Pictures Wanted

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a really good picture is worth an FSA hat and a chance for a little recognition.

The Office of External Affairs (OEA) is always looking for digital photos that help us tell the story about agriculture in the United States. The nation is comprised of a diverse group of producers and regions, and these different perspectives and areas each have something unique to show.

In recent weeks, the FSA Web team has improved the agency’s Web Media Gallery. Now we’d like to fill it with pictures of the people, places and production that FSA serves.

Please send your digital photos to askfsainternal@mailnj.custhelp.com, with the subject "FSA Media Gallery Submission". They must meet each of the below specifications to be used or posted at www.fsa.usda.gov.

• Photos must be original, not altered or edited by software programs.
  
  
• Photos must be high resolution, at least 300 dpi.
  
  
• Photos must be sent electronically as email attachments or placed on a CD, DVD or flash drive and delivered to room 3624-S at FSA headquarters.
  
  
• They must be identified clearly with the photographer’s information and the location of photo (state and county). Complete captions describing the image are also required.
  
  
• People appearing in the photos must be named and their signatures acquired on an FSA/USDA official photo release form. The form can be downloaded from the FSA intranet or requested from AskFSAInternal.

Each month, OEA’s team of public affairs specialists will select the best photo from the month’s submissions. The photographer will be sent an FSA baseball cap signed by a USDA, FFAS or FSA leader.

Here are some of the categories that interest OEA the most: people (ranchers, farmers, farm families, mill and gin employees, etc.); crop fields; ranch and farm buildings and homes; close-ups of grain and fiber; orchards; livestock; pets and children; disaster aftermath; drought consequences; equipment and hardware; and events, such as state fairs and tradeshows. Special kudos will go to any photographer who captures someone wearing clothes or a hat with the new FSA logo.

All photos posted in the FSA Media Gallery will be available for newspapers, magazines, Web sites and television stations to use with their stories about agriculture. Consider adding a unique image to the gallery; you will be able to proudly point to it as another way you have made a difference at FSA.