The Prize Winner – She Even Snaps Dalton McGuinty and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Christie S.,  known as username movieminx, from East York, works in Technical Services at Mars here in Toronto. She’s just won a Fuji XXX, in the Lenzr “Best Cottage Moments” photo contest. It’s quickly apparent when talking to Christie about the camera that her passion lies in photography. Describing herself as an avid photographer or “occasional professional,” Christie loves shooting portraits, weddings and events whenever she gets a chance. She even has snaps of Dalton McGuinty and Arnold Schwarzenegger in her portfolio.

Shutterbug by Nature

Christie is admittedly quite the perfectionist when it comes to taking photos. “My husband patiently waits for me to line up shots on vacation, and I’ll keep trying until I get that perfect shot of an iguana. That’s the beauty of digital! I can take hundreds of pictures to get that one great shot.” It’s not surprising that Christie is such a discerning photographer seeing as she comes from a long line of photographers. Her family owned a 1hr Moto Photo before Walmart, Costco and the digital age took over. “I’m a shutterbug: always have and always will be. I used to use up a roll of film every weekend back when it was still called film.”

This Camera Prize Would have Been Perfect to Get Photos of the Sex in The City Stars

A self-proclaimed “contester,” Christie browses the web for prizes she really wants to win. Christie entered the Lenzr photo contest after seeing a link on Facebook. “I’d originally seen a dance themed contest first, and then bookmarked it, keeping my eye out for another prize.” She once also won a trip to New York to see the Sex and the City II premiere. “This prize would have been great to have back then,” she says, “since I had a much lower zoom and was seated too far away to get a good shot of Sarah Jessica and Kim Cattrall.”

New Kids on The Block Concert Dream

The camera she won came in handy for the New Kids On The Block concert she saw shortly afterward in Toronto. She was dying to see them back in 1991 when she lived out West in Edmonton, but at the time her mother wouldn’t allow her go. However, on Thursday, June 9^th her dream was lived out, and with her 10x optical zoom Fuji camera by her side.

The Prize Winning Photo For Best Cottage Moments

The prize winning shot that won Christie a new camera, courtesy of a muskoka cottage, was taken at her family cottage on Moira Lake, which her family has owned since 1973.  It was taken using a telephoto zoom on a Canon 30D, which she had gotten a week before going to the cottage and was super excited to use. The winning picture came from a series of images of her cousin about to bail while wake boarding, and shows him contorting in mid air, with the lake water sprayed out into tiny droplets around him.  “It’s definitely not a re-creatable photo! It was totally a one time shot,” says Christie.

Votes from as far as England and Florida

After she had uploaded the pic to the contest, she had Facebook messaged her cousin telling him he’ll soon be famous. Looks like she was right, as her picture had a winning number of votes. How did she promote the contest photo to get so many votes? She says she spread word about her photo using Facebook, Twitter, tons of emails, and a family support group who sent the word out to their friends and networks, with votes apparently coming in from as far as England and Florida.

New Contests and Easy Voting System

When asked whether she’ll be entering again, her response was, “Absolutely yes! The thing I liked best about this contest is that it didn’t appear fixed. It didn’t take too much effort from friends, since it didn’t ask for them to register or create a password. I’ve entered photo contests before which required emails in order to vote. No one wants junk mail, so that was appreciated, and it made it easier for my friends and family to vote for me. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for new contest subjects and prizes on Lenzr.”

Andrew Blyskosz is Lenzr member Silversurfer71

Andrew is the big prize winner from the April-May 2011 photo contest series – this photographer took away two Sony Cybershot cameras!

Turns out he’s a video editor at Chorus Entertainment here in Toronto. He’s a witty guy, and a remarkably cool dude for someone who spends his life locked away in a sound proof box listening to cartoon characters and puppets talk to each other. That would drive me crazy. But fact is that Andrew is a very creative and imaginative photographer with serious skills, and lots of high quality friend power. He drives a hot car too, or actually its a cool car cause it’s a convertible, and when I met him in downtown Toronto on Tuesday 7th June 2011 it was perfect ‘top down’ weather.

Andrew is a natural networker. He knew what I looked like from reading this blog, but I didn’t know what he looked like.  So he found me at the rendezvous point and approached me with a smile and open arms like we were old friends. Friend power is required to get your pictures into the Top Ten of just about every featured Lenzr Photo Contest. Some people don’t like that fact, but there it is.

When there’s only five days left in the cycle, the voting ends and the Lenzr Judges deliberate over the best pictures in the Top Ten. That’s when art and skill and form really matters – with the introduction of the Judges, the best photos in the Top Ten now win the prizes.  Andrew won two contests!

Andrew tells me that he plans to give the second camera to his niece. And now that I’ve published that fact, he really can’t change his mind. He wouldn’t. He’s encouraging her pursuit of the arts and hopes the camera will stimulate her creativity.

The Shiny Metal Surfaces photo contest amassed 70 photos and 1323 votes

Silversurfer71′s picture  Cloud Gate – Millennium Park was a crowd favourite which proved most popular with the Judges too.

