Great Lakes Photo Showcase 

The International Joint Commission (IJC) works to engage and educate people on the issues that shape Great Lakes water quality. To support this work, the IJC is seeking photos from around the Great Lakes showing the countless ways that people interact with the Great Lakes.

Submitting photos: Entries are accepted on an ongoing basis (up to six (6) photos per person). Public voting begins in early 2026. Winners will be contacted via email.

Cast Your Vote: Great Lakes Water in Action

How voting works: Browse the gallery and tap the Like button to cast your vote. You may vote for as many photos as you wish, but only once per photo.

View the galleries for the other categories:

What’s next: Winning photos will be featured in a post card series, on the IJC’s homepage and on our social media platforms. Photos will also be incorporated into the IJC’s upcoming assessment report on Great Lakes water quality.

Rocky River WWTP & Bradstreet Landing in Lake Erie, looking North, Fall 2024. </br>Rocky River, Ohio </br>Great Lakes Water in Action. Nicholas Barille.
Bradstreet Landing in Lake Erie looking west, January 2024. </br>Rocky River, Ohio </br>Great Lakes Water in Action. Nicholas Barille.
Rocky River WWTP & Bradstreet Landing in Lake Erie, looking North, Fall 2024. </br>Rocky River, Ohio </br>Great Lakes Water in Action. Nicholas Barille.
Rocky River WWTP & Bradstreet Landing in Lake Erie, looking North, Summer 2019. </br>Rocky River, Ohio </br>Great Lakes Water in Action. Nicholas Barille.
The water ripples over the colorful rock lakebed at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Pictured Rocks, Michigan. Great Lakes Water in Action. Chris Ingham.
Lake Superior displays its vibrant colors below a sweeping cliffside formed by millennia of erosion. Pictured Rocks, Michigan. Great Lakes Water in Action. Chris Ingham.
During the last few days of December 2025, we had very strong winds on Lake Huron. The large waves that were generated would rebound off the ice shelf, head back out, then collide with the incoming waves. The results were these amazing splashes. Saugeen Shores, Ontario. Great Lakes Water in Action. Pat Gillies.
Ducks resting on shore at Collingwood. Birds of a feather…Collingwood, Ontario. Great Lakes Water in Action. Barbara Dalziel.
Shows erosion from the dunes when trees fall down to the beach. Beverly Shores, Indiana. Great Lakes Water in Action. Penny Callahan.
Ice breaker for n action. Duluth, Minnesota. Great Lakes Water in Action. Ryan Heule.
Shelf Ice wraps the Great Lakes Shoreline in winter. Ice-cover influences shoreline morphology, lake ecology, and regional weather. It shields shorelines from storm erosion, provides shelter for fish eggs, affects evaporation, regulates regional weather, and impacts shipping. With ice-cover decreasing, there is an urgent need to comprehend winter-ice dynamics. Grand Haven, Michigan. Great Lakes Water in Action. Bopi Biddanda.
A view of the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay in April 2024 after a night of heavy wind from the North. Taken at the Great Lakes Campus of Northwestern Michigan College. Traverse City, Michigan. Great Lakes Water in Action. Matt Hirsch.