Calling all photogs…
The Background:
Launched in 2006, National Geographic’s “Your Shot” gives amateur photographers a chance to see their work featured on NG’s website - and possibly in their print magazine. Starting on the 15th of each month, photo editors review the first 5,000 submissions and editor Susan Welchman chooses 12 of her favorites for the Daily Dozen, which can then be voted on by viewers (to help choose the 1-2 photos printed in the magazine each month), downloaded to your desktop as wallpaper, turned into a jigsaw puzzle, etc. The photos feature a variety of everything: an Indian family at the beach being knocked over by the waves; blackberries in an organic garden; a Costa Rican sunrise; young Afghan girls in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The contest is open to anyone 18+ worldwide, whether they shoot photos with a top-of-the-line digital camera or a disposable piece of crap (as long as you can scan it into your computer and submit a digital copy.) Anyone can be a photographer!
Your Free-Floating Image.
Unfortunately, by submitting your photo to “Your Shot,” you allow NG to have “a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to display, distribute, reproduce and create derivatives of the Photograph, in whole or in part, without further review or participation from you” - basically, you give them permission to use your photograph for whatever they want and you don’t see a dime. (But hey, photogs just want to share their work with the world, right?) Once you submit a masterpiece to “Your Shot,” you can set up an account on “My Shot” and display up to 100 more examples of your amazing camera talent.
But Wait, There’s More!
“Your Shot” was honored with a Webby Award in 2008 for “Best Use of Photography,” but the site offers much much more to navigators. Consider the many blogs kept by NG staff: Digital Photography, where Ken Geiger (senior editor for technology) and Evan Wilder (who helped set up NG’s digital photo system) discuss new camera tech on the market and help both budding and seasoned photogs conquer digital challenges. On Assignment allows you to follow photojournalists like Brian Skerry, an underwater photog, Steve Winter as he learns about tigers in Thailand and Matt Eich, an intern from Ohio University who spent the summer jetsetting around Peru, India, and Africa - pretty impressive for a 22 year old. As a developing travel blogger just one year his junior, I was particularly taken by his blog’s honesty and his ability to take the reader along on his journey.
I encourage you to check out NG’s website and browse through its content: in Features, read an article about Haiti soil and keep your good fortune in mind. Complete a jigsaw puzzle using the day’s best submissions. Read what Helen Fields calls “the funniest Olympic blog ever” in the Pop Omnivore section, and brush up on your texting etiquette with the StyleMaven in Rogers’ Rules of Order.
A Winning Layout
As a kid, the stacks of National Geographic back issues in the library always struck me as these stiff, boring volumes full of information I didn’t care for (then again, as a kid, unless the Spice Girls or a “How To Tell If He Likes You” quiz graced the cover of a magazine, I wasn’t particularly inclined to pick it up anyway.) The website, however, is eye-catching, with its mixture of amateur and professional photo features from photogs all over the world. The ‘08 Webby runner-up, Pentax Photo Gallery, actually has a more eye-catching homepage, but it doesn’t offer all the exciting extras featured on ngm.com.
NG’s site is easy to navigate, designed to simplify your search for contest rules, recently published articles, photo wallpaper for your desktop, etc. The site’s also interactive, giving you the chance to take a Neanderthals Quiz and comment on featured blogs.
My Personal Reflections.
I’ve never considered myself an avid photographer. At family functions, my mom acts as paparazzi, and when I go out with friends, I usually rely on everyone else’s uploads to Facebook. Since I arrived in Australia, however, my little red Casio hasn’t left my purse (except for that one day I spontaneously went to Manly Beach on the most beautiful day ever, but that’s in the past.) My photos are nothing extraordinary (even when I tried to be super artsy and take cool photos at Biennale on Cockatoo Island), but capturing my experiences here and showing them to people back home has given travel photography a whole new meaning for me. Stay tuned to find out if any of my work makes it onto the Daily Dozen - or submit your own!
