As the administrator of Canada’s busiest serial photo contest website, I meet a lot of innovative shutterbugs, art directors, designers, photo editors, and online magazine owners. When I come across people that I think are really interesting, I usually invite them to become Judges on Lenzr.  Do you know someone who should be a Judge? email Contact at Lenzr dot com
Here’s a complete List of the Lenzr Judges on board our panel ready to be the final arbiters in the four April / May 2011 challenges,

1.    Marc Gendron  of  In The Eye of The Lens
2.    Chris Kovacs  of  Adore Noir black and white online magazine
3.    Matt Zielinski -  of  Canadian Photographer online magazine and discussion forum.
4.    Jacques Surveyer – Canada Blog Friends profile, Pics of Canada

New Judges,

1.    Taku Kumabe aka Smaku, world class art director and recent Lenzr prize winner
2.    Bill Watson -  aka Ve3bnw, owner of a cool aerial photography business
3.    Debbie Watson – otherwise known as Mommakoala, veteran Lenzr participant
4.    Richard Carmichael of FRANK Ideas and Execution

Chris Kovacs, Adore Noir

Chris Kovacs is the west coast photographer behind Dark Shutter who recently started his own mass media project, Adore Noir black & white photography magazine to celebrate new and outstanding b&w photography. The journal is a high-quality online publication of fine art photography, and a source of inspiration to photographers and other individuals interested in the niche.

Marc Gendron runs In The Eye of The Lens

In the eye of the lens is start-up discussion forum about photography made by friends for friends. Its brand new and just finding its feet and Lenzr hopes to foster growth. We know what’s its like to start out with a new idea and nothing else… starting a web property is like settling new land and planting new crops, but instead of axes and shovels we’re using keyboards and command code.

Matt Zielinski runs Canadian Photographer

Matt Zielinski  runs Canadian Photographer magazine and discussion forum.

Taku Kumabe is an art director

Taku Kumabe recently won the Making Green Power photo contest on Lenzr and received a portable solar generator as reward. He’s very happy with this prize because it nicely compliments his double life as outdoor adventurer and road warrior.

Taku is a traveler and respected art director for a trade magazine. He is very good at his job, but loves to get away and unplug…  Of course now he’ll be plugging into his new Escape 150 Solar Power Generator to charge his many devices. The device supplies power via USB, 12V and AC outputs.

Bill Watson, aerial photography

Bill has enjoyed photography for over 40 years. His multiple interests in the art form led him to become a very versatile photographer that’s good at getting effects and really good at moving the camera… Currently, Bill likes to shoot landscapes, and wildlife he finds therein. He likes candid shots, but executes portraits and commercial product photos too.  Bill has every reason to be confident and even proud of his abilities – he’s combined his two passions; 1) his love of aviation (he’s a licensed amateur pilot) and 2) photography have merged into a new artform, Remote Control Helicopter Aeriel Photography.

Bill and his wife Debbie (Mommakoala) both view photography as the ability to capture fleeting moments of life that can be enjoyed and treasured for decades to come.  Bill Watson is the owner of very cool aerial photography business.  This mad scientist’s high angle pictures have been featured in the Hamilton Spectator, Toronto Sun, Fallsview Hotel Niagara Falls, Snap Hamilton, and Daily Planet (… hey, isn’t that where Clark Kent works?).

Bill Watson  is the prolific Lenzr member Ve3bnw and with much applause here in the office, he’s been appointed as Judge in the upcoming session . Years ago he won a Blackberry Bold smart phone in the Crowded Places photo contest. I’ve been on Bill’s side ever since he tagged along with his wife Debbie on her Locaboire wine tour prize package; Bill took great shots of the wine ladies at the local Prince Edward Co wineries we visited that day.

Debbie Watson is Mommakoala

Mommakoala is a veteran contester and participant – she has a dedicated following and a good eye for pictures. She’s the judge that’s been promoted to Lenzr nobility ‘from the ranks’, if you will.

