Winning Earth Day photographs revealed 29 Apr 2014 | Cpl. Samuel Ellis Marine Corps Base Quantico PRINT SHARE MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- For the second year, Marine Corps Base Quantico and the Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Branch hosted an Earth Day photo contest. Anyone interested was invited to take photos on base and submit them. “The purpose [of the event] was two-fold,” said Maj. Peter Baker, deputy director of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. “[We want] to encourage people to get out and about on base, and to increase awareness about what the base has to offer. [Marine Corps Base Quantico has] 60,000 acres of mostly woods and most people don’t get out to enjoy it.” After submission, the photos were uploaded to the base Facebook site and labeled according to the five possible categories such as landscape, natural gardens, wildlife, recreation and junior photographer. For about two weeks, the photos gathered votes from site visitors and the top photo in each category was announced on April 24. Tim Stamps, head of Natural Resources Section, NREA, won the overall contest for the second year in a row with a landscape photo of a moon in the woods. Stamps said he doesn’t have a secret to winning, but participates to encourage others to experience Marine Corps Base Quantico. “I’ve never entered any photo contest before,” said Stamps. “[I’m] by no means a professional or have a state of the art camera. [I just want to] let people know there is lots of scenery and natural resources on base.” Stamps said although many may be familiar with some of the base’s treasures, there may be others who are not. “Most people know there are deer out here, but bald eagles are [often being seen],” said Stamps. “[We also have] lots of water fowl in the winter time. You never know what’s going to happen when you’re outdoors. The main thing is just get outdoors and keep the camera with you.” Baker added another perk to participating in the contest. Many don’t realize there are prizes for winning, too, such as Marine Corps Community Services vouchers and mounted prints of their photo, he said. Everyone has a chance since the winners are chosen by popular vote. Anyone interested in participating in the annual event can expect the next one to be hosted around next Earth Day, April 22, 2015. Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil Tags Cpl. Samuel Ellis , Earth Day , Earth Day photos , Maj. Peter Baker , Marine , Marine Corps Base Quantico , natural resources and environmental affairs , photos , Quantico , Tim Stamps