It’s finally here! A lot of hard work and coordination went into it but it’s finally here! We’re excited to introduce our first monthly CurrentPhotographer.com Photo Challenge.

We received a lot of feedback from our readers expressing interest in learning more about photography contests. We filled some of that need when we brought on Contributor
Avery Chantos who writes weekly about the latest photo contests from around the web. But that wasn’t enough, we wanted to take it to the next level. So we set out to create our own photo contest. We partnered with Wildfire to use their amazing photo contest application and connected with some great companies like AdoramaPix, Borrow Lenses, H&H Color Lab and onOne Software to sponsor the prizes. Contributor Ana Ramirez will be creating the contest theme and judging the contest along with
Joseph Cristina and a rotating 3rd judge. I’m going to coordinate the details for what I hope will be a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Unfortunately our Photo Challenge is only open to U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older as of February 1, 2011. We’re working on opening up the Photo Challenge to other countries in the future, but there are still a lot of details to be worked out.

We’ve put together a really great photo contest that we’re sure you’ll love. So without further ado, here’s the CurrentPhotographer.com Photo Challenge.

Photo Challenge – February 2011: Make the Ordinary Extraordinary: by Ana Ramirez

I love to travel. Visiting a new place can be so much fun and everything I see is new and interesting. However, there is no need to travel to an exotic location to find interesting things to photograph. There is beauty in everything around us if we simply take the time to notice it. Most of us are constantly seeing images everywhere we turn; colors, patterns, the way the light shines through a window.

Why not purposefully seek out the ordinary and try to find beauty in it as a way to expand your talents?

Here’s the challenge: pick a very mundane and ordinary object and photograph it – the challenge being that you have to make it extraordinary, beautiful and interesting. When shooting your ordinary object think about what makes it interesting: Does it tell a story? Can you conceal what it is by zooming in closely? Does your fascination with it say something personal about you? Is it more interesting in monochrome? Will you process it or leave it as shot straight from the camera?

Personally, I have a fascination with locks and doors. On those days when I need something to shoot there always seem to be interesting locks and or doors along the way. Usually the most worn and rusted locks are the most fascinating to me but sometimes it’s just the composition. Doors have the same effect and the ones that seem like someone has tried to break them down make me wonder what they are protecting. Or who was trying to get out? Many of my doors and locks are processed in black and white but recently I’ve been having fun with HDR software as well. Here are some examples to get you started:

Submission Period
You can submit your photo starting today, February 1, 2011 through February 20, 2011

Public Voting
Voting is open to everyone daily from February 1, 2011 through February 20, 2011. Be sure to invite your friends and family to vote for your photo once everyday during the submission period. The more votes your photo gets the higher it moves in the rankings. Photos with the most votes will be moved to the first page for our judges and everyone else to see.

Judges
Judges for the February 2011 Photo Challenge will be Ana Ramirez, Joseph Cristina and
Scott Wyden Kivowitz.

Judges Review
Starting February 21, 2011 through February 26, 2011, public voting will be turned off and our panel of judges will review the submissions. Even though the popular photos will be up front for our judges to see, they will pick the winners from the entire pool of submissions, just in case a gem slipped through the cracks.

Winners Announced
First, Second and Third place winners will be announced on February 28, 2011. All winners will be notified by email and prizes will be sent out shortly after.

Prizes
First Place Winner will receive a prize package worth $780 and includes:

• Full retail version of onOne Software’s Perfect Photo Suite 5.5
• $150 gift certificate from Borrow Lenses
• Credit for a 50 page 12″ x 12″ photo book from AdoramaPix

Second Place Winner will receive a prize package worth $418 and includes:

• Full retail version of onOne Software’s Photo Tools 2.6
• $100 gift certificate from Borrow Lenses
• Credit for a 26 page 12″ x 9″ photo book from AdoramaPix

Third Place Winner will receive a prize package worth $104 and includes:

• $50 gift certificate from Borrow Lenses
• credit for a 14 page 8″ x 8″ photo book from AdoramaPix
• Canon Special Edition Lens Mug from CurrentPhotographer.com

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Please see the Official Rules on the Photo Contest page for more information.

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Here’s how you can share your tips, techniques and tutorials on CurrentPhotographer.com

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Related Posts

1. Announcing The CurrentPhotographer.com Photo Challenge
2. Announcing Our February 2011 Photo Challenge Winners
3. Announcing Our March 2011 Photo Challenge Winners
4. Photo Challenge – March 2011: There’s No Place Like Home
5. Give it Your Best Shot – First Annual National Cherry Blossom Photo Contest