Smithsonian Magazine has announced the 50 finalists for its fifth annual photo contest. The grand prize winner and the five category winners will be featured online and in a print issue of Smithsonian Magazine this summer. For the first time, this year’s photo contest has a new people’s choice category in which visitors to Smithsonian.com can vote for their favorite photo. Smithsonian magazine has a worldwide circulation of more than two million.

Smithsonian Magazine Press Release

- Picture Perfect -

Smithsonian Magazine Announces Finalists for Fifth Annual Photo Contest

The polls are open!  Vote for your favorite in the first-ever people’s choice category.

Washington DC (April 2, 2008) – Technical quality, clarity and composition are all important in a photograph, but so too is a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture the right moment.  For the past four years, Smithsonian editors have judged a total of 58,500 photographs from more than 90 countries around the globe and therefore, have a keen sense of what makes a photograph memorable. 

Today Smithsonian Magazine announced the 50 finalists for its fifth annual photo contest.  The grand prize winner and the five category winners will be featured online and in a print issue of Smithsonian Magazine this summer. The complete list of finalists can be previewed at www.smithsonian.com/photocontest. 

For the first time, this year’s photo contest has a new people’s choice category in which visitors to Smithsonian.com can vote for their favorite photo.  The voting for people’s choice opens today.  “The people’s choice award lays the groundwork for a new Smithsonian photo community that will be launching in the next few months,” said Carey Winfrey, Smithsonian Editor-in-Chief.  “We are excited to invite our visitors and readers to choose their favorite photo.  Smithsonian is committed to the participation and opinion of its readership and this year’s award proves it.”

This photo contest was open to amateur photographers ages 18 and over who had captured a stunning image within the past three years.  Ten finalists were chosen from each of the five contest categories drawn from those subjects of special interest to the magazine:

Americana—Events, objects or activities connecting the American people to their cultural heritage.
The Natural World—Animals, plants and landscapes; geological or climatological features; and scientific processes and endeavors.
People—Individuals from all walks of life.
Altered Images—Photographs manipulated for artistic purposes by applying digital and/or traditional special effects (i.e. hand coloring, toning, bleaching, collage and photo composites, etc.).
Travel—Locales, peoples or activities in the United States and abroad that convey a sense of place

The five category winners and people’s choice winner will not only have their work published in Smithsonian Magazine, but they will each receive a $500 cash prize as well.  The grand prize winner will be given the opportunity to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime Grand Canyon Weekend Adventure for two.  Highlights will include: a charter flight over the Grand Canyon; horseback riding at the Bar 10 Ranch located nine miles from the North Rim; river rafting down the Colorado River; and a boat ride to Lake Mead.

About Smithsonian
Founded in 1970 with the launch of Smithsonian magazine, Smithsonian Publishing—comprising Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian and the Smithsonian digital network—allows the intellectually curious to indulge and engage their passions for history, the arts, science, the natural world, culture and travel. Smithsonian Publishing’s flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, has a circulation of more than two million. This multimedia network is also affiliated with the world’s most visited museum and research complexes at the Smithsonian Institution. For more information, visit www.smithsonian.com, www.airspacemag.com, and www.gosmithsonian.com.

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