Passport To Your National Parks Photo Contest

Date: September 8, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2008

Contact: Eileen Clearly, Publications Specialist [phone] ext. 158

Passport To Your National Parks® Photo Contest

Each year Eastern National holds a contest for National Park Service employees and Volunteers In Parks to select ten new images for the collectible Passport To Your National Parks® stamp series. The stamps (one national and nine regional) are on one perforated sheet and fit into the official Passport books. Image submissions of national parks with special events or anniversary celebrations during 2009are encouraged, and a brief statement about the event should be enclosed with the photograph.

National parks previously featured on Passport stamps are not eligible for the contest. Submissions must be received by Eastern National in Fort Washington, PA, by October 30, 2008.

Photography will be accepted for all ten of the Passport regions (Note: Passport regions are based on tourist/geographic regions, not NPS administrative regions).

• All submissions must be reproduction-quality color originals, as a 35mm slide, color print, 4” x 5” transparency, or 300 dpi tiff file. Inkjet prints and low-resolution files are not acceptable.

• Only National Park Service employees and Volunteers In Parks (VIPs) are eligible for the contest.

All submissions must be clearly labeled, stating:

- park name and image location

- photographer’s name

- photographer’s status as an NPS employee or a VIP

- current park assignment

- category (which Passport region)

- photographer’s mailing address (no post office boxes please), telephone number and email address

• Eastern National will review all submissions and make final selections. Images will be judged on quality, interpretive merit and appropriateness of subject matter. Lacking a suitable entry, Eastern National reserves the right to select a photograph from other sources.

• Individual submissions are limited to ten per Passport region.

• By submitting their work for review, photographers agree that if their photograph is chosen, Eastern

National may use the winning photograph for the Passport stamp and promotional purposes. Eastern National will not be responsible for any lost or damaged photos, slides or transparencies. All submissions will be returned to the photographer.

• Contest winners will be announced in January 2009. Eastern National will pay the photographer $500 for the winning photograph in each category. If the winning image is a National Park Service slide or transparency, or was taken on government time, Eastern National will donate $500 to the photographer’s park to support that park’s interpretive program.

• Send submissions to:

Eastern National Passport Photography Contest
470 Maryland Drive, Suite 1
Fort Washington, PA 19034

• Questions? Call Eastern National at [phone] ext. 158 for more information. Good luck!

Eastern National provides quality educational products and services to the visitors to America’s national parks and other public trusts. Proceeds from the sale of the Passport book and stamp sets benefit educational programs of the National Park Service.To order the Passport book, call toll-free (877) NAT-PARK. For questions about the Passport program, call [phone], ext. 158.