National Archives Launches First-Ever Online Photo Contest
Press Release · Monday, December 13, 2010

Washington, DC

The National Archives has launched its first-ever online photo contest - History Happens Here! This innovative competition invites participants to capture an historic image from the expansive online still picture holdings of the National Archives within the frame of the current landscape. Such images, called “mash-ups,” reflect the past within the present. This unique approach augments reality and combines the old with the new in the same frame, combining elements of a past time within the everyday world.

Twenty winning photos will be chosen by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and the National Archives Digital Strategies and Services Staff. These photos will be printed in a History Happens Here! postcard book to be sold in the National Archives Shop and online eStore [www.estore.archives.gov]. The grand prize winning photo will be featured on the cover. One of the 19 finalists will receive a special “Fan Favorite” title - determined by the number of people who vote to “favorite it” on Flickr.

The History Happens Here! photo contest runs through January 21, 2011. History Happens Here! photo “mash-ups” can be entered at http://www.flickr.com/groups/historyhappenshere. Photos must be selected from National Archives online Archival Research Catalog. See full contest rules and details [ http://challenge.gov/NARA/86-augmented-reality-photo-contest].

The contest is being launched via Challenge.gov [http://challenge.gov/], a new web site where the Federal government and the American public work together to solve problems, voice opinions, and participate in the government.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at (202) 357-5300.

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