KINSA CONTEST STARTS TODAY

The second Southeast Missourian KINSA amateur photography contest officially starts today.

KINSA, Kodak International Newspaper Snapshot Awards, is the world's largest annual amateur-snapshot contest.

The contest runs for six consecutive weeks. The last date for entries is 5 p.m. Friday, July 31.

"We've gotten lots of calls from people asking questions," said Joyce Hunter, who is coordinating the contest for the newspaper. "We feel there is lots of excitement building."

Entries will be accepted at Schnucks, Southeast Missouri Hospital's Generations Center, Western Sizzlin, and Delmonico's.

Entries will also be accepted at Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the Banner Press office in Marble Hill.

Entries can be mailed to Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, Attention: KINSA.

Newspapers from around the world are invited to sponsor local level contests. The Southeast Missourian's contest is open to current residents of Missouri counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard, Perry and Madison and Illinois counties of Alexander, Pulaski and Union.

Each week of the contest four semifinalists will be selected. Semi-finalists' names and winning photos will be published in the newspaper.

The first weekly contest ends at 5 p.m. June 26. Judges will review the entries during the following week. The first week's winners will be published July 6.

In all, 24 semi-finalists will be selected by a panel of community judges. From those, eight finalists will be forwarded to the international competition.

Participants may enter more than once. Hunter said a photographer can enter the same photograph in more than one weekly contest. Or a photographer with several good pictures can spread out his entries over the contest period.

"Every week's contest is independent of the following week's contest," Hunter said. "And the competition varies from week to week."

However, to be eligible for the KINSA contest, photographs cannot have been entered in any other contest, including last year's KINSA competition.

During the week prior to Labor Day, all the photographs entered in the local contest will be displayed at West Park Mall and a People's Choice Award will be given.

Photos must be taken on Kodak film and use Kodak processing. Only prints will be accepted at the local contest level. No negatives, slides or transparencies will be judged.

Photos must have been taken after Jan. 1, 1996.

Negatives are needed for a winning photo to advance to the international competition.

If a photo shows identifiable people, the photographer must include signed release forms from those people to forward to international judges.

Entry forms must be filed out and attached to the back of each photograph submitted. Forms will be published in the newspaper throughout the contest period. Photocopies of the form are acceptable. Entry forms will also be available at the Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway.

There is no cost to enter and no limit on entries. No photos will be returned.

For information, contact Hunter at (573) 335-6611, ext. 150.