Today the National Audubon Society announced the winners and honorable mentions of the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards – including two photographers in California. Now in its fifteenth year, the contest features stunning work from professionals, amateurs, and young people that highlights the beauty of birds and the joy of capturing that through photographs and videos. Winning entries and honorable mentions were chosen from more than 2,300 entrants from all 50 states, Washington D.C., and 9 Canadian provinces and 1 territory.
Kevin Lohman of Santa Cruz, California received the first-ever Birds in Landscapes prize for his photo of a California Quail perched on top of a small bush in a field in Santa Cruz. The new Birds in Landscapes prize was introduced to draw attention to how birds connect with their broader surroundings. Lohman also received a Professional Honorable Mention for his photo of a Forster’s Tern in the air, seen at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, California.
Parham Pourahmad of Santa Clara County, California received the Youth Prize for his image of two American Kestrels standing on a post in profile, captured at Calero County Park in San Jose. As the Youth Prize winner, Pourahmad will receive six days at Audubon’s Hog Island Audubon Camp for Teens in Maine during the 2025 season.
Audubon’s climate science report Survival by Degrees reveals that two-thirds of North American birds are threatened by extinction from climate change, including species featured in this year’s Audubon Photography Awards like the Blackburnian Warbler, California Quail, and Sedge Wren. Learn more about how climate change will impact birds in your communities by entering your zip code into Audubon’s Birds and Climate Visualizer.
Audubon California works to protect American Kestrels, California Quails, and other birds through on-the-ground conservation and policy efforts across the state, from partnering with working lands in the Central Valley and stewarding our coasts to advocating for habitat protections and engaging local communities through our centers and sanctuaries.
Award winners and honorable mentions will be featured in the Summer 2024 issue of Audubon magazine, and select photos and videos will also be featured in digital galleries promoted on Audubon's website and social channels throughout the year.
2024 Contest Prizes:
Grand Prize: $5,000 USD
Professional Prize: $2,500 USD
Amateur Prize: $2,500 USD
Plants for Birds Prize: $2,500 USD
Video Prize: $2,500 USD
Female Bird Prize: $1,000 USD
Birds in Landscapes Prize: $1,000 USD
Fisher Prize: $1,000 USD
Youth Prize: Six days at Audubon’s Hog Island Audubon Camp for Teens during the 2025 season
See the 2024 panel of judges here. All photos and videos are judged based on technical quality, originality, and artistic merit and must adhere to Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Bird Photography and Videography. For more information, please visit the official contest rules.
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Audubon California is a regional office of Audubon, learn more at ca.audubon.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Media contact: Shineh Rhee, Communications Director, Audubon California
415.644.4605
The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. We work throughout the Americas towards a future where birds thrive because Audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. Audubon has more than 700 staff working across the hemisphere and more than 1.5 million active supporters. North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and more than 500 bird species are at risk of extinction across Latin America and the Caribbean. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, and they tell us that birds – and our planet – are in crisis. Together as one Audubon, we are working to alter the course of climate change and habitat loss, leading to healthier bird populations and reversing current trends in biodiversity loss. We do this by implementing on-the-ground conservation, partnering with local communities, influencing public and corporate policy, and building community.
