” says former Colorado Life Magazine Assistant Editor Matt Masich. “Her genuine understanding of life puts her photo subjects at ease, letting her capture them as they truly are in unguarded moments.”
Jamie studied fine art photography at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in NYC before returning to her native Colorado where she graduated from Metropolitan State College of Denver with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and international business.
She then returned to the East Coast for eight years, where she frequently compiled story packages - finding, researching, reporting, writing, photographing and often shooting and producing video - solo.
Twice the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awarded Jamie first place in feature photography - once for her photo story on an inspirational boxing coach who worked for free with inner-city youth, and once for her photo coverage of Burmese refugees in Colorado struggling to navigate the complicated U.S. legal system.
“My ultimate goal as a journalist is to help people relate to one another," Jamie says.
In her free time living back in Colorado, she runs, swims, plays classical piano and enjoys national and international adventures with her son.
Craig F. Walker is a staff photographer for The Boston Globe. Prior to joining the Globe in 2015, he worked 
at the Denver Post for 17 years. Before his time out west, Walker was a photographer at Massachusetts newspapers the Berkshire Eagle and The Marlboro Enterprise.
In 2010 Walker's photo essay Ian Fisher: American Soldier, an "intimate portrait of a teenager who joins the Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq, poignantly searching for meaning and manhood," won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. The story was also exhibited at Visa pour l'Image: International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan, France.
Two years later Walker was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for Welcome Home, The Story of Scott Ostrom, a "compassionate chronicle of an honorably discharged veteran, home from Iraq and struggling with a severe case of post-traumatic stress, images that enable viewers to better grasp a national issue." The same year, Walker was also named Newspaper Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International competition.