The Weather The Storm photo contest accrued 64 photos which attracted 1596 votes. It gave Lenzr contest marketers a perfect opportunity to talk about inclement weather and the safety and security of having a TOUGHROOF, which is the finest quality, most durable, and most cost effective commercial flat roof system here in Ontario, and all across Canada, at this time.

The winner was Rise of the Thunderhead by Silversurfer71

Above on the right is an image of a white flat roof here in Toronto after the storm. The white rubber asphalt surface is guaranteed for the life of the building.

From Sesame St. to Wall St., common counting exercises appear all around us. Have you ever woken up seconds before your alarm clock went off? Or guessed correctly the number of paces it takes you to get home from the bus stop? We are often unaware of how much tallying is actually going on inside our heads. Even people who claim disinterest in math may suffer from arithmomania (an offshoot of  OCD that creates in the sufferer an irrepressible need to count their actions or the objects in their surroundings). Do you ever count the number of tiles on the floor or ceiling? Cracks in the sidewalk? Cars in a traffic jam? Don’t worry, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going the way of Count von Count; what it does mean is you’re one step ahead of the competition in Lenzr’s latest contest: A Counting Exercise.

Count Von Count was constantly adding things up.

Counting things is a common behavioral theme, a sort of compulsion for someone with OCD. A compulsion is a behavior that is acted out in an attempt to quiet down the obessive thoughts. As such, it is typically an anxiety reducing behavior and that is why it is repeated so frequently. I’m not sure what obsession a counting compulsion might be compensating for ?  But the general pattern is that by acting out the behavior, people feel safer/better. So in this instance, Lenzr has therapeutic applications.

Archaeologists have calculated that humans have been counting things for over 50,000 years.

It is thought that the first method of counting was done with the fingers, then, in Stone Age cultures, tallies were used in trading goods and services. These days we count modern concepts like money, mileage and calories–though we retain some of our Stone Age roots when we look in the fridge and do a quick tally of its contents in order to determine what’s for dinner. Comedian Mitch Hedberg quipped, “I like rice. Rice is great when you’re hungry and want 2,000 of something.” Counting exercises are everywhere–there are literally countless possibilities for original submissions in this contest–and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Show us repeating patterns in a photo like people in crowds, riot police, lines on the highway, stars in the sky, reflections in a three-way mirror–the list, like numbers, is infinite. What could make this contest even more fun is if the photographer determines the numerical value of their shot and encourages Lenzr members to guess the total.

Cunningham LLP Chartered Accountants see Beyond Your Numbers

Cunningham LLP is a veteran team of Toronto accountants, a service orientated business with a personal touch. They are committed to working for the success of their mid-market entrepreneurial business clients in various lines of work. While their services cover a full range of  accounting, tax and business assurance and advisory services, they operate as more than just an accounting firm, taking responsibility for the future financial successes of their clients. Cunningham LLP is also the home of Mark Goodfield, The Blunt Bean Counter, the most interesting ‘accounting blog’ you’ll ever read.

Cunningham LLP was established in 1971 and each of their seven partners offers their own insights and expertise in realizing solutions for their clients–Cunningham works as a team, uncovering the possibilities and using the numbers to create a realistic vision for success. Their website is enriched by Cunningham-produced blogs and videos, further enhancing the element of personal touch these Toronto accountants provide for their clients.

The prize is a Sony laptop, a modern-day abacus.

Contest Schedule,

Contest begins   June 1st 2011
Voting begins    July 15th 2011
Voting ends        July 25th 2011          Top Ten advance to Judges
Contest ends      August 1st 2011        Winner announced on Lenzr blog.

This contest is open to all Canadians age 13 yrs or older, excluding Quebec.

This is the ghost photo contest. This lonely challenge has been haunting the Lenzr blog widget feeds for two months, but when you checked on the website, it didn’t appear in the line up.  It’s a mystery cruise, a whodunnit.  And now again it’s a ghost ship, set adrift in the night, a vessel without a sponsor to captain the storytelling. I remember how it all came about…

Lenzr is excited about summer in Canada. The clouds parted one day and it was warm outside. the Shafts of Sunlight photo contest triggers thoughts of summer fun exploring caves and crevices, old buildings and barns and dirty basement windows on really bright summer days. The inspiration for this contest came to us during a hard day at the office back in February. Let us paint you a picture of the gloomy start to that great ending day. It was raining and muggy outside. The offices of Lenzr are filled with beautifully detailed giant windows. We were all writing, clicking, and watching our computer screens. While our eyes were glued to our work, the rain stopped and rays of light creeped in through the windows to brighten the walls and hardwood floors . Rob was reminded of the beautiful Dutch paintings during the renaissance, and he will probably write about the Calling of St Matthew by Caravaggio? Is that right? But now we’re walking around with smiles on our faces because of the hot sun beaming in and the weather is finally becoming enjoyable. So I suppose its a celebration of the summer season.

