Smithsonian Magazine has enjoyed a long (and well-deserved) reputation for its mind-boggling photography. Their social media is similarly adorned with amazing professional photos. But once per year, Smithsonian lets the amateurs take a shot. Today, we’re looking at the magazine’s annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest, and there are a surprising number of amateur photos that placed in the competition. The contest received more than 47,000 entries. What an Herculean job it must have been to review and judge them!
As with most photography contests, there is an over all winner, as well as a Readers’ Choice award and category winners. The categories are Mobile, Altered Images, The American Experience, Travel, People, and the Natural World. They seem deceptively simple, but the contestants’ interpretation of those categories varies wildly. I cannot overstate how much enjoyment I got out of scrolling through the contests finalists’ photos. What amazing images!
You can see all the winners on the Smithsonian Magazine’s contest website. You can also follow the magazine (and I really recommend you do) on their website and on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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My OBT 
April 27, 2022 at 7:13 am
These are always good.
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April 29, 2022 at 7:28 pm
Absolutely!
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April 27, 2022 at 7:58 am
These amateur photos make you realize how good professional photos really are. Truth be told, I don’t know how these could be improved upon.
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April 29, 2022 at 7:28 pm
I don’t either, but I’m very, very far from a professional!
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April 27, 2022 at 10:31 am
spectacular
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April 29, 2022 at 7:28 pm
They truly are!
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April 27, 2022 at 10:32 am
I enjoyed looking at all of them. Yesterday I went to the Memphis Botanical garden. I took snapshots of some of the plants. I did not worry about any technical settings etc. Just put the camera on auto and went click click. Yes, I have the basic skill to take better pictures, Hal
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April 27, 2022 at 12:04 pm
So …your move went well?
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April 27, 2022 at 12:07 pm
No, this was a planned family visit. In Memphis they have plants in full bloom at the botanical garden. That I love to see. Move will happen after I sell my house in Florida.
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April 29, 2022 at 7:29 pm
Good luck with your sale!
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April 29, 2022 at 7:29 pm
Beloved and I do that at the NY Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show. It’s fun!
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April 28, 2022 at 8:37 pm
What amazing images! Thanks for reminding me about that magazine!
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April 29, 2022 at 7:32 pm
I used to love it! I needed reminding, too.
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