Capturing Florida’s Wild Beauty
The Kit and Sidney Chertok Florida Native Nature Photography Contest has as its mission to promote interest and concern for preserving the native fauna and flora of Florida and to encourage nature photography.
In 2025, Orange Audubon Society’s 37th annual contest has an entry deadline of April 30, 2025.
There are three contest divisions: Novice, Advanced, and Youth. A maximum of 5 images can be submitted per person.
For information on prizes, requirements to include only native components in the photos and to follow NANPA ethical practices, and for how to submit your photos, see How to Enter and the Contest Rules below. If you have any questions, contact mwilliams@cfl.rr.com or call or text (407) 718-1977.
Online Auction: Associated with the annual photo contest is a fund-raising auction, to be held from June 13, noon–June 23, 2025, 7 PM at https://www.biddingowl.com/OrangeAudubonSociety. For more information on the online auction, email info@orangeaudubonfl.org or call (941) 704-1189. All auction proceeds will benefit Orange Audubon Society’s Nature and Environmental Education Center Fund and educational programs that connect people with nature.
Novice
- For new and less experienced amateur photo hobbyists. The Novice Category entry fee is $5 per image for Audubon members; $10 per image for Non-Audubon members. Non-members can join Orange Audubon Society by submitting a contest entry form concurrently with new member application, using the 2025 Adult Chertok Registration Form linked here.
Advanced
- For experienced photographers who have practiced and honed their skills over time. Advanced amateurs and professionals are both welcome. The Advanced Category entry fee is $5 per image for Audubon members; $10 per image for Non-Audubon members. Non-members can join Orange Audubon Society by submitting a contest entry form concurrently with new member application, using the 2025 Adult Chertok Registration Form linked here.
Youth
- For participants 17 years of age or younger at time of entry. The Youth category entry fee is $2 per image for Audubon members, $4 per image for non-Audubon members. Non-members can join by submitting a contest entry form concurrently with new member application, using the 2025 Youth Chertok Registration Form linked here.

How to Enter
Each photographer may enter up to five images.
Your entry has three parts: your images, the entry form, and the entry fee payment.
IMAGE SUBMITTAL
Photo-sharing app option (Preferred): This year images must be submitted through your favorite photo-sharing application (Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer, etc.) with an access link sent to Chertok Florida Native Nature Photo Contest Chair Teresa Williams at mwilliams@cfl.rr.com.
Mail-In & Hand-delivery Options: Or if preferred, you can mail or hand-deliver your entries on a flash drive (non-returnable, labeled with your name and address) along with your entry form and a check for your entry fees, written to Orange Audubon Society and mailed to the address on the entry form (link in the green boxes above). Or you can deliver these items to the contest chair, Teresa Williams, at the April Orange Audubon program meeting at Harry P. Leu Gardens.
ENTRY FORM AND ENTRY FEE SUBMITTAL
Online option (Preferred): Or you can fill in the entry form online and pay the entry fee online at the same time through the link: Youth or Adult (Novice or Advanced).
Mail-in option: Along with submitting your photos, fill out the entry form pdf linked in the green boxes above, and mail with your check.
ELIGIBILITY SCREENING: All entries must be postmarked or electronically submitted by April 30, 2025, and will be screened to assure that they meet eligibility requirements.
To increase knowledge of Florida native fauna and flora and enhance other educational aspects of the contest, participants will be notified soon thereafter if any entry is disqualified for not following the Contest Rules below (the most frequent cause of disqualification is non-native elements in the photo). Participants may optionally replace such an image with no additional entry fee, but such replacements must be submitted by May 27, 2025 (postmarked or electronically submitted by date) and meet all other contest requirements.
Youth Awards
– 1st place: $100 cash, $25 gift card, ribbon
– 2nd place: $60 cash, $15 gift card, ribbon
– 3rd place: $40 cash, $10 gift card, ribbon
– 4th place: $30 cash, ribbon
– 5th place: $20 cash, ribbon
– Honorable Mentions: Ribbons only; awarded at judges’ discretion
Novice and Advanced Awards
– 1st place: $200 cash from OAS + $100 gift card from Colonial Photo & Hobby + ribbon
– 2nd place: $100 cash from OAS + $50 gift card from Colonial Photo & Hobby + ribbon
– 3rd place: $50 cash from OAS + $25 gift card from Colonial Photo & Hobby + ribbon
– Honorable Mentions: Ribbons only; awarded at judges’ discretion.
Awards are taxable and, depending on tax residency status, may be subject to reporting and tax withholding. Winners will be notified if reporting and/or tax withholding applies to their award payments.
About the Contest
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Chertok moved to Orlando in 1985. Nature photography was of particular interest to Mr. Chertok. For 34 years he edited a photograph-filled engagement calendar featuring images solicited by competition. Mrs. Kit Chertok served as an Orange Audubon board member during the 1990s. She was instrumental in establishing the Chertok photo contest, in her husband’s memory, to encourage others to carry on the tradition of an annual nature photography competition. This is the 37th year of this contest!


Contest Rules
- Images must depict Florida’s native animals, plants, natural landscapes, seascapes, etc.
- Images cannot show humans, human-made structures, other artifacts or discernible fauna and/or flora that are not native to Florida.
- Images will be disqualified if they are altered beyond standard adjustments, such as exposure and contrast.
- Image files must be submitted in .jpg format and a size of not more than 6 MB per image. Image file names must include numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to correspond with the numbers on the application form. Numbers, dates, borders, copyright symbols, etc. cannot be part of the actual images.
- All images must be owned by, and the original work of, the person entering the contest and have been taken while complying with NANPA code of conduct.
- OAS board members and Chertok committee members are not eligible to enter.
- Each participant (or guardian, if 17 or younger) submitting entries must sign the entry form to acknowledge acceptance of all entry rules.
- A panel of three independent judges–a photographer, an artist and a naturalist–will determine award recipients from qualified entries.
- Winners will be announced during Orange Audubon Society’s June 19, 2025 program at Harry P. Leu Gardens (Orlando). Contestants need not be present to receive awards. Participants are invited to join us that evening or visit the OAS website (www.orangeaudubonfl.org) afterwards to see the winning photos.
- OAS will not be responsible for damage or loss of entries. Any entry may be used for any educational or Chertok contest promotional purpose, including but not limited to Audubon publications. Colonial Photo & Hobby may also display enlarged prints of selected entries within its retail premises and entries may be used by Orange County as described above. Any such use of entries will credit the featured photographers. Prints, negatives and slides (transparencies) may be converted to digital images for entering this contest.
- Photographers may use any type of camera, including, but not limited to, smartphones and drones.

2024 Winners
Previous Winners
Note: as we’re updating our website, we will be slowly migrating over our historical Photo Contest winners. Please bear with us as we make this change!