Picture this: Your vacation shot on an America the Beautiful pass

Get that perfect picture in a national park, forest or wildlife refuge or other federal lands and you could win $15,000. Plus your photo could grace the 2015 America the Beautiful pass.

The photo contest Share the Experience, sponsored by private companies in partnership with the National Park Service and other federal land-management agencies, is accepting photo entries through Dec. 31.

Second prize awards $5,000 and third prize $2,500, along with backpacks and other goodies.

America the Beautiful passes, which provide a year of access to 2,000-plus national parks and federal lands, will be awarded to honorable mentions and weekly winners.

“Photography has the power to make the great outdoors accessible so that we all can see some of the most beautiful places in the world through the eyes of people like Ansel Adams,” newly appointed Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement.

It’s a great excuse to take a photo-seeking road trip, particularly with so many federal lands in California.

You can visit Yosemite or Joshua Tree national parks, but the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge near the California-Oregon Border or the new Fort Ord National Monument in Salinas, Calif., offer fresh places to explore and snap.

Photos must be taken at lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or U.S. Forest Service and uploaded online.

Check out the most recent entries and past winners at the photo contest web page.

There are five themed categories to inspire you, including Let’s Move Outside! for those who like snapping Mom or Dad and the kids. Entries must be taken between Jan. 1, 2011, and the end of this year, and winners will be announced May 1.

Happy snapping!

Info: Share the Experience

Mary.Forgione@latimes.com
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