Lunchables aren’t going to win this contest. Those shrink wrapped plastic coated instant meals made of processed bread, soda biscuits, preserved meats and cheeses are hardly the proper sustenance for growing children.

Most ready-made lunches claim good nutrition, but carefully scrutiny often reveals penny pinching practices that reduce antioxidant or overall health impact.  Cranberry cocktail is mostly red apple juice for example.  In the U.S., the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign (a movement to combat child obesity at a national level) has sparked controversy. Sarah Palin was quoted saying that Let’s Move is “…the government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician’s wife priorities. Just leave us alone, get off our back and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track.” She went on to say “[W]hat she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat.”

Lenzr’s Lunch for Kids photo contest is looking for submissions depicting wholesome and well-rounded lunches suitable for growing minds and bodies. Never mind politics–what kind of lunch do you think is healthy enough to nourish children, while at the same time being enjoyable enough for them to eat? What lunchtime traditions are included? Is there a favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunchbox? Does Mom or Dad include an embarrassing (but secretly appreciated) note on a napkin with a line of ‘XOXOXO’s? Is there a lunchtime staple, like an apple?

Onyx makes non-plastic lunch containers

Located in Vancouver British Columbia, Onyx specializes in non-plastic food storage containers, including plenty of unique stainless steel kitchenware items, especially their ice cube trays and lunch containers. Their stainless steel catalogue is really quite impressive; if have a stainless steel kitchen then you’ve probably already been to their website.

The winner of this contest will receive $250 worth of stainless steel products from Onyx’s catalog –it’s your choice– with free shipping anywhere in Canada.

This is high-quality, long-lasting kitchenware that’s easier to clean, more hygienic, and won’t leak pollutants into your food – also this stuff holds its value while almost all other kitchenware loses value over time. Onyx even has stainless steel popsicle makers; they are a Canadian company who were inspired through their own children to create food and drink containers that were safe, resilient and healthy.

This contest began November 1, 2011. Voting starts December 15, after which the top ten user-ranked photos advance to judging on December 25. The winning photograph will be announced January 1, 2012.  Contest valid in both the United States and Canada.

Another well-timed challenge, Lenzr’s new House for Renovation photo contest is looking for submissions of worn out homes. With Halloween swiftly approaching, run-down manors are in great demand for hay ride and haunted house season–so seek out the shrieking shacks in your neighbourhoods and you could win a pad of your own, an iPad, that is. Show us broken windows, sagging eaves troughs, sliding shingles and peeling paint, caved in porches, outdated siding, and awnings held in place by lopsided supports. The house you photograph doesn’t necessarily need to be an abandoned home, but your photograph should definitely illustrate a need for fix-ups or improvements, if not a bulldozer.

This is a fun contest with a lot of great imagery potential. In Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, romantic leads George and Mary fall in love outside an old abandoned home where George talks about lassoing the moon for Mary, then throws a rock through the old house, making a wish as he does. Mary protests at first, saying “Don’t, I love that old house,” before throwing her rock and making a silent wish.  And, although George responds with “I wouldn’t live in it as a ghost,” that’s precisely what happens; on their wedding night Mary reveals that “This is what I wished for,” as rain pours through the roof into their new living room. Old houses often have a romantic, or creepy or just plain fascinating appeal to them. Try to capture the energy of the house in your photograph–what do you know about the house? Who used to live there? What do you imagine went on inside?

The Calum Ross Team Takes Your Financial Goals Seriously

The Calum Ross Team is a Toronto mortgage broker with a simple but powerful goal: to be the best in the business. They cover the market so customers don’t have to, providing immediate access to over 30 lenders including Scotia Bank, Bank of Montreal and President’s Choice Financial. The Calum Ross team works their hardest to accommodate the desires and needs of their clients; this, combined with expert knowledge of the Canadian financial markets, results in superior education (Calum Ross puts extra emphasis on explaining to clients all their different financial options) and of course, advice.

The prize is an Apple iPad 2, courtesy of our generous sponsor. This contest started October 1, 2011. Voting begins on November 15, after which the top ten user-ranked photos advance to the Lenzr judges. The winning photograph will be announced on December 1, 2011.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of bread in our daily lives. Evidence of prehistoric bread from 30,000 years ago has been found in Europe.  Bread remains among the top ten foodstuffs consumed all over the world today. From Calabrese bread in Italy to Challah bread at Hanukkah to baguettes from a boulangerie in Paris to the rotis of India, nearly every culture on the planet celebrates bread, in their diet, and in their daily lives.

