It’s that time again! The latest round of Lenzr photo contests were a successful bunch, with over 100 entries combined. Watch Rob C. and Summer announce who the latest Lenzr winners are!

Lenzr’s Good Dental Habits photo contest asked members to upload submissions depicting themselves in various moments (candid or posed) of proactive dental care. We saw a great mix of photos illustrating how you all work to make your dentist’s job a little easier, but even without an iPad incentive, we know you’re taking great care of your teeth. Electronics may come and go, but those teeth in your mouth are there to last a lifetime…hopefully.

This contest was sponsored by Dr. Natalie Archer, a Toronto dentist who was thrilled to see your Good Dental Habits!

Winner: starting early by mary-mah

Runner-up: Gargle Gargle by movieminx

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

“Kids in the bath are completely cute and it’s a great way to get a child used to brushing his/her teeth.”

“Good photo composition and super cute smile on the kid.”

“Really tells the story. Nicely lit and great composition.”

“Why? Because kids need to brush their teeth and this kid is off to a great start.”

Congratulations, mary-mah, you’ve won an Apple iPad 2!

Lenzr’s Hair Styling Trends for 2012 photo contest asked Lenzr members to submit predictions for what the hottest looks of 2012 may turn out to be. The result was a real mixture of styles, textures and colours–by the way, Aveda Institute Canada, the sponsor of this contest, is running a hair school scholarship video contest awarding five aspiring stylists across the country a fully paid scholarship to one of their schools in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria or Winnipeg! From what we’ve seen in this contest it does appear that some of you are born to style.

Winner: Soft and sexy by Anna_ch

Runner-up: Reflections by jennywrenh

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

“Young, innovative and sassy. It lives up to the title.”

“A bold colour with a soft look.”

“Good headshot.”

Congratulations, Anna_ch, you’ve won $500 in Aveda product!

Lenzr’s Polarizing Sunlight photo contest was looking for stunning landscape shots achieved with through the help of a polarizing filter. This was a very successful photo contest with 63 entries, all of them beautiful. The contest was sponsored by Solarline, a Toronto company specializing in solar panels (like the ones found on the solar-paneled backpack prize!)

Winner: Irazu Volcano Road by PeterPan11

Runner-up: Mid Day Marvel by kevyn2992

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

“Beautiful scene, vivid colours, magical background.”

“Amazing depth of field and colour contrasts–sets a beautifully ambient mood.”

“I like the soft light coming through the mist and the sense of distance.”

“Great shot, taken after a rainstorm. The contrast between the mist off in the distance, the slick black tarmac and the lush green countryside is lovely.”

Congratulations, PeterPan11, you’ve won a solar powered backpack!

Thanks to all Lenzr members who participated. As always, stay tuned for more photo contest fun!

The announcement of our latest contest winners marks the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one for Lenzr.com. As such, we are pleased to feature two celebrity broadcasters in our Letters from the Judges video: meet Lauren H. and Mary Bratko, also known as WeddingGirl.ca. Please go ahead and watch the video to find out who won the latest photo contests on Lenzr!

Lenzr’s Old Beside New photo contest was looking to see submissions that juxtaposed an old invention, idea, person, place or thing with an updated version. Interestingly, the majority of entries submitted contained technological subject matter, but there were a few more organic ideas such as an infant being held by adult hands and a fresh, juicy tangerine pictured beside a rotting one. This contest was sponsored by Solarsoft’s continuous improvement and without any further ado, the winner is:

Musical Eras by Cody LeBlanc

Runner-up: Paper Trains Last Stop by kevyn2992

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

“Hmmm… Let’s see, seven songs versus 7000 in your pocket. We know who won this battle.”

“The description was short and to the point. The photo on the other hand was framed well and with good lighting.”

“A vinyl record compared to an iPod is a visually interesting contrast, and from a manufacturing standpoint–the leap is huge.”

Congratulations, CodyLeBlanc, you’ve won $250 and perhaps a publication.

