June 5, 2008 - One of the world's most renowned photo contests, entries to the 32nd Nikon Photo Contest International will be accepted from September 1 to November 30, 2008.

A contest with an impressive history
The Nikon Photo Contest International has been held by Nikon Corporation since 1969 to provide an opportunity for photographers around the world to communicate and to enrich photographic culture for professionals and amateurs alike. Renowned among photo enthusiasts worldwide, the contest has so far attracted more than 1,270,000 images from a total of 306,000 photographers. In fact, so popular has the contest become among photographers that a total of over 47,000 images were received from more than 16,000 entrants in 135 different countries for the 31st contest alone.

This year's theme: "At the heart of the image"
" At the heart of the image" is not only the brand statement of Nikon Imaging Company, but it is also the theme of the 32nd contest. We have carefully selected categories as stated below and we look forward to receiving images expressing the emotions that are true to your heart.

This year's categories

1. Free subject:
   Express yourself freely, as it moves you.
2. My Planet:
   Express your world, whether that involves the environment, scenes from your daily life, or the people and things that stir your passions.

With these categories, Nikon welcomes and embraces photographic creativity and encourages images of human happiness from all over the world.

54 prizes awarded by a panel of international photographers
All works will be judged by professional photographers working internationally and a combined total of 54 prizes will be awarded. The Grand Prize will be awarded for the most outstanding photograph out of all the entries, regardless of category. 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes will be awarded to 16 winners in each category. The Emerging Talent award will recognize 4 winners and 16 runners-up from both categories to commend those aged under 30 for work that possess outstanding expressive power and conveys the energy of youth. Additionally, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the NIKKOR brand of lenses. To properly commemorate this event, a special prize will be awarded to the outstanding work that places second after the Grand Prize winner.

Prize winners are planned to be announced in July 2009.

An open opportunity
A competition that truly traverses borders, the Nikon Photo Contest International embodies an unrivalled opportunity – providing photographers everywhere with a chance to showcase their talents and giving us all a valuable insight into the lives of those around us. An exhibition of the winning photographs is also planned, so please take advantage of this opportunity to submit your work.*
*Details concerning the specific date and location will be announced in the future.

Nikon Photo Contest International: Entry Information

Entrant criteria
The Nikon Photo Contest International is open to all photographers, professional or amateur, from any part of the world.

Theme and categories
Theme "At the heart of the image"

Categories

1. Free subject:
   Express yourself freely, as it moves you.
2. My Planet:
   Express your world, whether that involves the environment, scenes from your daily life, or the people and things that stir your passions.

Please note that the same photograph may not be submitted to both categories.

Entry period
Entries are accepted from September 1st to November 30th, 2008. Entries sent by conventional mail should be received either on or before November 30th, 2008. Entries sent via the Internet will be accepted until 24:00, November 30th, 2008, Japan time. See below for further details regarding entry via conventional mail and the Internet.

How to apply

Entries submitted in print by conventional mail
Entries accepted in print are color or black-and-white photographs taken with 35mm film cameras, Advanced Photo System (APS) film cameras and digital still cameras, not including medium or large format digital cameras. Images that have been digitally edited with software are also accepted. Each entrant can submit up to 2 entries for each category (a total of 4 prints), with print dimensions of 19 x 24cm (8 x 10 inches) to 28 x 36cm (11 x 14 inches).

Please download and print out an official Entry Form, available from July 10th, from the Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009 Web site (http://www.nikon-npci.com), make a photocopy of the official form or contact your nearest Nikon dealer for details on how to obtain an official Entry Form. The official Entry Form is available in 10 languages (Japanese / English / German / French / Spanish / Italian / Portuguese / Korean / Simplified Chinese / Traditional Chinese) and the rules and process of entry via conventional mail are explained fully within.

Entries submitted as JPEG images via the Internet
Accepted JPEG images are color or black-and-white graphic files taken with digital still cameras (not including medium or large format digital cameras) and scanned data of photographs taken with 35mm film cameras or Advanced Photo System (APS) film cameras. Images that have been digitally edited with software are also accepted. Each entrant can submit two JPEG images for each category (a total of 4 images), with a maximum size for each JPEG image of 10MB. JPEG images exceeding this size must be compressed to a maximum of 10MB prior to submission.

Full details regarding entry via the Internet can be found on the online entry form, on the Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009 Web site (http://www.nikon-npci.com/). Please follow the rules and guidelines stated therein to submit your JPEG images.

Judging and announcement of winners
Photographers working internationally will be appointed by Nikon Corporation as judges to undertake selection of the winning photographs. The winners will be announced on the Nikon Photo Contest International Web site (http://www.nikon-npci.com/) and in an official press release by the end of July 2009.

The Prizes
A total of 54 winners will receive Nikon imaging products as shown in the table below. Winners of the Grand Prize, Emerging Talent Award and runners up will be given an opportunity to submit works in addition to their winning works for exhibition on the Nikon Photo Contest International Web site.

Note: Nikon will notify the winners and select all prizes. Winners will not be able to select their prizes. Prizes are subject to change without notification and cash alternatives are not available.

*1 An exhibition of the work of the Grand Prize winner, Emerging Talent Award winners and runners-up will be held on the Nikon Photo Contest International Web site. Winners will have the chance to show photographs other than their winning photographs for which they possess the copyrights. Winners will therefore be invited to submit photographs in addition to their winning works. The winner agrees to allow the organizer to use the winner's works and any other works sent by the winner to the organizer at no charge to the organizer. All costs, fees and charges will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Winners may be required to provide Nikon with relevant tax information and to prepare relevant tax documentation prior to receiving the prize. Winning status will not be revoked if a winner does not, for any reason, submit work for the exhibition.

*2 Winners of the Emerging Talent Award will be requested to submit official confirmation of their date of birth. In the event that such documentation is not provided, winning status will be revoked.

For further details, please access the official Nikon Photo Contest International Web site at: http://www.nikon-npci.com/