Photography Contests.

[ChiSoxKeith]

First up, I realize that for the past couple of months, the weekly photo contest has not been running as smoothly as things have in the past. rtphokie did a much, much better of being consistent about it.

I appreciate the fact that my inbox hasn't been filled up with complaints, although it should have been.

I'm going to spend today cleaning up the 2011 photo contest sticky so all the winners are correctly posted.

2012 will run, much smoother, and if it is not, please hold me accountable for it. I've added a couple of new topics to the list to freshen things up a bit, and two of them are GAURENTEED to get me lots of hate mail, but so be it. Well, the first week is going to be Feb 20 -26: Black & White. I know that B&W photos are allowed in the contest rules, but I would like to see a week where all the shots have undergone the B&W conversion process. The second controversial week will be July 23-29: Disney in HDR. I know some people don't like HDR because it's overprocessed, but I've seen some nice pictures in HDR and would like to see what the creative people around here can do with Disney in HDR.

Without further ado, here is the Contest Schedule for 2012.

January

• Your Best Shot taken in 2011 (Jan 2 – 8)
• Motion (Jan 9 – 15)
• Symmetry (Jan 16 – 22)
• Disney In the Details (Jan 23 – 29)
• Wish I Was There (Jan 30- Feb 5)

February

• Live Entertainment (Feb 6 – 12)
• Love (Feb 13 – 19)
• Black & White (Feb 20 – 26)
• On Ride Photography (Feb 27 – Mar 4)

March

• Monorails (Mar 5 – 11)
• Disney Mountains (Mar 12 – 18)
• Villains (Mar 19 – 25)
• Artsy Fartsy (Mar 26 – Apr 1)

April

• The Fab Five (Apr 2 – 8)
• Princesses (Apr 9 – 15)
• Live Animals (Apr 16 – 22)
• International Flower & Garden Festival (Apr 23 – 29)
• Main Street, USA (Apr 30 – May 6)

May

• Tomorrowland (May 7 – 13)
• Fantasyland (May 14 – 20)
• Frontierland (May 21 – 27)
• Adventureland (May 28 – Jun 3)

June

• Hollywood Studios (Jun 4 – 10)
• Animal Kingdom (Jun 11 – 17)
• EPCOT Future World (Jun 18 – 24)
• EPCOT World Showcase (Jun 25 –Jul 1)

July

• Fireworks (July 2 – 8)
• Star Wars Weekends (July 9 – 15)
• Disneyland (July 16 – 22)
• Disney in HDR (July 23 – 29)
• Disney Transportation (July 30 – Aug 5)

August

• Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon (Aug 6 – 12)
• Architecture (Aug 13 – 19)
• Merchandise & Downtown Disney (Aug 20 – 26)
• Parades (Aug 27 – Sept 2)

September

• Disney at Night (Sep 3 – 9)
• Restaurants, Food, and Drink (Sep 10 – 16)
• Look Up (Sep 17 – 23)
• Cast Member Appreciation (Sep 24 – 30)

October

• Weather (Oct 1 – 7)
• Signs, Signs, Everywhere are Signs (Oct 8 – 14)
• Coming and Going (Oct 15 – 21)
• Color (Oct 22 – 28)
• Halloween (Oct 29 – Nov 4)

November

• Why did you take a picture of that? (Nov 5 – 11)
• Relax, you are on Vacation (Nov 12 – 18)
• A Different Perspective (Nov 19 – 25)
• Hidden Mickeys (Nov 26 – Dec 2)

December

• New in 2012 (Dec 3 – 9)
• Christmas at the Resorts (Dec 10 – 16)
• Christmas at the Parks (Dec 17 – 23)
• Post Card Photos (Dec 24 – Dec 30)

 

[JoeDif]

I think the 2 new topics are really good ideas!! So how far can we go with the B & W conversion? Is only a simple conversion allowed or can we use programs such as Nik Silver Effects or Topaz B & W Effects?

Thanks

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I just wanted to thank you for doing these contests. It is a lot of work. I don't compete every week, but they are a lot of fun to look at.

Looking forward to next year!

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

I think the 2 new topics are really good ideas!! So how far can we go with the B & W conversion? Is only a simple conversion allowed or can we use programs such as Nik Silver Effects or Topaz B & W Effects?

Thanks

As you can tell by the way I've been running things I'm not going to nit pick. If people think that the photographer went too far, then simply don't vote for it. There aren't any prizes on the line. So how far you go with B&W is how far you decide to go with it.

 

[JoeDif]

As you can tell by the way I've been running things I'm not going to nit pick. If people think that the photographer went too far, then simply don't vote for it. There aren't any prizes on the line. So how far you go with B&W is how far you decide to go with it.

Cool....Thanks

 

[boBQuincy]

No hate mail, no complaints! You are giving your time and effort to do this and I appreciate that! The two new weekly themes are welcome, they may open up the entries to more personal expression.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

No hate mail, no complaints! You are giving your time and effort to do this and I appreciate that! The two new weekly themes are welcome, they may open up the entries to more personal expression.

Ah, there are more than two new themes.

Just two that I thought would be controversial.

The new themes (as compared to 2011) are....

• Love (Feb 13 - 19)
• Black & White (Feb 20 - 26)
• On Ride Photography (Feb 27 - Mar 4) (there used to be one called Rides, but I'm being more specific)
• The Fab Five (Apr 2 - 8)
• Internation Flower & Garden Festival (Apr 23 - 29) (there have been flowers & trees before)
• Disneyland (July 16 - 22)
• Disney in HDR (July 23 - 29)
• Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon (Aug 6 - 12)
• Parades (Aug 27 - Sep 2)
• Coming & Going (Oct 15 - 21)
• Color (Oct 22 - 28)
• Hidden Mickeys (Nov 26 - Dec -2)
• New in 2012 (Dec 3 - 9)

 

[ThurlFan]

You'll get nothing from me but a huge thank you for all this work. And I'm excited for some of the new categories!

 

[hjd0411]

Couldn't agree more about all the work you put in!! Thank you for doing it.
Looking forward to 2012!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ditto CSKeith. Thanks for all the work you've put in this year on the contests.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

No problems with anything Keith. Thank you for all your time and effort!

Terry

 

[rtphokie]

I like the idea of the B&W and HDR weeks. Dont worry about the negative comments, it's good to keep mixing things up some. There are still plenty of time tested topics to keep the purist happy.

 

[NLD]

Thanks for your work on this!

I hardly ever enter but usually look at the contest entries each week.

The new categories are great--all of them. They offer a new way of looking at Disney and keep it fresh. LOVE them.