NANPA News Environment News Press Releases   Legal Alerts Environment Alerts Member Alerts   NANPA Calendar   Conferences	NANPA News Center Keeping up with fast-changing events around the world can be a full-time job in itself! Our News Center will help you keep track of news and events affecting photographers and environmental concerns. NANPA-specific news items will always appear directly below. Choose a link in the left column for more specific news items or information on upcoming events and conferences. LandScope America Seeks Photography Nov 19, 2008   LandScope America – a collaborative project of the National Geographic Society and NatureServe – is a new online resource for the conservation community. Designed to increase the pace and effectiveness of conservation action and investment throughout the United States, LandScope aims to provide an audience of land trusts, government agencies, private landowners and the public with the information and tools needed to further land preservation. National Geographic and NatureServe would like to invite NANPA members to join the LandScope photo community by submitting photography for inclusion in the LandScope map viewer collection. Submission is free and photos will be protected by a Flash viewer. Submission deadline is December 1, 2008. For full details and submission instructions, download the PDF guidelines.   2009 NANPA Road Shows Oct 20, 2008   Four more of NANPA's popular Road Shows are scheduled during 2009. Look for one coming to a city near you - http://www.nanpa.org/conferences.html   15th Annual NANPA Summit Oct 15, 2008   Registration is now open for the 15th Annual NANPA Summit and Trade Show. The Summit will take place February 18-22, 2009 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Click headline for details and registration.   Prince's Rainforests Project Award Oct 23, 2008   All professional and amateur photographers are encouraged to submit images to The Prince's Rainforests Project Award, which is the 2009 emblem for the environmental theme of the Sony World Photography Awards in Cannes, France. The Prince of Wales set up his rainforest project to build a better understanding of the important role that rainforests play in providing services for the entire planet. For professional photographers, the winner of the award will receive 15,000 Euros prize money, plus a fully funded grant to photograph the rainforest regions of the world and record the impacts of deforestation. The images will also be exhibited globally and will form part of a book highlighting the plight of the world's rainforests. For amateur photographers, the selected images will be displayed in Cannes during the event in April 2009 and will be used by The Prince's Rainforests project in various initiatives. For more details on how to submit your work, please visit http://prp.worldphotographyawards.org/   Canaan Valley NWR Resident Photographer Program Oct 21, 2008   Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge is announcing a new "Photographer in Residence" program. This exciting opportunity provides professional photographers free lodging, display space in the Refuge's Visitor Center and special access to this high elevation refuge located at 3,400-4,400 feet in the Allegheny Mountains. Participants will be chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis. A lottery type system will be used when more than one photographer requests a given month. For more information contact Wildlife Refuge Manager, Jonathan Schafler, at http://www.fws.gov/canaanvalley/   PACA Copyright Education Oct 20, 2008   The Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) has developed a program to educate image professionals on copyrights and the legal issues surrounding rights of image creators. Named the "Jane Kinne Copyright Education Program," this free one-hour program can be viewed online or ordered on DVD. See the PACA website for details.   NANPA Board Minutes Available Aug 19, 2008   Meeting minutes from the NANPA Board of Directors meeting held in Denver in July are now available for review. Click the headline to view the PDF document.   ASPP Releases "Best Practices" Guidelines Aug 14, 2008   The American Society of Picture Professionals has released guidelines entitled "ASPP's Best Practices for Locating Copyright Owners of Photographic and Visual Art." This guide is intended to be a "living document" and will be continually updated as new registries and technologies become available. The guide can be found at the ASPP website at http://www.aspp.com/pages/257/189/0/   South Carolina State Parks Photo Contest May 27, 2008   The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has announced its 75th Anniversary Photography Contest. Prizes will be awarded monthly throughout 2008 for photos taken in the state's parks with a grand prize at the end of the contest. See http://www.comeoutandplay.net/photo-gallery/contest-intro.aspx for details and entries.   Health Insurance Now Available for NANPA Members Apr 5, 2008   NANPA has just joined the cadre of professional organizations able to offer its members health insurance -- a significant benefit that will add even more value to your membership. To learn more about the NANPA Health Insurance plan see the Health Insurance page.   NANPA Clarifies Proposed Regulations for Photographing on Federal Land Mar 10, 2008   NANPA has been following the progress of proposed Interior Department regulations under Public Law 106-206 following the House Natural Resources Committee hearing held on the issue in December. NANPA's Past-President, Kathy Adams Clark, had an email exchange with Lee Dickinson, Special Parks Uses Program Manager for the National Parks Service. For details of that Q&A session, please see http://www.nanpa.org/news/NANPA_Clarifies_PL106-206.pdf   NANPA Participates in Imaging Coalition Nov 8, 2006   For the first time ever, leadership from a group of organizations (including NANPA) representing more than 100,000 photographers, stock archives, graphic designers, illustrators and educators, met to discuss pressing business topics. Discussions centered on emerging industry tools that affect the memberships of all the groups and included metadata technical standards, image registry and on the robust protection of artist's rights via copyright education. View full press release   Update on NPS Fee Proposal May 19, 2006   On April 14, 2006, the National Park Service issued a press release announcing the implementation of legislation relating to fees for commercial filming and still photography. Unfortunately, the press release was vague and caused an uproar among nature photographers who did not understand the implications. We have spoken to a knowledgeable official of the National Park Service and are pleased to report the following: *THE RULES ARE NOT BEING CHANGED CONCERNING STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.* Federal legislation (Public Law 106-206), which has been on the books for several years, provides that the Park Service cannot require a permit or assess a fee for still photography if the photography takes place where members of the public are generally allowed and the photography does not involve models or props which are not a part of the site's natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities. The Park Service is not proposing to require permits for this kind of still photography and, indeed, the Park Service could not legally do so because it would be in violation of the federal statute. The reason that this is all coming up now is that Public Law 106-206 does provide for permits and fees for motion picture and video photography and the Park Service is now implementing those permits and fees. So go out to the National Parks and shoot. So long as you are shooting the landscape and the local wildlife at times at which and from places where members of the public are generally allowed, fees and permits cannot be imposed.   NANPA Responds to 'Orphan Works' Legislation Mar 10, 2006   NANPA president Al Sieg submitted a comment letter to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees that are considering changes to the Copyright Act. The letter states NANPA's concerns for the rights of photographers in regard to the "orphan works" language being proposed. Click the headline to view the letter. For more information on how this could affect photographers, please review http://www.asmp.org/news/spec2006/orphan_APAstatement.pdf   Proposed Copyright Law Changes Affect Photographers Mar 1, 2006   Copyright law changes being considered in the U.S. Congress right now could have important, long-term, negative effects on photographers' published works. The central issue concerns the status of artwork as "orphaned" and how publishers determine that status. Comments from interested parties are now being collected and the comment period deadline is March 25, 2006. NANPA members are urged to review the material published by ASMP and submit their responses to this important piece of copyright legislation. For background and more details, visit ASMP's web page on the subject.   The preceding information is provided to you as an information service from NANPA in maintaining its responsibility to keep you informed about issues and events related to nature photography, the environment, and the Association. It is not NANPA's responsibility or intent tell you how to vote, what to think, where to go, or what you should do. And to that end NANPA does not endorse or promote such issues or events. This information is provided for informational purposes only. If NANPA takes a specific stand on any issue, it will be stated. If you would like more information on any issue, contact the NANPA office.         Site Index       Search       Disclaimers       Contact Us   North American Nature Photography Association 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-2840, USA Phone: 303-422-8527 Fax: 303-422-8894 E-mail: info@nanpa.org   © 2001 All Rights Reserved