You might remember seeing Debbie on Lenzr last month in the Unlikely Marriage photo contest. I find this picture doubly ironic that Bill Watson her husband would submit it.  These two make quite a pair!

Debbie is a health care worker in Hamilton and multiple Lenzr contest winner. She’s won three contests.  Debbie won a Locaboire wine tour, 50 lbs of chocolate from Chocolicks, and $200 gift certificate from Kanetix. (She’s tied with Slimmswitch for being the winningest member) .

Debbie maintains the Canadian National Autism Foundation (CNAF) blog and that’s a good cause. She’s got a big heart.

Richard Carmichael of FRANK  Ideas and Execution

Richard is a creative guy with a business brain. He’s a web designer, team builder  and problem solver.

FRANK Ideas and Execution is a no-nonsense interactive marketing and social media strategy boutique.

Prior to establishing Frank, Richard spent ten years sharpening his teeth as Creative Director at Creative House in Toronto where he did some excellent work for an impressive assortment of top tiered companies like CIBC, Club Monaco, Edward Jones, McMillan Binch, Nelvana, Revlon, and YTV.

More recently, Richard has been spearheading Frank’s migration into the realm of Web 2.0, social networking, analytics (SEM) and the possibilities created by next generation social innovation technologies. His mission is to identify the opportunities inherent in everything he sees, bring progressive ideas, innovative technologies and talented people together to connect and engage, affect positive change and create a better, smarter and healthier world.

These are the Lenzr Judges, ready to do their jobs on May 25th when they have to pick the very best pictures from four different Top Ten groupings.

Shiny metal is special to photographers. Its got sheen and luster, and comes galvanized, burnished and checker plate.  As pure elements, the metals make up most of the periodic table, and are used for a variety of electrical and mechanical purposes. And there’s no denying the allure of Shiny Metal Surfaces, Lenzr’s latest photo contest challenge. Show us shiny coins, hubcaps, bracelets, appliances, dishes, rails, pipes, and expensive art sculptures—your photo should be eye-catching and compelling, just like money.

What you need to know:

The criteria are pretty simple here: capture the shine of a metal surface and play jazz with it. Creativity earns comments here on Lenzr. Members enjoy viewing nicely composed, well-lit pictures, and one Judge in particular likes properly cropped images.

Kingspan Insulated Metal Panels are made for walls and roofs.

Insulated metal panels are an attractive, sustainable and economical building envelope solution popular with architectural, commercial & industrial and cold storage markets.

The Prize:

The Prize is a Sony Cyber-shot® H70  Digital Camera. This camera has 10x (25mm wide) optical zoom lens, 16.1-megapixel, Sweep Panorama Mode, HD Movie mode (720p), 3.0″ LCD, iAuto mode, Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization. It even has a cool motion detection feature.

The contest begins April 1, 2011. Voting begins May 15, 2011 and ends May 25, 2011, after which the Top Ten user-ranked photos advance to Judges. Winners announced June 1, 2011.

The onset of an immense storm can be a source of great inspiration to artists. Legendary Canadian painter Tom Thomson is reported to have furiously sketched the preliminary design of The West Wind as a formidable storm began to stretch over Lake Algonquin. Storm imagery is symbolic and powerful—primal, a force of nature itself and a reminder that we are survivors who have learned to co-exist with what the environment is capable of raining upon us. For the Weather the Storm contest, capture the essence of your land, your human condition and the effect Mother Nature’s fury has on both.

Storm chasers look to the skies!

Your wide shot should leave viewers in awe of Nature’s symphony. Show us rain storms, blizzards, wind and hail! Be sure to protect your camera—a simple way to do this is to place it in a Ziploc bag with a hole cut out for the lens.

Tough Roof is a perfect and permanent commercial roofing solution. It’s the last roof your building will ever need.

The Toughroof hot asphalt roof systems, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an innovative product thats similar to a rubberized asphalt coating, but far more ingenious.  As seen on HGTV, Toughroof’s Build Up Roof Systems (BUR) use several layers of hot asphalt and reinforcing materials that combine to make the longest lasting commercial roofing system on the market today.