Lenzr’s Bad Weather Hair photo contest asked for submissions that illustrated what the elements can, at any given moment, do to a carefully constructed hairstyle. This contest was sponsored by Aveda Institute Canada’s Vancouver hair school who is giving away $500 worth of their 99 % naturally derived hair and skincare products to the winner. Aveda Institute Canada is also running a hair school scholarship video contest which will reward five talented stylists-to-be a fully covered tuition to either Aveda Institutes Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria or Winnipeg.

The winner of Bad Weather Hair is:

Beach Hair by nabzisalamb

Runner-up: Walk in the Snow by chieflong

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

“You just know she will be brushing more than a hundred strokes to get that mess sorted out.”

“Just wild and crazy and fun. I wonder how many takes it took to capture this one. I appreciate the effort involved in capturing this photo.”

Congratulations, nabzisalamb, you’ve won $500 in Aveda product!

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.

One month after winning the Haircuts and Hair Styles photo contest on Lenzr, the celebrated user Danielle-elise, who is Danielle Thompson in real life showed up at Donna Dolphy Yorkville hair salon to collect her prize(s) and agreed to a free haircut in exchange for letting me blog about it here.

Danielle Thompson is an attractive twenty three year old criminology graduate from the University of Western Ontario currently living and working in Burlington, paying back her student loans by working in a real estate property development firm as an administrative assistant.

She has three younger brothers and used to take pictures of them, and for them, chronicling their achievements in sports and outdoor adventures. At one point she had free use of the family camera, a professional grade Canon Rebel with assorted lenses, but an unfortunate incident with one of the younger brothers has eliminated this resource, permanently.

Now she meddles around with small digital cameras, I didn’t catch the name of her most recent tool, but I did get the sense that’s she’s looking for a high quality digital camera to continue her photography art and hobby. She dabbles with fashion and beauty images and puts them on her blogs, in support of her ideas and product research.

Danielle’s blogs include, My Heart on My Sleeve, and one even more fashion and beauty focused On Sugar blog, called Liner and Glitter and Glass oh my, and I’ll admit that name sounds a bit off center but thats actually the trend for blog names On Sugar, and when she told me the handle I smiled, because I know many other similar such destinations. However I cautioned her, just as I will remind all readers here, that blogs are best when you own the domain outright and use open source software such as WordPress which is downloaded free at wordpress dot org

On Oct 1st 2011 Danielle Thompson and her mom spent some quality time at Donna Dolphy hair salon in Yorkville, have a Lenzr prize winning experience.

Danielle Thompson at Donna Dolphy, Toronto hair salon

Here’s a photo montage showing the event with minor commentary where necessary,
Here’s where the day started.

I was reading my book and taking pictures of Donna’s shop which was super busy when Danielle and her mother, Marie Jo arrived in the salon. Donna greeted them both from her chair at the front window with a wide smile and big hello over the din of the already busy salon.

We waited upstairs until Donna could meet us. We talked and I took pictures

Then Donna came up, and she took us outside to her little rooftop oasis in the heart of the city.

We took some lovely pictures in the sunshine.

The sun was really shining and it was a beautiful afternoon.

After a few minutes outside we all went downstairs to the shampoo section where Donna Dolphy gave Danielle Thompson the full head washing experience, cold and hot water alongside some L’Oreal hair care products, I’m sure.


Marie Jo got a picture of Danielle getting her hair washed for her Facebook page.
Marie Jo got a coffee
Then came the actual hair cutting.

Donna took Danielle to her chair at the front of the salon.

At this point I asked Donna what she would do if she had hair like Danielle,

And she answered without hesitation, “I’d flaunt it. I’d do just what she’s doing, work it into long curls and show it off. It’s an eye catcher.”

Donna made Danielle look like the modern day Farrah Fawcett…

Danielle probably doesn’t know who Farrah Fawcett is. Everything that’s old is new again.

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!

Community Contests are something we’re working on at Lenzr, and we’re testing them so that some day the membership can make and host their own challenges, because that would be cool.

