The Auckland Festival of Photography's project Lantern invites visitors to the Lantern Festival in Auckland to capture the vibrant culture of the Chinese New Year celebrations with their cameras. It is estimated that the annual Lantern Festival on February 6 to 8 is photographed more than any other night time festival in Auckland.

Julia Durkin, Festival 2009, says "it's the best photo shoot at night, and we invite entries to an online exhibition during February. It will be created by the public, is a unique opportunity and a great way for people to show off their photos to the wider community. 2009 is the Year of the Lantern Blog."

Lantern is an opportunity for photographers; established, emerging, youth and novice to capture the many elements that come together to create this great spectacle of light and colour in Albert Park from February 6 to 8 and display it in a themed blog. The AsiaNZ Chinese Lantern Festival attracts over 100,000 people over three days.

Previous Lantern Festival images are also eligible. Participants in the blog will be asked to say how many photos they took overall so they can get an idea of the scale of the photographic documentation. Entries can be uploaded to the Auckland Photo Blog from February 1st and close on February 28. Online voting will allow people to vote for their favourites in a People's Choice. The blog prize is sponsored by Gravity "Official Coffee Sponsor" & project sponsor is AsiaNZ Foundation. The Auckland Festival of Photography is a highlight of the annual arts calendar; the festival is Auckland's only free three week arts and cultural festival, all over the region including Auckland City, Franklin District, North Shore City, Manukau City and Waitakere City.

Festival Dates are 29 May - 21st June 2009. Creative Exposure Festival 2009 is supported by ASIA NZ Foundation, Gravity "Official Coffee Sponsor", Heart of The City, Metrolink, North Shore City Council, Franklin District Creative Communities, Auckland City Creative Communities, Community Organisation Grants Scheme, Waitakere City Council, Olympus, and The ASB Community Trust. Image: Supper Star by Meng Cui (Sean) Media Release: Auckland Festival of Photography For media enquiries contact : Bev Goodwin or Julia Durkin, Festival Offfice on 307-7055. Email; bev.photofestival@xtra.co.nz 26/01/09