In ancient times it was sometimes difficult to get the bread to rise. The  most common method of leavening was to retain a piece of dough from the previous day to use as a form of sourdough starter.  Other procedures included leaving the bread dough uncovered on the table all week and hoping airborne yeasts would settle on the uncooked flour dough exposed to air for some time before cooking. Pliny the Elder reported that the Gauls and Iberians used the foam skimmed from beer to produce “a lighter kind of bread than other peoples.” That was how they introduced yeast. Parts of the ancient world that drank wine instead of beer used a paste composed of grape juice and flour that was allowed to begin fermenting, or wheat bran steeped in wine, as a source for yeast.

Lenzr’s Our Daily Bread photo contest celebrates the bread maker’s art. Submit wide shots or close-ups, interior or exterior pictures containing bread. Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, and predates agriculture; that kind of longevity is no accident, perhaps there is a bit of the divine in bread, that most ancient player in the history of human sustenance. Try to capture the historical and cultural importance of bread in your photograph–it’s not just bread, it’s life, energy, health, hope for the future and a link to the past.

ShaSha Organic combines ancient techniques with innovative methods to produce nutritious and wholesome breads.

ShaSha Bread Co.’s organic sourdough breads are made with the finest organic ingredients. ShaSha is a trailblazer in the Canadian bread industry, and the only bakery in Canada awarded the National Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program grant. The breads, many of which contain grains sprouted in ShaSha’s eco-friendly facility, are 100% organic, easily digestible and delicious. Wheat-free options are included. ShaSha Bread Co. was also featured in a three part video series for The Globe and Mail.

The Prize is a breadmaking machine that comes courtesy of Shasha Bread Co. organic ingredients estore. Virtually every ingredient included in ShaSha’s products is also sold separately in this handy online destination, full of the best breadmaking foodstuffs to help people practice their own breadmaking arts at home.

RULES / TIMELINE The contest works like any other Lenzr match – it’s a sixty day challenge. Upload your pictures to the index now, and right up until November 25th, 2011. It’s recommended that you promote your pictures when voting begins Nov 15, 2011 to get into the Top Ten grouping. Judges pick from the Top Ten images that are locked down on the 25th of November at 12:01 am when voting ends–the winner is announced Dec 1, 2011. Must be 13 yrs of age or older to enter. Contest is valid anywhere in North America.

We’re hoping to see pillowcases full of submissions in Lenzr’s latest photo contest, Homemade Halloween Costume, set to run through the October-November session. Halloween is a great North American tradition for many reasons. It’s unpretentious, and pulls people out of their own shoes and into the shoes of…whoever you want to be for a day–suddenly, cities are full of Supermans milling around downtown with briefcases. It’s a chance to bond with people from work, get together with friends for a party or interact with the community through contributing a Jack-O-Lantern and candy for the kids in your neighbourhood. Halloween is also a chance to connect with the darker, more mysterious side of human nature–it’s literally the only day on the calendar on which witches, goblins, vampires and devils are free to roam in their ‘natural states’–and it’s important to acknowledge that darker side exists, if only for twenty four hours.

How many years have you, at the beginning of October, told yourself you’d put a lot of effort into your Halloween costume and then fallen short, Googling “creative Halloween costume ideas” at the last minute and lamenting throwing away that faux-fur jumpsuit you could have used for your Chewbacca costume? How many years have you ended up as just a guy in a mask or a girl in bunny ears or, worst of all, yourself? That’s facetious; no one has to participate in Halloween if they don’t want to, but if you do, and if you want to impress your friends and win ‘Best Costume’ at the shindig you’re going to, Lenzr’s Homemade Halloween Costume photo contest is here to help. Not only do we provide the incentive for making your own costume, we’re rewarding the best photograph with some serious party favours.

Jib.ca Connects Brands with Big Ideas that Sell

Jib.ca is a boutique marketing agency that develops Big Ideas for clients which are manifested through web sites, viral videos, online games, print advertising, direct mail, billboards, digital marketing and social media contests.

“Is your idea big enough?” Jib.ca asks clients. Jib is a team of artists, writers and designers who also happen to be marketing professionals. This formidable mashup of creativity and marketing prowess, along with an approach that combines traditional marketing with cutting-edge digital design makes Jib.ca an ideal choice when looking for help in directing your brand.

The prize for this contest is (trick) $250 in candy or (treat) $250 in cash–your choice. This contest started October 1, 2011. Voting begins on November 15, after which the top ten user-ranked photos advance to the Lenzr judges. The winning photograph will be announced November 1, 2011.