There is a winner in the Best Bicycle Picture photo contest on Lenzr!

The sponsor has selected LindaJ‘s photo Biking the Countryside! as the winner in this community contest.

Staff members commented, “She has the most votes, 33.5 and there is something peacefully calm about this image, and yet adventurous. Its a perfect blend.”

There were 32 entries and 96 votes. Some of the pictures were really spellbinding. To ChelseaSolomon I would say that her photo makes a really interesting thumbnail and is second runner-up.

In the comments underneath Biking the Countryside!,

mikeinbc1 August 27th, 2011 8:55pm
you’ve entered a really good photo! I’m voting for it because you deserve to be in the top 10, not knocked out because someone has more facebook friends than you.”
Mike

LindaJ August 28th, 2011 10:31pm
Thanks for the vote and the kind words, Mike! Most appreciated. Linda

We love comments.

At Andy Camper , they love getting outdoors and active! Riding their bicycles is one of their favourite activities, and they wanted to see some of your bike adventures! If you’re interested in learning some very important bicycle safety tips, check out the Andy Camper Blog.

LindaJ was deemed to have the best bicycle picture and she will be sent an official Andy Camper t-shirt.

Congratulations Linda.

There was one day a while back when we gave the July 2011 Contest Winners their prizes. Four contests yielded three Sony laptops and a Sony camera to three winners. Lemmings gets his prize as a gift certificate at a nearby Future Shop – he lives in Courtney, British Columbia, Canada.

But much to our delight we were able to have Mr Slava and Silversurfer71 over to the office here in The Distillery District of Toronto, and they both came on the same day; one arrived in the morning, and one in the afternoon.

Mr Slava gets his laptop! Do you remember the Best Office Staff Party photo contest on Lenzr? It was sponsored by Stafflink Solutions and made a lot of traction on Stafflink Facebook fanpage. Mr Slava submitted a funny picture of people throwing co workers into a pool and he won by a landslide.

In the photo above, Mr Slava listens patiently as I, Rob Campbell explain or make excuses about something trivial. I’m talking hard detailing something intricate and probably trying not to look dumb in front of this brilliant guy; he’s a business web developer from Thornhill Ontario.  As I suspected, Mr Slava is Slavic.  His real name is Slava.  He gave me some ideas for the site which I thanked him for, and I will thank him for again here on the blog, if and when I ever figure out how to implement his suggestions.

With Silversurfer71, AKA Andrew Blyskosz we tested some video editing software and got the systems running and everything connected. Andrew is employed as a video editor for Chorus Entertainment, and works in the cartoon production department of this media machine. He also drives a vintage Ford Mustang convertible.

Andrew Blyskosz hopes to start shooting professionally in the near future. He recognizes in Lenzr a good way to promote his own work and exceptional abilities.

Andrew Blyskosz won two laptops for two different contest attractions – he’s a good photographer that is well skilled at promoting his submissions and getting his images ranked among the Top Ten grouping from which the Judges select winners.  Andrew won for A Counting Exercise and Construction Sights; you can read about his prize winning photos in June July 2011 Lenzr Contest Winners.

Lenzr Judges Make Final Decision

Four great summer photo contests have come to end this month.  And there have been so many wonderful images to select winners from.  The Lenzr Judges had their work cut out for them.   There were some challenging decisions to make from the top ten photos from each photo contests.   Each of the four contests had 10 amazing photos, but only one prize for each.   Everyone has their personal favourite photos but thanks to the Lenzr Judges there are now four prize winners!   Congratulations to each winner,  and all other entries for their time and effort!

