NEW YORK, NY – October 14, 2009 – Photo District News (PDN) and Kodak announced today the launch of Best Friends: The Ultimate Animal Photo Contest, which celebrates the art of pet and animal photography while also raising money to help endangered and mistreated animals throughout the world. The contest is now accepting paid online submissions from amateur photographers, with part of the proceeds going to three animal and wildlife protection groups.

“Pets and animals tend to be among the most popular of all subjects for consumer photography,” said Kodak’s Audrey Jonckheer, one of the contest judges. “Animals give us a huge reason to smile and countless opportunities to use all sorts of photography tools – video cameras, digital cameras, film and printers - to capture those wonderful moments. Kodak is delighted to provide some of our most sought-after products to the contest winners and we can’t wait to see the images that start pouring in.”

Participants are invited to log on to www.bestfriendsphotocontest.com and submit their photos for any of four categories: Domestic Animals, Wildlife Animals, My Pet and Me, and Animal Humor. A portion of each $12 entry fee will be donated to the contestant’s choice of one of three non-profit animal welfare groups: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Best Friends Animal Society, and Kids Saving the Rainforest.

“Combining our love for animals with photography is a great way to highlight how much our furry family members mean to us,” said Jo Sullivan, the ASPCA's Senior Vice President of External Affairs. "Aside from expressing love for our pets, we hope these images will also encourage and inspire people to help endangered, mistreated and homeless animals.”

Submissions will be accepted through Tuesday, December 22, 2009. Winners in each of the four categories will be selected by a panel of photography professionals. One Grand Prize winner and four other first place winners will receive selection of prizes from Kodak, including the new Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera; a Kodak ESP 5250 All-in-One printer; Kodak EasyShare Z980 Digital Cameras, and Kodak Professional Tri-X, T-Max or Portra film. Winners will also gain admission and exposure at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2010 in New York.

“This contest will be a fun and creative opportunity for participants to connect their passions for animals and photography,” said Lauren Wendle, VP/Publisher of Photo District News. “More important, we’re proud to use the power of photography to bring attention to the aid of animals that need it the most.”

Contestants and non-contestants are also invited to log on and vote for the weekly “People’s Choice Award.” The photographer whose image earns the most “people’s choice” votes at the end of each week will win a PDN prize bag including ten Kodak Single Use Cameras and more. The winning photographer’s photo will also be published in our online gallery, along with the nine other winners.

For more information on the contest, its sponsors and partners, please visit http://www.bestfriendsphotocontest.com.

About PDN
Since 1980, Photo District News has been the #1 source of information on the professional photography industry, delivering unbiased news and analysis, interviews, and portfolios of the latest photographic work. The award-winning monthly magazine published by Nielsen Business Media delivers the information photographers need to survive in a competitive business – from marketing and business advice to legal issues, photographic techniques, new technologies, and more. For more information, please visit www.pdnonline.com.

About Kodak
As the world's foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives. To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com and follow our blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus. More than 75 million people worldwide manage, share and create photo gifts online at KODAK Gallery --join today at www.kodakgallery.com.

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