Canon launches parks contest

If you're a park goer in the United States and love taking pictures of the great outdoors, you should be tantalized by a contest launched this week by Canon USA. Running from now until September 30, the company's third annual Photography in the Parks photo contest seeks images of any park or monument in America. The theme for this year's competition is "Inspirational Nature Images," and for the first time, Canon is expanding the eligibility criteria for participants by lowering the minimum age requirements to 13-year-olds. The Grand Prize winner of the contest gets a trip to a park of their choice and a suite of Canon photographic equipment. The first place finisher will win a Canon EOS 5D digital camera with an EF 24-105mm lens and a Pixma Pro9500 photo printer; second place, an EOS 40D with an EF-S 17-55mm lens and Pixma Pro9500 photo printer; third-place, an EOS Rebel XSi with an EF-S 17-85mm lens and Pixma Pro9500 photo printer. Contestants can enter the competition at Canon's online Learning Center. And while they're there, they can turn their entries into electronic postcards and send them to their friends and relatives for free.