James Balog Earth Vision Awards

Photography is a uniquely powerful medium that bears witness to the relationship between humans and the environment. It shapes our environmental attitudes, perceptions and values and challenges people to create healthier, more sustainable relationships with nature. Photographs reflect the present in ways that will be invaluable or instructive for people of the future.

The James Balog Earth Vision Awards (JBEVA) are juried prizes that are intended to support photographers who are responding to today’s complex environmental issues through innovative photography. The awards will be given every two years.

The Awards are organized and produced by the Denver Art Museum (DAM) in Denver, Colorado, with funds endowed by James Balog and other donors.

What Are the Awards?

First Prize — $40,000: $30,000 at the time of the award and $10,000 twelve to eighteen months later—see ”Terms and Conditions” below

Finalist — $25,000: $19,000 at the time of the award at $6,000 twelve to eighteen months later—see “Terms and Conditions” below

Terms and Conditions

Awards will be presented at celebratory event at the Denver Art Museum six to ten weeks after they are announced. In accepting their awards, the Winner and Finalist must agree to attend that event and give a public presentation about their work. A travel stipend will be provided to defray travel costs. The DAM and JBEVA will need winners’ permission to use their images to promote the awards.

The Winner and Finalist will be asked to submit three prints of their work as gifts to the Denver Art Museum. Those will be selected in collaboration with the Museum’s Curator of Photography and should be delivered no later than eighteen (18) months after the awards are announced. Winners will receive the unpaid balances of their awards after those prints are received and added to the Museum’s photography collection.

Who is Eligible?

The JBEVAward competition is open to photographers worldwide. The awards are intended to recognize and encourage photographers whose applications demonstrate sustained commitment and significant accomplishment. Applicants must be 21 years of age or older on the day that they submit their proposals.

Deadlines and Important Dates

• September 1, 2026: Call for proposals opens
• October 1, 2026: Call for proposals closes
• January, 2027: Award winners announced
• March, 2027: Award ceremony at Denver Art Museum

Judging Criteria

A three-member jury of expert photo professionals will review all entries. In advance of final decisions, the jury may contact entrants for further clarification about their work.

The Awards are intended to recognize the winning artists’ direct engagement with the world around us. Images may be literal and documentary or symbolic and interpretive. They may be of impacts that are positive and inspiring, or negative and distressing, or both. The jury will not consider fabricated photographs and photographs that involve cloning, excessive color manipulation or AI-generated content.

How to Submit Your Entry

Entries will be collected online. Call for proposals opens September 1 and closes October 1, 2026.

Since the early 1980s, environmental photographer James Balog (BAY-log) has used his cameras to examine the qualities and impacts of human relationships with the natural world. His early photographs advocated for the dignity and preservation of endangered wildlife and old-growth trees. More recently, his dramatic photographs have examined the short- and long-term effects of climate change, from melting glaciers and sea level rise to deforestation, wildfires and extreme weather events. His pictures of landscapes devastated by hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis speak to forces beyond our control and invite us to contemplate the oversized effects human activity has on the natural world.

Through his independent work and his collaborations with leading scientists, philosophers and publishers, Balog has created a deep image archive that preserves how the world looks today and offers perspective to support more sustainable relationships with nature in the years ahead. By endowing the James Balog Earth Vision Awards, he hopes that others will carry the spirit and intent of his work forward into the future.