Could the next Ansel Adams live among us?

A dozen photographs of animals, foliage and landscapes taken on Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust trails and properties are soon to be turned into greeting cards after the land trust hosted its first-ever greeting card contest over the summer.

The challenge encouraged participants to celebrate and support land preservation by exploring DNRT trails and waterways and photographing their favorites. 

Normally, the pictures are used in a calendar for the upcoming year, but DNRT Development and Outreach Specialist Kendra Murray said calendar sales have been on the decline. 

So the organization chose greeting cards as the calendar’s successor to continue the spirit of the yearly competition.

“We have had members express in the past how they'd love to see greeting cards or note cards,” she said. “So here it goes!” 

More than 140 photos were submitted for the inaugural competition. 

According to Murray, the winners were chosen in a blind contest — in which entrants remain anonymous to judges — to narrow down the number of photos and determine the top twelve, something she said was “very difficult.”

Those that didn’t make the top photos will be used in other DNRT publications such as newsletters and the land trust’s annual report. 

“It's a lot of fun to see the photos coming in throughout the year and to see so many different takes on our properties,” she said. “The wildlife photos are always a treat.”