Objects in Motion

The MetroCity photo, taken by kevyn2992, is the prize winner of a Sony laptop. The photographer described with his photo “The quickest way to downtown Vancouver is riding above the streets. Here the people move fast and the weather changes fast too, so you better be ready to act and adapt to keep up.”
The overall Objects in Motion contest received 157 entrees and over 3,500 votes.  Then out of the top ten rated the judges determined MetroCity the winner. One of the judges, R. Carmichael wrote  ‘something eerily retro, yet remarkably modern juxtaposed upon a dark, storm, almost surreal weather-scape that is Vancouver. “  Another judge explained, “the train caught coming into the station contrasts nicely with the stationary platform and tracks.  The ominous clouds adds a good touch, as well.”

Also, an honorable mention goes to mitchelbriones.   His photo was a close tie with his photo titled,  Let’s Move it’s Summer, which is another awesome photo.  However, the judges determined MetroCity the winner with each judge having a second choice option voting in it’s favor.

Toronto Tourist Attraction

The Flatiron photo to the right by silversurfer71 was voted the best Toronto Tourist Attraction image.  The top ten voted Toronto Tourist Attraction photos were a competitive challenge with 49 photo entrees and almost 1000 votes. This picture was described as,  “one of the most pretty buildings in Toronto and that it reminds one me of a piece of pie.”  “This building is a icon of Toronto that represents a time that is long gone but not forgotten.  The composition is lovely.  Surreal.”

This was another hard decision for judges due to the amazing photos to choose from.  The photo to the right titled, Who is there?? by mr_slava came close to winning as well.  A judge wrote “the baby picture made me take a second look at exactly what was happening here.  I questioned myself as to what I was seeing.This in itself makes for a great picture as it keeps the viewer’s attention, making the guess what is happening.  Nicely done.”  Once again so many great photos to choose from.

Fireplaces and Furnaces

So many beautiful photos were entered into this photo challenge.  Even though the  Fire Places and Furnaces photo contests only had 27 entrees, it received over 530 votes.  Out of the top ten photos the judges determined the photo to the left, Summer Bonfire by Lefthook 25 the best photo and the prize winner of another Sony laptop.  The judges admired the capture of colours.  The use of blue hues is incredible.

Another photo mention in the photo contest goes to Hello Summer by Dasha for it was another almost tie with the winner, and This Band is Hot by j3ckl3r.  Both of these near misses images gave off a warm mood.   All the photos, especially the top ten, were incredible.

Haircuts and Hairstyles

Donna Dolphy was very impressed with the quality of Haircuts and Hair Styles that were uploaded into the contest. Her Yorkville salon is always interested in seeing new fashions and testing new hair styles on different shaped human heads. This contest was something akin to research for herself and her stylists.

This contest received 56 photo entrees and almost 800 votes.   The judges had a few favourites once again.   However, a final decision had to be made, and not everyone could win, so the winning photo is Colourful Braid by danielle-elise of Burlington.  “I liked the ponytail partly because of the cropping of the photo. It captures the purpose of the picture, which focuses on the hair.  The composition along with the nicely highlighted hair makes me give this one the thumbs up.”  judge Taku wrote.  Another judge liked the subtly of it.

Once again another mention goes to another close second silversurfer71 and his photo  Hawk and the Scarlet Dove, with comments from judges, “nice head what do you feed it!”   Another judge gave this feedback, “Nice job Silver Surfer.  The hair is great. The gritty dirt is awesome, the reflection in the sunglasses is almost out of this world.”

Lenzr judges were pleased with many of the photos that they had to choose from to pick from.   The competition was high.  Congratulations to all the finalists in each of the four contests.  Each photo deserves a mention of some kind for their creative risk taking and photographic skills.

These were the first four contests on the new website, and they shall always be remembered in screengrabs like this – they are forever preserved in the history of Lenzr, and will be added to the growing legacy of successful social media storytelling case studies.

The winners are:

Construction Sights: Congratulations, silversurfer71, your photo Total Destruction has won you a Sony laptop! Here’s what some of the Lenzr judges had to say:

“Although I’m generally not too partial to unrealistic HDR images, I like the composition of this picture the best. The black and orange arm in the front stands out and gives a sense of power with the torn down building in the background, supporting this feeling.”

“That’s a great image.”

