On 125th Anniversary, National Geographic Magazine Invites Photography Enthusiasts to Participate in Digital Assignment on New Photo-Sharing Community Platform, Your Shot (NGYourShot.com)

Photographer Cory Richards Oversees Assignment and Is Featured in National Geographic Channel Special 'National Geographic Photographers: The Best Job in the World,' Premiering Friday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National Geographic magazine turns 125 this month, with an anniversary issue devoted to the power of photography. The magazine moves the birthday celebration off its pages with the public launch today of a photo-sharing platform, Your Shot (NGYourShot.com), that allows photography fans to connect with photographers and editors around virtual assignments, get direct feedback on their work and participate in a unique photography-based community. One of the magazine's young star photographers, Cory Richards, will usher in the month as lead curator of the magazine's first assignment on Your Shot.

Led by Richards and his magazine photo editor, Sadie Quarrier, the assignment invites photographers to share three images that convey how photography can help us explore our changing world. Throughout the assignment, Richards and Quarrier will provide photo tips and feedback on the images that are submitted along with direction on what they feel will best help tell the story. Their favorite photograph will be selected to appear in a future issue of National Geographic magazine. Participants must join Your Shot, National Geographic's free online photo community and storytelling platform, to submit photos to the assignment, which runs until Oct. 22.

At the end of the assignment, in addition to having a photograph published in National Geographic, the winning "editor's choice" photographer will receive a personal portfolio review with Richards and Quarrier (via phone or Web conference), a five-day National Geographic Photo Workshop in Santa Fe, N.M., from National Geographic Expeditions, a $1,000 gift card to B&H Photo and other prizes.

National Geographic teamed up with digital agency Huge to create the Your Shot experience. Since its beta launch in September 2013, the platform has attracted almost 300,000 members, with the largest number being between the ages of 18 and 29.

"We wanted to create a community around something National Geographic celebrates every day — photography," said Keith Jenkins, director of photography for NationalGeographic.com. "It's exciting to share our expertise and perspective about something we are so passionate about, and we are particularly pleased about how the platform allows us to connect with younger photography fans."

Television viewers can get a better sense of what field photographers (including Richards) for National Geographic really go through in "National Geographic Photographers: The Best Job in the World," premiering on Friday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel during the weekly "Night of Exploration" programming block. The program shares behind-the-scenes stories from some of the magazine's best known photographers and showcases Richards' latest assignment: to summit unclimbed peaks in Antarctica and bring back the first pictures. For nearly 40 days, he and the expedition team were pounded with winds, some reaching nearly 100 mph. They battled brutal temperatures, faced unstable rock faces, hauled thousands of pounds of equipment and even dug out their demolished base camp.  

About National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It has won 16 National Magazine Awards in the past six years, including for General Excellence, Photography, Tablet Magazine and Multimedia in 2013. The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world's largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 39 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.

SOURCE National Geographic

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