Exceptional nature scenes and captivating views of the Hudson River have been the top prize-winning images in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s Quadricentennial Photo Contest.

The newspaper launched the yearlong contest in October 2008 to coincide with the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebrations and the planned opening of the Walkway Over the Hudson, the former Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge.

“The response to the photo contest has been outstanding. It’s truly impressive how many wonderful photographs have been submitted for review and judging. On average, we received about 70 photographs each month, making the judging difficult at times due to the quality of work,” said Spencer Ainsley, director of multimedia, photography and videography at the Poughkeepsie Journal. The Journal received 999 entries throughout the year.

The photography staff at the newspaper recently selected the grand-prize winner, a beautiful photograph of an ice boat taken at sunset near Tivoli Bay, by Dennis Truett, 62, of Wappingers Falls. Truett won a framed print of his photo.

The contest was open to residents of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Putnam, Columbia and Greene counties.