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National Parks Magazine

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New Contributors | Regular Contributors

National Parks is an award-winning, quarterly magazine known nationwide for high quality photography and reproduction, depending heavily on contributions from both professional and outstanding amateur photographers.

The magazine is published by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a non-profit group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the National Park System. While historically the magazine has covered more policy-oriented park issues, today's editors have begun to include subjects that encompass travel, natural history, politics, conservation, and our country's heritage and cultural diversity.  The magazine presents all aspects of our National Park System, ranging from proposed new parks; threats to the park or park wildlife; new trends in park use; legislative issues; clean air and global warming; and endangered species relevant to the parks. While there will always be a need for pretty landscapes and wildlife, we're trying hard to connect the human experience to these issues. We welcome portrait photographers who can provide a different view of the parks as we normally see them through diverse human subjects, intimate black-and-white photography, and stunning compositions that include people in the landscape. We also expect photographers to practice the highest ethical standards, both in the field and the "dark room." Please see the International League of Conservation Photographers’ (ILCP) website for specifics.

NEW CONTRIBUTORS

Photographers who are new to National Parks may ONLY submit digitally for an initial review—we prefer links to clean, easily-navigable and searchable websites, or lightboxes with well-captioned images.  We DO NOT accept and are not responsible for unsolicited slides, prints, or CDs.

The best way to break in is to send a brief, concise email message to Annie Riker at ariker@npca.org. Please include:

1. a concise outline of a story idea
2. a BRIEF description of your work (the parks you cover most, your specialties and strengths, what separates you from "the pack")
3. a website address and contact information
4. (if your website is under construction) three to five quality, low-res JPEG attachments (72dpi at 5" x 7") that illustrate your best work

If there is potential for your work as magazine material, we'll contact you. We will NOT be able to add you to the regular rotation of our photo requests until we're familiar with your style and strengths—and only then when image needs for the subjects you cover arise.

SCANNING TIPS:
Optimize scanned images for brightness, color, etc.  While you shouldn't perform major edits or alterations, we don't want to review scans that look bad.

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Photographers who are regular contributors to National Parks may submit images in the following forms:

1. digitally, via CD, DVD, or email (as in attachments or a link to a lightbox or FTP site)
2. physically, as slides or prints, via courier mail (registered, DHL, FedEx or other traceable means)

ALL DIGITAL SUBMISSIONS:

• should, when possible, include a visible watermark or credit on the image, preferably with a full name or website
• must be submitted as quality, low-res, PC-compatible files: low-res = 72 dpi, 5"x7"
• must be accompanied by DETAILED and ACCURATE caption information. Specify species, location, behavior, wild or captive (wildlife reserve, research facility, zoo, studio, or otherwise controlled situation); either in under "File Information" in Photoshop (PREFFERED) or in an attached contact sheet.  Please do not send U.S. game farm photographs—we will not publish such photographs in National Parks.
• must have hi-res, 6MB or larger files available for photos made with a digital camera.
• should not be sent as "read only" files or copies.

SCANNING TIPS:

Optimize scanned images for brightness, color, etc. While you shouldn't perform major edits or alterations, we don't want to review scans that look bad. Please make sure you adjust images to fit the low-res guidelines above.

VIA EMAIL:

• Only acceptable if your submission includes 10 low-res images or less
• Direct editorial pitches to Annie Riker (ariker@npca.org) technical/administrative questions to Nicole Yin (nyin@npca.org)
• We don't recommend sending stories in their entirety, since we rarely run contributors' ideas as originally pitched; but if you would like to send text on spec, send all manuscripts as Microsoft Word attachments

VIA CD:

• Include quality, color printout(s) of the image files, six to eight images to a page, or large enough for editors to view with ease
• Under each printed image, include its FILE NAME
• Write clearly or type NAME, CONTACT INFORMATION (phone, address, email, website) and STORY SUBJECT on CD case and disk
• If you wish for us to return or destroy the CD, please indicate so by writing that request on CD case and disk; otherwise, we will keep CD in our story files with other paperwork and discard after 10 years.  (We purchase one-time rights. We will keep a hi-res scan of all magazine-published images for continual consideration by NPCA—but any such further use will ONLY occur with photographers' renewed permission.)

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Caption information is essential and should be noted on mounts, backs of prints, or keyed to accompanying sheets. 

For quality reproduction, we require original color transparencies, 35mm or larger, or 8x10 glossy prints. Only the highest quality dupes are acceptable for initial review.

PACKAGING AND SENDING PHYSICAL SUBMISSIONS:

We do our best to ensure that all physical submissions are stored safely in our photo room. We keep all slides in a fireproof, water resistant, lockable file drawer. Please do your part to protect your slides, too, and package photographs carefully. Place slides in plastic sheets, sandwich photos between cardboard, secure with a large rubber band (DO NOT use tape, slide boxes, or glass mounts—the harder it is for us to open the package, the more we risk damaging your slides).

Be certain your cover letter or delivery memo contains your street address and telephone number for courier return of any images held. For unsolicited submissions from previously-used photographers, remember to include a self-addressed envelope of the proper size, with sufficient return postage affixed, or a completed shipping form from your preferred carrier. We welcome reusable mailers, though self-adhesive address and postage labels must be provided.

Where to send:            
National Parks Magazine
National Parks Conservation Association
attn: Nicole Yin
777 6th St. NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C.  20036
USA

Rates are competitive with other national, non-profit magazines of our circulation (300,000):

New contributors are required to complete a tax form and sign our terms of agreement before we can consider any submission. We send two copies of the magazine once it's published, along with photo returns if you submitted physically. Invoice information will be sent then, and payment sent within 30 days of the issue's publication.

FROM THE EDITORS:
We are often overwhelmed by the volume of submissions we receive. We wish we could use all of the quality photos that come in, but we can't. We try to get materials returned within approximately six to eight weeks of printing. While we hope to review and return unusable material as quickly as possible, our priority has to be producing each issue of the magazine, so we appreciate your patience in busy times.  If images or manuscripts are deemed suitable for publication, they may be held for future consideration. Holding such materials does not automatically constitute an acceptance of terms and conditions printed on delivery memos, packing slips or similar correspondence.

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