Tayla DeLaive, of Edgartown, was visiting Crab Creek at Quansoo in Chilmark last summer when she photographed this idyllic portrait, which she titled “Wading in Quansoo.” “My boyfriend brought my daughter and me with him to go crabbing,” she said. As he waded out to see if he could catch anything, she thought “the colors in the sky were perfect,” so she pulled out her camera to capture the scene.

DeLaive isn’t the only one who’s been inspired by the Island sky. Each year, hundreds of readers submit photos of sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, and thunderheads rolling in over the beach. The images are often made more poignant when they’re set against a Vineyard landmark or depict a favorite Island pastime, such as the peaceful, and sometimes frustrating, search for blue crabs that scuttle in Island ponds and streams.

And yet there’s plenty of reason to unstick your head from the clouds  when looking for inspiration. Top vote-getters in the contest last year included a duo running into the ocean’s waves, a father and daughter at the West Tisbury Agricultural Fair, and tiny footprints in the sand.

Want to see your photograph in this magazine? Set your camera to high resolution and enter your Island-based images taken in the past year at mvmagazine.com. Entries are organized into five categories: Beach + Lighthouse; Wildlife + Nature; Sunrise + Sunset; People + Pets; and Everything Else. Winners will be celebrated in the Winter–Spring 2023–2024 issue, with prizes awarded for the top three vote-getters. 

To enter our 15th annual photography contest, visit mvmagazine.com/photo-contest.