National Geographic Announces Second Annual International Photography Contest

WASHINGTON (July 13, 2007)—National Geographic readers around the world have the opportunity to take part in the 2007 National Geographic International Photography Contest. And, for the first time, readers of National Geographic’s English-language editions in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United Kingdom will be able to participate in the contest that was inaugurated in 16 of its local-language editions in 2006.

English-language- edition entries will be judged at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. Twenty-six local-language editions will participate this year, and each will submit their winning entries to headquarters to be judged with the winning English-language entries. National Geographic judges will announce four international grand-prize winners in December 2007.

Eligible adult participants may enter the contest by submitting photos in any or all of four categories: people, landscape, animals and, new for 2007, photo essay. Winning entries from each territory will be featured in local editions of National Geographic magazine. The international-level grand-prize winners will receive a trip to National Geographic headquarters, and the winning entries will be published in the English-language and other editions of National Geographic magazine.

The new photo essay category invites participants to create a unique and in-depth story with a series of photos.

“We’re looking for a photographer who tells a visual narrative, a story with a very clear beginning, middle and end,” explains National Geographic Director of Photography David Griffin. “A good story will elicit an emotional response. More than just a visual reaction, it must evoke a feeling.”

For English-language-edition contestants, a portfolio of up to 10 photographs in the photo essay category and up to a total of six photographs across the people, landscape and animals categories should be submitted electronically to ngphotocontest.com between Entries must be received between Aug. 1, at midnight (12 a.m.) U.S. Eastern Daylight Time, and Oct. 31, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time. Photos can be black-and-white or color, shot with a digital camera or with conventional film. First-place winners of the English-language competition will win a digital camera kit. For details and official contest rules, visit ngphotocontest.com.

National Geographic is synonymous with unparalleled photographic excellence. The magazine draws on the best photographers around the world and devotes more resources to photography than any other general-interest magazine. Since the 1890s National Geographic photographers have captured images where readers could not go themselves: places too far, too deep, too dark, too dangerous. Recent advances in photographic technology have illuminated and captured much of the previously unknown. Through the lenses of National Geographic’s photographers, readers have been able to view unique life forms on the ocean floor, visit sunken ships, explore Egyptian tombs, “see” the temperature ranges of a star, discover the hidden world inside our bodies, observe the microscopic world of molecules and subatomic particles, and savor the perfect structure of a snowflake.

Today, National Geographic’s photographic archive contains 10.5 million images; a selection of these are available for advertising use. National Geographic offers photography workshops and photography expeditions and publishes photography field guides as well as signature photography books.

The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 300 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; radio programs; films; books; DVDs; maps; school publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise. National Geographic has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy. For more information, visit nationalgeographic.com.