Photo contest highlights Veteran, service member photography

Perhaps more than any other group of people, our servicemen and women get the opportunity to visit new places, interact with different cultures, see the world, and most importantly, they get the chance to photograph it all. But what happens to these thousands (or millions) of photos? Do they get deleted once the card in the camera is full? Transferred to a hard drive, never to be seen again? Or – if lucky, – do they get to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame on social media?

Recognizing that the men and women of the U.S. military have sacrificed so much for the rest of us, the team at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography (RMSP) in Missoula, Montana, created their U.S. Armed Services Photo Contest. The goal of this contest is to shine the light on our country’s Veterans and service members while encouraging the sharing of their images, and foster their passion for photography. It is important to note that this is not just about showing images of military life, combat, tanks and camo. Rather, it is more about celebrating each individual photographer and their personal interests and a vision as unique as they are.

Veterans and active duty service members can submit their images into three categories: nature, people and action.