This just in: we have new winners for the August-September contest session. But first…

Special thanks to Darren from Spectacle in the Distillery, who graciously lent his aesthetic sense to Lenzr in the judging of our two August-September contests, A Manufacturing Process and Classy Summer Drinks. Spectacle is a funky shop that specializes in designer glasses and sunglasses so stylish they’d tempt someone with 20/20 vision to fake farsightedness.

The A Manufacturing Process photo contest was groundbreaking but not spectacular in terms of participation. It’s the prize structure that rewards three photographs in addition to the grand prize winner that breaks all previous boundaries. Though there were only 16 photos uploaded (due to the extremely specific and highly challenging theme) there was a lively conversation in the comments section. And at the end of the day, it opened some eyes on what it means to boost lean initiatives in manufacturing processes.

Winner: Plasma Torch by crazyhbx

Runner-Up: Parts by miguelesquirol

Here’s what some of the judges had to say about the winning shot:

“Nice catch! Capturing this image is not an easy feat. The blue-purple hue adds to the image.”

“This picture is captivating, not only for the colours and the clarity but also for the action.”

“I love the purple colours, lens flare and the comet tail–it really shows the machinery in action.”

Congratulations, crazyhbx, you’ve won the $250 prize and photo licensing agreement with the contest’s lean manufacturing sponsor!

Three other photos, selected by the sponsor, win $75 and photo licensing agreements, and they will be announced as soon as possible.

Thanks to all the Lenzr users who participated and especially to those who flagged users who may be foreigners (which is contrary to contest rules). One chap named InTheSpot1 turned out to be a nice guy from Pennsylvania, and he replied to my polite inquiry with the following email:

Mr. Campbell,
First off, I love the website! I love the photos that I get to take for work and was so excited to see two contests that catered to my type of photos that I did not read the terms of use as closely as I should have, only the rules. I am sorry for any trouble this may have caused. I understand you will have to remove the images from the website. I would love to be featured on your blog. We have a long and interesting story, detailing an ongoing journey of small town manufacturing. I will get you some new photos and an approved write up. Once again, even though I won’t be able to enter I look forward to watching the site and voting! Have a great day!

Do you happen to know of any websites like yours in the states?
Jason Sakal

Sadly I had to delete Jason’s pics and I didn’t even save them before I deleted them because I reckoned he was going to send more. He hasn’t yet, but if he does I will post them here.

Bill Watson, the legendary ve3bnw on Lenzr and veteran Judge, who runs a wicked cool aerial photography service emailed me and submitted photos privately, which are excellent, and which I will display here:

One of these will be licensed to Solarsoft as well to pay homage to Bill Watson who has always been such an avid supporter of Lenzr.

Next,

Onyx Containers:

The Classy Summer Drinks challenge was perfect for food and beverage  photographers to shoot a delicious looking alcoholic drink (or a non alcoholic drink) in summertime conditions, and serve up their picture with a dash of story.

Winner: Berry Fizz by seattledredge
Runner-Up: Caesar to Please by kevyn2992
Here’s what some of our judges had to say about the winning photograph:

“Seattledredge’s picture is simple, clear. My eyes were returning to it constantly and as tammyschmidt wrote, ‘I really want to drink it.’ Alluring.”

“Great job with its simplicity. It gives all attention to the drink, which is what is needed in this. The colours pop out at you, and who doesn’t love a great blueberry drink in the summer? It’s nice and bright, colourful, and makes me want to grab one and drink it myself.”

“Cool, fruity and effervescent, this drink is sure to refresh on a hot summer day.”

Congratulations to seattledredge, you’ve won $400 in stainless steel kitchenware and ice cube trays courtesy of our sponsor. And congratulations to everyone else who participated in this contest; in terms of photo quality, this may have been Lenzr’s most successful photo contest ever!

Back in the Colonial Times, the annual harvest would employ almost every able bodied person and occupy the minds of everyone in the community. The annual crop gathering dominated the calendar and was marked with parades, bake sales, and agricultural exhibits in fall fairs. The autumn occasion was a happy time.

Harvest is still celebrated with some reverence in small towns across Canada because these grassroots farm families are still the biggest stakeholders; they still depend on the harvest for their livelihood, and of course to some extent we all depend on their harvest for ours…

Depending on where you live in Canada, the season comes at different times and means different things. If you live in downtown Toronto, it won’t mean much, except local produce especially sweet corn is cheaper in the supermarket, but if you are living in Tilsonburg it will mean the tobacco harvest, and in Bala its time to pick the cranberries. In Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick they dig potatoes from red earth and in Kenora they harvest the finest wild rice. Show us these seasonal gatherings.

