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.

In addition, you can find news for specific topics on the following pages:

NANPA Board Minutes Available
posted Mar 9, 2010: Meeting minutes from the NANPA Board of Directors meeting held in Reno, NV in February are now available for review. Click the headline to view the PDF document.
ASPP/PACA Reinvention Weekend
posted Mar 5, 2010: The American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP) and the Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) invite you to Reinvent, Reimagine and Reinvigorate your career or your approach to the photography business at their "Reinvention Weekend" April 15-18, 2010 in Boston. Registration deadline is April 12, 2010. See http://tinyurl.com/ASPPReinvention for details and registration.
Macro Contest for Nature Photographers
posted Feb 25, 2010: Tiny Landscapes - Macro Contest for Nature Photographers, is looking for the best macro image in nature to win a new, Lensbaby Composer with a Macro kit. Runners up get a $25.00 gift certificate from Outdoor Photo Gear and $100.00 gift certificate from Canvas On Demand. It's free to enter, deadline is March 13, 2010. Click headline for details.
Biodiversity Begins at Home - Meet Your Neighbors
posted Feb 10, 2010: Common neighbourhood plants and animals are usually overlooked and undervalued, yet they are most people's first, sometimes only, point of contact with wild nature. They matter for that reason if no other. They can make us feel better, let us see ourselves in perspective.

This project hinges on successful collaborations between photographers and their local conservation NGO's . We want to recruit photographers who already have good relations with the conservation community or who are able to use this project to build them. And we need the NGOs to put the work out there, in front of the public, in public spaces. You collaborate, identify the species to cover and create: they distribute. Click the headline for full details.
"Ocean Views" Photo Awards
posted Jan 31, 2010: Nature's Best Photography and Divers Alert Network (DAN) announce their alliance to host this year's competition, open to all levels of photographers from around the world. Entry deadline is March 1, 2010. Click headline for deatils and entry.
2010 Windland Smith Rice International Awards
posted Jan 30, 2010: The editors of Nature's Best Photography magazine invite all photographers to enter the 14th Annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition for 2010. Entry deadline is April 5, 2010. For details and entry, see http://www.naturesbestphotography.com/contest2/entry_1.php?cid=118
Fort Dearborn-Chicago Photo Forum International Photo Competition
posted Jan 25, 2010: The Fort Dearborn-Chicago Photo Forum is celebrating its 115th anniversary in 2010. In honor of the occasion, they are hosting an international competition with five categories including "Nature". Entry deadline is April 15, 2010. Click the headline for details and entry.
EPSON International Pano Awards
posted Jan 25, 2010: Epson announces the inaugural 2010 EPSON International Pano Awards, dedicated to the art of panoramic photography. The Pano Awards aims to showcase the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and be the largest and most important competition for panoramic photography. The competition is now open for all professional and amateur photographers with a combined prize pool of over US$13,000 in cash and prizes! Entry deadline is April 30, 2010. For details and entries see www.thepanoawards.com
Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition 2010
posted Jan 21, 2010: The 46th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is now open and once again seeking the very best innovative and inspiring wildlife images. Entries are being accepted now through March 5, 2010. Click the headline for details and online entry.
2010 Environmental Photographer of the Year Competition
posted Jan 21, 2010: CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) has opened the Environmental Photographer of the Year competition for 2010. This competition seeks to celebrate photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. It is open to all professional and amateur international photographers of any age and encourages entries that are contemporary, creative, experimental, resonant, original and beautiful. Entry deadline is July 31, 2010, click the headline for details and submission.
2010 Philip Hyde Grant Recipient - Paul Colangelo
posted Dec 22, 2009: The NANPA Foundation has announced that Paul Colangelo of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the recipient of the 2010 Philip Hyde Grant for his work in British Columbia. This $5,000 peer-reviewed grant is awarded annually to an individual member of the North American Nature Photography Association who is actively pursuing completion of an environmental project. The award will be presented at the 16th Annual Nature Photography Summit presented by NANPA, February 16-21, 2010 in Reno, Nevada.
Full details and PDF Press Release
Danita Delimont Wins ASPP Award
posted Sep 30, 2009: NANPA member Danita Delimont was chosen the American Society of Picture Professionals' (ASPP) 2009 Picture Professional of the Year. The award will be presented at an ASPP event in New York City in December. Congratulations Danita!
PACA Copyright Education
posted 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 Clarifies Proposed Regulations for Photographing on Federal Land
posted 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
posted 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
posted 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
posted 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
posted 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.