The challenge is making a shaft of sunlight look solid. You want to make it look like a tangible object that you can reach out and hold in your hand. A talented photographer understands the task requires atmosphere. It’s not easy to photograph sunlight. And this is not about recording a sunny day, but rather an exercise in making sunlight tangible, and the true focus of the image.

Complete Home Concepts is a building contractor that specializes in the design / build of custom sunrooms and patio enclosures to bring sunlight into your domicile. They are experts at creating both residential and commercial sunrooms.

The prize is a Sony DSCH70 Camera (color subject to change) courtesy of a clever company.

HOW LENZR WORKS: There is a ten day Voting Period that begins July 15th and ends July 25th. During that time, people will be prompted to rate the pictures. The Top Ten photos advance to Lenzr Judges on July 25th – The winner is selected based on their preferences , their comments are often published in the Lenzr blog. The winner is announced in the Lenzr Blog on or before August 1st 2011. Good Luck! Contest open to all Canadians excluding Quebec (wink) Canada only – must be 13 yrs or older

An office party can be a lot of fun. It can be more awesome than a party with friends or a wedding occasion simply because it’s such a departure from the regular daily affairs that happen in the same space.  If you see the boss wheeling in a karaoke machine, or a DJ setting up in the lunchroom, you know what’s about to go down… It’s time to dim the lights, fire up the kitchen and find that stack of red plastic cups in the back of the stockroom closet from last year’s party—we’re looking for pictures of your Best Office Staff Party!

How does your office celebrate the good times? Do you have a dancing mascot pull people up onto a make-shift dance floor? Or perhaps a simple pot luck dinner? Are guests and spouses also invited to your company parties? Show us Christmas schmooze-fests and networking mixers, and Halloween theme parties in big offices are the best. James Bond theme is so cliche, but everyone has the costume.

This is a fun photo contest and we’re expecting to see a lot of humour in the submissions. Show us the perks and pitfalls of partying on the factory floor. Show us mild manner it staff, Javascript junkies, coders, developers, and Flash programmers stepping outside their shells and going crazy on the company’s dime. And remember, no one wants to be the person who had the most drinks at their staff party, but inevitably, someone’s got to do it. Please, just make sure that the subjects in your photo are okay with your entry before you submit it. We are NOT liable for any trouble you cause.

Stafflink IT Staffing Company Specializing in Recruiting, Placing and Staffing Technology Specialists

Stafflink is a Toronto IT staffing agency located right in the heart of downtown core. They are leaders in staffing IT analysts, developers, programmers and technical specialists in the GTA and beyond. Stafflink keeps at the front of the advancements in the technology industry, writing informatively on new tech topics on their interesting it staffing blog. If you’re looking for a job in IT, or hoping to hire technology talent for your company, look no farther than Stafflink.

The prize is a Sony laptop that’s perfect for information age vocational training.

Contest begins  June 1st 2011
Voting begins    July 15th 2011
Voting ends       July 25th 2011          Top Ten advance to Judges
Contest ends     August 1st 2011       Contest open to all Canadians age 13+

It’s summertime, and summer in the city means one thing for certain: construction season.                                                                              Four months of temperate weather is the perfect opportunity for general contractors to begin (and hopefully finish) large-scale construction projects. Construction sites/sights are ever-evolving; what’s there in the morning as you swerve bulldozers on your bike to work may be completely changed on the way home—you may not even be able to take the same route due to the giant, gaping hole the city workers drilled in your street while you were at your 9 to 5. Tell us a construction story from your neighbourhood—what’s being built? Where is it? Who’s building it and who are they building for? What tools are being used? How is it affecting the area?

The Construction Sights photo contest gives Lenzr members a great opportunity to capture history in the making. Thirty years from now all those mod turquoise condominiums lining Toronto’s waterfront will probably look as dated as wood paneling does today, so capture gargantuan cranes in motion, bulldozers or cement mixers creating new architecture. Alternatively, snap photos of the people involved—are there construction workers wearing yellow hardhats or is that a cliché? Construction is intense, manual labour that works up an appetite; show us a picture of a group of hungry workers enjoying their lunches together on site.

Nuden Vinyl Products is Ottawa’s Choice for Home Construction

This family-owned Canadian business has a 35-year reputation of honesty and unparalleled customer care in roofing, siding and windows and doors. The husband and wife team of Joseph and Laurianne Piquette run their business by three paragons: Quality, Value and Integrity.

Nuden, an award-winning company recognized by the Better Business Bureau and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, is the only supplier in the Ottawa area to offer the exclusive Super Magic® windows line. Their siding products come with the best warranties in the business, as do their Ottawa roofing systems, which, in 35 years of service have outperformed the competition time and time again.

The Prize is a Sony laptop, the perfect portable addition to your growing collection of technology. With their amazing battery life, you can take these laptops to work with you anywhere—even construction sites!

Contest begins  June 1st 2011
Voting begins    July 15th 2011
Voting ends       July 25th 2011          Top Ten advance to Judges
Contest ends     August 1st 2011        Contest open to all Canadians age 13+