National Geographic s Photography Blog Proof Announces Winners of Photo Contest 0

WASHINGTON (Dec. 19, 2013)-Proof, National Geographic's online photography experience, has announced the winners of the 2013 National Geographic Photography Contest. A stunning photograph of a polar bear peering up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires has captured the grand prize. The photographer of The Ice Bear is Paul Souders of Seattle, Wash. He has won $10,000 (USD) and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2014.

Cecile Baudier of Jylland, Denmark, placed first in the People category for the image Together, Alone. Adam Tan of Selangor, Malaysia, placed first in the Places category for his image Long Road to Daybreak, and Souders' The Ice Bear took first place in the Nature category. The three winning images will be published in National Geographic magazine.

The caliber of entries in the National Geographic Photo Contest continues to impress every year, said Keith Jenkins, director of photography for NationalGeographic.com. We were thrilled to see a global community of picture lovers connect and share each other's photos of our world.

The annual photo contest attracted more than 7,000 images from over 150 countries. Contestants submitted photographs in three categories: People, Places and Nature. Judging consisted of multiple rounds of evaluation based on creativity, photography quality and genuineness/authenticity of the content. In addition to being showcased on Proof, the three winning photographs along with 10 honorable mentions can be viewed at www.ngphotocontest.com.

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: for General Excellence, Photography, Tablet Magazine and Multimedia in 2013; for Tablet Magazine in 2012; for Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; and for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008.

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.

LINK:	http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2013/12/19/photography-blog-proof-...
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