My Favorite Architectural Photography Competition

(the following is from Matt Sauer of AIA Dayton)

If you were to make a leisurely tour of the region surrounding Dayton, you’d likely travel through urban centers with tall dark buildings and rural farmsteads with red barns and windmills. It would be as if you were transported into the scene on Ohio’s “Beautiful Ohio” license plates, only you wouldn’t be small and flat. You’d think, “There are lots of fascinating buildings and remarkable architecture here in the Miami Valley.  I wonder if anyone has attempted to document all of it?” The gentleman sitting next to you is too polite to acknowledge that you’re thinking out loud, so let me answer that:  The Dayton chapter of the AIA is doing that very thing.

The AIA, known to expanders of initialisms as the American Institute of Architects, is holding the 2011 Greater Dayton’s Favorite Architecture Photography Competition, where architecturally-themed photos are eligible to win cash and prizes (actually the “prizes” are more cash).  All photographs will be exhibited at Urban Nights on May 13, 2011, and winning photographs will be published in a 2012 AIA Dayton calendar. The top entries will also be exhibited during the AIA Ohio Valley Regional Convention in September.

There’s always a catch, or two in this case. The subject matter must have an architectural theme (we’re mentioning that twice for emphasis) or contain an element of the built environment. Maybe that subject is a favorite residential or commercial building, perhaps with a particular design or historical interest, or it may be a bridge, tower, monument, or windowsill. The location of said structure must be in AIA Dayton’s nine-county geographic region covering Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Shelby Counties. Entrants are encouraged to take creative license with these limitations! Winners will be announced at the May Urban Nights.

The contest guidelines and entry forms can be found on the competition website GreatDaytonArchitecture.com. There’s no limit on the number of entries a person can submit, but the fee is $10 for two submissions.   We prefer that entries be submitted digitally, and are due by Friday, April 29 May 6 If the entry is by mail, it must be postmarked no later than Monday, May 2.

There is a wealth of wonderful architecture in our region, from bank buildings to county courthouses to sleek modern homes from the 1960s. It would be a shame to let it all languish in obscurity, and yet you have the power to bring these fantastic constructions to the attention of the public. You have a camera. I know because you said it out loud.

For additional information, contact:

Shawn Hicks, Marketing Manager
AIA Dayton
[email protected]
937.291.1913