The Prize is a Sony Cyber-shot® H70  Digital Camera.

This camera has 10x (25mm wide) optical zoom lens, 16.1-megapixel, Sweep Panorama Mode, HD Movie mode (720p), 3.0″ LCD, iAuto mode, Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization. It even has a cool motion detection feature.

The contest begins April 1, 2011. Voting begins May 15, 2011 and ends May 25, 2011, after which the Top Ten user-ranked photos advance to Judges. Winners announced June 1, 2011.

Spring is here, and Canadians everywhere are outside getting ready for nice weather. The more fortunate families are preparing their cottages for precious summertime retreats, away from their jobs, the city and urban life.  Everyone loves to get away now and then, and most of us record our best memories with digital cameras.

Get out your scrapbooks and find your Best Cottage Moments and share images that capture the warmth, refreshing and relaxing memories of cottage life.

There are cottages all over Canada, not just in Muskoka, Ontario

Upload pics of your grandmother kayaking with your niece on the French River, or your uncles playing water polo or catching fish off the dock in Kenora.  Show us children absorbing the fun with no worries of school.   Submit shots of barbecue pits filled with family and friends eating hamburgers, or try to get night shots of fireworks and midnight deck parties against moonlit lakes.

The sponsor is a fantastic Muskoka cottage that’s come to market in a private sale. This spectacular destination was created for families to relax and enjoy nature.   Show us people fishing, reading, and doing yoga on the dock.   Capture the joy that Canadians find in their homes away from home, and write a sentence or two highlighting some details about the event in the photograph.

The Prize is a Sony Cyber-shot® H70  digital camera.

This camera  has 10x (25mm wide) optical zoom lens, 16.1-megapixel, Sweep Panorama Mode, HD Movie mode (720p), 3.0″ LCD, iAuto mode, Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization. It comes with a cool motion detection feature perfect for the cottage life.

Contest Deadlines

The contest begins April 1st 2011 and the voting begins May 15th 2011.  The voting ends May 25th 2011 and the top ten ranked photos will advance to Judges. The contest officially ends June 1st 2011 with the announced winners.

Contest open to all Canadians age 13+ excluding Quebec

Open your refrigerator and take a really good look at what’s hanging around in there. Search for interesting food matters and photo compositions coloured with cold cuts, condiments and leftover chicken dinners. Lenzr hopes to peek inside your fridge and nourish its members with glimpses of your own gourmet art. Show us stories from the shallows of fast food living, or glimpse the depths of good nutrition and an active lifestyle.

What’s in the Fridge photo contest is a fantastic opportunity to get creative with your camera in the kitchen.  Let’s face it, the fridge is the place where people gather at a party.  Its a social magnet. Step outside the box and consider how to make your fridge look ridiculously appealing, or unappetizing or beautiful or ugly.  What do you do right after you go grocery shopping? Do you arrange your fridge? Is there a pattern based on expiry dates? or the order of estimated consumption? Or is it just a question of finding space? Show Lenzr an artistic arrangement of groceries in a living breathing refrigerator.

Click Clip Deals is the New Best Choice For Printable Coupons

Check out ClipDeals printable coupons in Canada. The company has recently developed social coupons that are built to share.  These coupons are developed to travel the internet and get in front of your customers.

ClipDeals is a network that rewards members for distributing amazing coupon deals on hundreds of websites, blogs, contests and social networks with award points and prizes.

The Prize is $500 shopping spree in a local supermarket. This is a great prize to win, so that you can keep your fridge and belly full of nourishment. From now until June 1st the stage is set; this contest on Lenzr is ready to receive images snapped from inside refrigerators.
Contest begins  April 1st 2011
Voting begins    May 15th 2011
Voting ends       May 25th 2011     Top Ten advance to Judges
Contest ends    June 1st 2011 .     Contest open to all Canadians age 13+