National Geographic Launches Annual Grant For Photography

 

(September 8, 2006) – David Griffin, National Geographic magazine’s senior editor of photography and illustrations, used the stage of professional week at Visa pour L’Image in Perpignan, France, this week to announce to the photojournalism world that National Geographic will begin awarding an annual grant of $50,000 USD to a professional still photographer.

“The National Geographic Society for its first 100 years was mostly interested in exploring the planet. In our second century we are concerned with protecting the planet,” Griffin said in a National Geographic press release. “We will be looking for projects that touch on this spirit of understanding and appreciation of the unique world in which we live.”

In addition to the grant, National Geographic will assign a magazine photography editor to provide guidance for a project undertaken by the grantee, and the grantee will have full access to all of the facilities provided to the magazine’s regular contributing photographers, Griffin said.

Any working photojournalist is eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted from October 1, 2006, to January 1, 2007. The application process requires a written statement outlining either a proposed or current project, along with examples of the applicant’s photography.

Starting on October 1, complete details and application forms will be online here.

Griffin said that previously National Geographic has awarded grants to photographers whose projects showcased various cultures, citing as examples an essay by photojournalist Carolyn Drake on Brooklyn’s Lubavitch; Southwest Texas Hispanic culture photographed by Penny De Los Santos; and Lauren Greenfield’s photographs of Hollywood teenagers, which led to the publishing of her book, Fast Forward.

National Geographic magazine says that it is also currently supporting photographer Farah Nosh’s documentation of Iraqi families living behind the closed doors of Baghdad.

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