Nora Camps of Duo.ca is a brand strategy consultant for charitable foundations and not for profit organizations. She specializes in executing agricultural theme marketing initiatives for a brighter future on a greener planet. Over time she has articulated to me, and indeed demonstrated to me the power of her ‘high fidelity storytelling’, and how she uses print collateral and events to build an organization’s character. Adding the power of Lenzr photo contests to her already potent mixture of crowd sourcing and story gathering is a winning combination to create trans-media awareness for Duo.ca and Nora Camp’s unique brand personality consulting services.  On her website, Nora writes,

The process of revitalizing and the ongoing effort to maintain brand energy need not be expensive, but it does need to be conscious and purposeful. Think: Brand Personality.
Be unforgettable.   Let’s journey together.
Take a dose of brand proposition, brand story and brand culture and add a dash of WOW! and you will have brand personality. Add a triple bottom line for good measure. Your brand will not only be unstuck, it will be beloved, chosen first and retained.

Photo by Joe Wright while visiting the Strathcona Farmer's Market, Edmonton

The winning picture will be chosen by Nora Camps from the Top Ten user ranked images on Oct 26th 2011 . It will immediately be celebrated as the winner on the Lenzr blog and the photographer that uploaded this gem will be contacted, in due course, and offered an exclusive licensing agreement.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – the photo does not have to include humans. The photo does not have to be set in ‘autumn’ season. The picture should however be exterior and be wide angle and show some crop being harvested in some interesting manner.

One image will be licensed, and Nora respectfully asks to be the sole Judge whose task it is to select this image from the Top Ten user ranked grouping.  Nora will give the photographer full credit and $400 for an exclusive license for perpetuity throughout the universe for the one photo she selects.

Let go over the contest timeline again. This challenge launched Sept 1st 2011. Voting begins Oct 15th, and ends Oct  25th 2011 when the Top Ten photos advance to Judges. Contest ends Nov 1st – winner announced on the Lenzr blog.  Any questions? Comments? Feedback of any kind? Let me know.

Windmills, solar fields, steel truss bridges, avant-garde sculptures can all seem like metal worlds in wide angle lenses.  All-metal scenes usually evoke a nearly black-and-white ambiance devoid of organic life–and those are exactly the kinds of submissions Lenzr wants to see in its latest photo contest, Metal World.

Think cinema noir and black and white depictions an almost mechanical look at the stories of humanity; these narratives trace through events that have already come to pass, attempting to draw meaning from the cold and inorganic scenery, and the impassive contact made with other human beings.

Magneto, the infamous antagonist of the X-Men movies was capable of manipulating metal to his every whim, ( in the first film he’s imprisoned in a plastic capsule )  he is unable to shape an exit because there is no metal . In this contest, Lenzr wants to see the opposite. Imagine you were able to move metals with the force of your mind–where would you go? What would you alter? What is your ideal metal world? This photo contest is not looking for the embraces of human contact; our judges are looking for the chilling imagery of metal beams and structures–just think of this challenge as having a science-fiction theme. Show us the contrast of light and dark, feeling and unfeeling!

The sponsor of this contest is Nuden Vinyl Products, a family-run business that specializes in Ottawa metal roofing. Nuden, having recently celebrated over thirty years in business, offers lifetime warranties and personalized services. Since aluminum is lightweight, yet strong and long lasting, this ensures less stress on the frame of your home, and, therefore, no need for future reinforcements.

The prize is a Sony laptop with a seriously cool metal cover.

This contest started on September 1, 2011. Voting starts on October 15, after which the top ten photos advance to judging on October 25. The winning photos will be announced November 1, 2011.

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Landscaping is an art form combining aspects of construction with the forces of nature. Lenzr’s timely new contest, Landscaping and Lawn Care, wants to see your submissions of nature as a canvas. Just as a painter blends colour on their palette, so too do skilled landscapers who may plant lavender with its delicate hints of muted green and purple underneath the rich burgundy of a Japanese Maple. Landscaping requires more than just getting on your hands and knees and working with the earth; the aesthetics of a beautiful lawn space require planning as well as pruning.

Colour, along with form, lines, scale and texture, are the basic elements of landscaping. There are many options to consider while planning your backyard oasis: will the plants be local or exotic? Will you incorporate non-organic materials, such as rocks or mirrors, into your space? Will your landscaping design serve a practical purpose, such as thick shrubbery intended to keep at bay the prying eyes of peeping toms?

