Addelyn Brown has a perfect record as an aspiring photographer.

Addelyn, a seventh-grader at Marticville Middle School, won an award in the first contest she entered.

The Millersville resident captured the People's Choice first-place award in the Young Photographers (ages 12 to 17) category of the "Leap In" contest organized by the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation (PPFF). The People's Choice award is based off a popular vote from a collection of photos the foundation puts on social media.

"I was happy and proud," Addelyn said.

The subject of Addelyn's winning photograph was a log covered with moss, taken with an iPhone during a family trip to Ricketts Glen State Park. "We were hiking, and we were coming back," she said. "I saw a log and thought it was pretty, so I thought I could take a picture of it. I tried to get the right angle."

Addelyn's mom, Jessica, said, "We had taken notice of the contest, and while we were there, she had taken a couple pictures, and we took one and submitted it. She has a cool way of finding angles I would never think of. We got home and looked at the pictures, and I thought that one was really cool. Addie chose that one to submit."

Equally adept with an iPhone or her Nikon, Addelyn said she takes photographs because "it's fun."

She started the hobby when she was 8 years old at the suggestion of an online program called Xello she used at school. Xello helps students explore careers, develop skills and knowledge, and plan for future success. "You can learn what career could be good for you, and it said photography on there for me," Addelyn said.

Addelyn practices her photography on her favorite subjects: sunsets; friends; her younger sister, Norah; and the family boxer, Penny. She and her family, including her dad, Nevin, enjoy visiting local parks and conservancies.

Addelyn took a photography class at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design last summer and is planning to study photo editing this year. She is looking forward to taking more classes when she gets to high school.

Although a career choice is many years away, Addelyn is thinking about becoming a portrait photographer. "I want to be a people photographer because I like taking pictures of people," she said.

Jessica added, "I think she likes posing people and finding the right landscape."

Addelyn also enjoys field hockey, lacrosse, drawing, and babysitting.

"I'm glad she has a hobby that she loves," Jessica said. "She plays sports a lot. She has school. I'm glad she has something more artistic to round that out. I loved art and drawing growing up, so it's cool she has her own element in that way."

Addelyn's winning photograph will hang in the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building throughout April.

The 2025 PPFF photo contest is now open to adults and children. This year's theme focuses on Pennsylvania's love of trails. Categories include Beyond the Trail, Camaraderie on the Trail, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Tales From the Trail, Texture of the Trail, and Young Photographers (12 to 17). For information on categories, rules, and submitting photos, visit https://paparksandforests.org/our-work/recreation/photo-contest/.

"The annual photo contest not only demonstrates the beauty and history of Pennsylvania's state parks and forests, it demonstrates people's connections to these special places," said Marci Mowery, who is the president of the PPFF."We applaud the photographers for capturing the images, and we applaud the leaders who had the foresight to conserve these special places for today and generations to come."