Announcing the 2025 Antique Power Photo Contest Theme

We’re shaking up next year’s Photo Contest by introducing a theme! The theme is “Tractors and Owners.”

That’s right. If you want to score some points with our judges, show a person (or people) with a tractor. The photo can feature you, family, friends, or colorful, random strangers, if you like. We will be evaluating entries based on our usual criteria of lighting, clarity, sharpness, color, and imagination, plus the amount of personality the photograph captures. Yes, you may participate in the Photo Contest without observing the Tractors and Owners theme, but only themed pictures will be eligible for first-, second-, and third-place prize consideration.

I am including a variety of my own Tractors and Owners photos to serve as examples. Notice that, for the purpose of this contest, it is not necessary to show the entire tractor. This exercise is about highlighting some of the awesome people who make up this old-tractor community!

The first-place submission will receive a $50 gift certificate toward the extensive selection of books and other items at our online store (ErtelGiftShop.com). Second- and third-place photographers will each receive a $25 certificate for the gift shop.

Here is how to participate:

  • Choose up to three photos you would like to submit.

  • EMAIL SUBMISSION OPENS JUNE 1st!
    The period for turning in contest entries is June 1–Aug. 31, 2025. A special email address (contest@ertelpublishing.com) will be available to use only during those three months. If snail-mail is more your speed, send submissions to AP Photo Contest, PO Box 59, Amory, MS 38821. The snail-mail deadline is also Aug. 31, 2025.

  • With your entry or entries, please supply the following: photographer’s name and mailing address (only your city and state will be printed in the magazine); name(s) of the person(s) in the photo; year, make, and model of the tractor; and a few sentences about the photo. If anyone in the photograph is younger than 18, we will send a guardian/parent form for signed permission.

  • Results will be posted in the January/February 2026 issue of Antique Power.


Some Tips for Better Results
Because most of our Photo Contest participants are using smartphone cameras, I have assembled the following tips with those pocket-sized techno-wonders in mind. 

Tip 1: We need the largest file your camera can produce. Go into the camera’s menu and set the image quality (or maybe it is called “image size” on your camera) to “largest” or “finest.” It does not matter if the format indicates JPG or HEIC; either is acceptable.

Tip 2: Wipe off the camera lens … please! Phone cameras are convenient to use because they are always with us, but the lenses accumulate dirt and skin grease, which detract from picture quality.

Tip 3: Take quite a few pictures. It is a dirty little secret in the professional photography world that we shoot 20 or so photos for every image that gets published. Shooting tractors is easy; photographing people is harder because they blink and sneeze and twitch. The more pictures you take of them, the more likely you are to get the “perfect” shot.

Tip 4: Wait for soft, cloud-filtered light to take photos outdoors. Harsh light makes people squint, and it is not very flattering for machinery, either. Rule of thumb: If your shadow is dark and sharply defined, the sun is too bright. Wait for a weak or entirely absent shadow.

Tip 5: Find a simple background, so the tractor and people stand out.

Tip 6: If possible, remove any non-factory signage—flags, owner nameplates, and display cards—from the tractor.

Tip 7: Have fun with it!