Your photograph should tell a story to our judges. Why has your subject been designed the way it has? This photograph of a square in Oaxaca City, Mexico shows a plot of agave plants, significant because agave is the ingredient of regional drinks tequila and mezcal, aesthetically pleasing because the spiky appearance of the plant works nicely with the palm trees which share a similar shape. Show us a manicured landscape with a story behind it and you could win!

This photo contest is sponsored by The Grass Cutters, a cutting-edge property maintenance and landscaping company that also has the distinction of being the first clean air lawn service in Canada. The Grass Cutters epitomizes the term ‘lawn care’ with their 100% zero emissions, sustainable lawn care system powered by renewable energy. The Grass Cutters is a company that not only provides a first-class property maintenance service, it also sets a standard that benefits the planet we live on; “We believe that being environmentally friendly should start with your front lawn,” says the company’s website.

The winner of this contest can get environmentally friendly in their own front lawn with $250 worth of battery operated landscaping tools. This is a great prize for gardeners or anyone looking to get their hands and knees into their own little plot of land. Regardless of whether or not your thumb is already green, this is a prize that will make it greener.

This contest begins September 1, 2011. Voting begins October 15, 2011, after which the top ten user-ranked images advance to the Lenzr judges on October 25, 2011. The winning photograph will be announced November 1, 2011.

The weekend is almost upon us and we wanted to update you on the progress of the contests.

The July/August 2011 session has been one of Lenzr’s most successful cycle ever. The number of photos and votes uploaded has been incredible and we are very happy with the participation levels. The more photos uploaded the more valuable Lenzr is as a story telling social media tool.

Fireplaces and Furnaces was an extreme challenge. It was about being creative and finding the right flame. It took contestants a lot of dedication and creativity to reach the top ten. Even though the Fire Places and Furnaces photo contests only had 27 entrees, it received over 530 votes. The online promotion for the photographs has been incredible.

Toronto Bed and Breakfast came to us after a lunch discussion in the office. With tourists around every street corner, this was the best time for this contest to launch. We felt this challenge would be fun and engaging, with 49 entrees and almost 1000 votes, we are confident that contestants agreed with us and had a blast snapping images around the city.

Haircuts and Hair Styles is a special contest because we don’t often have fashion related themes on our website. We wanted to see the best images of blunt, layered or styled hair. Participants eagerly accepted the challenge; the contest received 56 entrees and almost 800 votes. The Haircuts and Hair styles top 10 photographs showcase different funky haircuts.

The main goal of Objects in Motion is making an object look like they are zooming through a shot. This is the most successful contest we have ever had on Lenzr. Objects in Motion received 157 entrees and over 3,500 votes. This contest is very important to Lenzr because it lets us know what our participants enjoy and what they want to see more of. Thanks to everyone who participated or voted for the contests. We enjoy checking out your photographs and seeing them rise to the top. We do have two contests on the Lenzr website that you can still get involved in, make sure to check them out and discuss them on our forum.

Good luck to all participants with Top Ten photos. Winners announced September 1st 2011 right here on the Lenzr Blog.

Lenzr’s newest photo contest launched just in time for the dog days of summer. We’ve never tried a photo contest specifically looking for ‘beverage photography’, and we thought the heat might give Lenzr members some inspiration; first, to create a colorful liquid concoction, and second, to practice your photography skills (for best results do your shooting before sampling the drinks). Make it look tasty!

There’s a reason that cold beer and sports games go hand-in-hand; could you imagine sitting through all those commercials without having a case on hand to quench your thirst? By the way, your submission doesn’t need to be an alcoholic beverage–it could be lemonade or a freshly blended fruit smoothie–the key here is the 140 character summery.

Show us cocktails, juices, martinis, caesars or daiquiris; treat your liquid canvas as a still life and move your ice cubes, olives or fruit with a toothpick until it’s picture perfect. You could even use Lenzr’s Classy Summer Drinks contest as an excuse to have friends over for a party, if an excuse to party is hard to come by as summer begins to hint at its inevitable end…

Onyx is committed to reducing the widespread use of plastic and believes that everyone should be able to buy safe and environmentally responsible products without breaking the bank.

The winner of this contest will receive $400 worth of stainless steel products from Onyx’s catalog –it’s your choice– with free shipping anywhere in Canada. This is high-quality, long-lasting kitchenware that won’t leak pollutants into your food and definitely won’t shatter. Onyx even has stainless steel popsicle makers; they are a Canadian company who were inspired through their own children to create food and drink containers that were safe, resilient and healthy.