Photography has always been a major part of the National Geographic publications. It sounds cliche but the first time I experienced the magazine was at the dentist’s office while i was a kid. As the oldest of my brothers, I always chose to be the last one to be ‘treated’. So there was lots of time to flip through the pages of whatever issues of the magazine were laying about.

With Instagram being the hottest thing of the moment, it’s natural to see the National Geographic use the photo sharing app as part of it’s projects. This spring National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will broadcast the insanely cool-looking ‘Untamed Americas‘, a four hour HD mini-series event spanning the Americas from Alaska to Patagonia.

To compliment the series, National Geographic Channels wants to see your pics of ‘Untamed Americas’ – just follow @natgeochannels on Instagram and submit your photo with the hashtag #UntamedAmericas between May 5, 2012 at midnight through June 18, 2012. Photos will be judged by host of Nat Geo WILD’s America the Wild Casey Anderson; landscape photographer and Instagram artist extraordinaire Cole Rise; and Cynthia Drescher, editor of the travel guide Jaunted.

Winners can receive prizes including a National Geographic camera bag filled with a Nikon D3100 SLR Digital Camera with 18-55mm VR & 55-200mm VR Lenses & basic kit, a Glif (a fantastic tool for iphoneography), a subscription to National Geographic Magazine, a National Geographic Channel Jacket, Hat, Water Bottle, Binoculars and Untamed Americas DVDs, and a limited edition signed print by Cole Rise.