The Weather Channel and Toyota’s ‘It’s Amazing Out There’ Photo Contest Is Offering the Chance to Win $15,000 and Other Prizes

If there’s one thing that photographers will never be able to control, it’s the weather. No matter how advanced cameras become or how much the industry changes course, Mother Nature will remain a constant, and she will always have the upper hand. When photographers are faced with unusual weather, they have two choices: to resign and go back home, or to embrace the unpredictability and power of our planet. This year, The Weather Channel’s annual It’s Amazing Out There Photo Contest celebrates those who have chosen the latter and gone on to make unforgettable images relating to the themes of nature, adventure, and the elements.

Presented proudly by Toyota, a proud partner with weather.com, It’s Amazing Out There 2015 is the second annual competition of its kind, inviting both professional and amateur photographers to showcase work that honors the Earth and the incredible journeys that we make across it. Submitted photographs will be judged on their adherence to the categories of nature, which includes all living things, from the largest wilderness to the smallest garden, adventure, which encompasses sports or any activity relating to the great outdoors, and the elements, which comprises all imagery relating to weather, from sunny skies to thundering heavens. Submitted work will also be considered for its creativity in approaching its subject as well as technical excellence.

Grand Prize Winner: Max Taylor of New York with his photograph, ‘An 8 Meter Whale Shark Glides Through a School of Jacks’

The Grand Prize winner of the It’s Amazing Out There Photo Contest will receive $15,000, with $5,000 going to the Second Place Winner and $1,000 to the Third Place Winner. The Grand Prize, Second Place, and Third Place Winners will be selected by an esteemed jury of industry professionals, including Evgeny Tchebotarev, the Founder and Chief Product Officer of 500px, a leading community platform for photographers, multi-award-winning wildlife photographer Steve Winter, adventure and weather photographer David Mayhew, and Neil Katz, Editor-in-Chief at weather.com and Vice President of Content for The Weather Company.

In addition to these three juried awards, a fourth Fan Favorite Winner will be selected over social media by votes from weather.com followers. This winner may also be a recipient of the juried awards, but he or she could also be someone new. To vote, visit weather.com or the weather.com Facebook page between Thursday, July 16th and Thursday, August 14th, 2015. Voters are encouraged to begin voting as soon as possible and to continue casting votes throughout the month. You may vote for your favorite photograph once per day and will have the ability to share it over social media to get others involved.

The deadline for entries to the It’s Amazing Out There Photo Contest is July 16, 2015, at 12:00 PM EST. Rules for the competition can be found here. To submit, visit the It’s Amazing Out There Photo Contest page. The final judging will take place from Thursday, July 30 to Friday, August 14, with the winners announced on Monday, August 31 on air at The Weather Channel and weather.com.

Second Place Winner in the Adventure category: Nicole Bichsel of Seattle with her photograph, ‘Littlest Adventurer’

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