NYC4PA - "Water" International Juried Photography Call for Entry

• New York Center for Photographic Arts

• Deadline: February 8th, 2026

• Theme: Water

• Prize: $4,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition

• Entry Fees: Yes

• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE

H₂O — one of the first chemical equations we ever learn, yet one of the most profound. With just three simple characters, it represents the essence of life itself.

Water surrounds us constantly, shaping our world in ways both visible and unseen. It carves valleys into stone, nourishes the roots of every flower, and gathers in rivers, lakes, and vast oceans that mirror the sky. It cools our drinks on summer days, turns to ice beneath our feet in winter, and falls from the heavens to sustain all that grows.

But beyond its function, water holds an undeniable beauty — a beauty that photographers have long sought to capture. This call invites you, the artist behind the lens, to explore how water moves, transforms, and inspires. Perhaps it’s the crashing crest of a wave striking the shore, or the fragile shimmer of dew upon a morning leaf. Maybe it’s the power of a waterfall frozen in midair by your camera, or the gentle swirl of mist rising from a cup of tea.

Water exists in infinite forms: the mirrored stillness of a pond reflecting city lights, the joyful droplets flung from a playful dog, the quiet tears of emotion tracing a face. It is found in frozen sculptures of ice, in rain tracing paths down windows, and in the restless rhythm of ocean tides. Whether you choose to explore it through color, black and white, abstraction, or realism, this exhibition celebrates water in all its incarnations — as element, as muse, as the ever-moving thread that connects us all.