National Geographic Magazine Launches 2013 Photography Contest

WASHINGTON — National Geographic invites photographers from around the world to enter the 2013 National Geographic Photography Contest. The grand-prize winner will receive $10,000 (USD) and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2014.

Eligible contestants can visit www.ngphotocontest.com to submit photographs in one or all of three categories: People, Places and Nature. Entry fee is $15 (USD) per photo, and there is no limit to the number of submissions per entrant. Entries must be in digital format and submitted electronically. The contest, which is now open, ends Saturday, Nov. 30, at 11:59 p.m. ET (U.S.).

“National Geographic has an incredible legacy in photography, and as we celebrate our 125th anniversary, we are excited about how this contest helps us share our passion for it with photographers from around the world,” said Keith Jenkins, director of photography for NationalGeographic.com. “We see this as an opportunity for a global community of picture lovers to connect and explore each other’s visions of our planet.”

Judging consists of three rounds of evaluation, based on the following criteria: creativity, photographic quality and genuineness/authenticity of the content. One first-place winner will be chosen from each of the three categories, and the winning photographs will be published in National Geographic magazine. The overall grand-prize winner will be chosen from the three category winners and will be announced in December 2013.

National Geographic photo editors will showcase their favorite entries every week at www.ngphotocontest.com. Users can view all entries and share them with family and friends through Twitter and Facebook. They can also download wallpapers and complete jigsaw puzzles featuring contest entries.

No print or film submissions will be accepted for entry into the contest. While entries must be in digital format and submitted electronically, photographs need not be made with a digital camera; scans of negatives, transparencies or photographic prints are acceptable. National Geographic standards celebrate the real world through documentary photography. Only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction are acceptable, as is cropping. High dynamic range (HDR) images and stitched panoramas are not acceptable. For more information, please read the photo contest guidelines. Photographs must have been made within two years of the date of entry. For details and official contest rules, visit www.ngphotocontest.com.

About National Geographic Magazine

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It has won 16 National Magazine Awards in the past six years: for General Excellence, Photography, Tablet Magazine and Multimedia in 2013; for Tablet Magazine in 2012; for Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; and for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 39 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.