“A fine superposition telling a story in one shot.”

Admin, Rob Campbell adds that the machinery looks like a prehistoric animal and with the machine in the background working on the building, it suggests that they are eating the concrete. This is not actually a construction site yet, its still a destruction site, and hence the name. The machines look like wild animals eating the buildings. Its an awesome picture and worthy of any Construction Company website – these are the types of images that Lenzr would someday like to license and make available to web developers.

Best Office Staff Party: Congratulations mr_slava, you’ve won a Sony laptop for your photo called ‘Get Into the Pool’. Here’s what some of the Lenzr judges had to say:

“Took me awhile to get it, but throwing people in the pool is fun. It’s happened to me before, when I was younger. He has to win!”

“Great picture – great entry. Mr Slava has the only picture worth considering memorable.”

“You can just picture what happens next with this one. The expression of the guy by the pool is a classic and tells us exactly what we all want to see, but are left to see it in our own imagination.”

A Counting Exercise: Congratulations silversurfer71, you’ve won again, this time by a landslide, with your photo ‘Air Time Math.’ Here’s what some of the Lenzr judges had to say:

“Beautiful action shot, and I love the way her outstretched arms are mirrored in the hopscotch drawing on the road.”

“First Pick is “Air Time Math” This photo shows counting starting at an early age. The photo is well composed. Funny how this pic reminds me of Sesame Street.”

“This is a great capture of the child in action. Her frozen in the air as she hops through the numbers is great. It’s such a playful image that captures the essence of counting by the numbers in the squares.”

“There is something innocent and compelling about a child at play. I think we all can relate to a good game of hopscotch. I found myself counting to myself when I observed this photo.”

Shafts of Sunlight:

Congratulations lemming, you’ve won a Sony Cyber Shot with your photo ‘Forestrays’. It was a close contest between this photo and Martin Savaria’s ‘National Highway 2′. Here’s what some of the judges had to say:

“… soft capture of morning sunlight. Nice colour and layout.”

“Breathtaking and captivating.”

“Shafts of light through trees in forests are always a classic. I can really get the feel of the emptiness of the forest with this picture. The sunlight looks almost a little surreal, as if it’s coming from heaven. A wider crop to the photo would have brought about a more expressive picture, but I still get a good warmth out of this one as it is.”

“It’s brilliant.”

CEO Rob’s reflections on the four July 2011 Lenzr Photo Contests:

CONSTRUCTION SIGHTS
The Construction Sights photo contest was a nice exercise in voyeurism. There were a lot of photos taken from the fence. It reminded me of a Dumpdiggers post about buying bottles in parking lots of excavation sites. I like construction sites and will go out of my way to look through the hole in the fence and peer down into the fresh concrete abyss, and see men working beside stacks of rebar, nailing together wooden forms or nowadays its insulated concrete forms and men without shirts laboring away and using their bodies to make things that will endure for three hundred years or maybe more… I’ve often wondered if the first skyscrapers will be deemed historical buildings and have people lobbying to save them? Do you think your children, or your children’s children will ever donate money to Save the Scotia Bank Tower fund? Will the tallest skyscraper today someday be dwarfed by the next generation’s monoliths?

BEST OFFICE STAFF PARTY
I gotta be honest, this was a bit of a disappointment for me, and in that reckoning I learned something. People generally are not comfortable posting pictures of their friends and co-workers going crazy in the office. And good for them – the last thing we want to do is be the lynchpin in some scandalous story emerging about misdeeds eye witnessed and made public in a Lenzr photo contest.
I expected to see more and better pictures here, but I was pleased with the Top Ten grouping overall. There are some fine snapshots visible and they are definitely more storyful, or full of story than average, so we got that part right. And regarding the Top Ten, I’ve read some of the Judge’s selections and, indeed, there’s a contest here.

SHAFTS OF SUNLIGHT
This was the spotlight of the summer so far. You know this match was on the back burner for two or maybe even three months before it ever launched? It was ghost contest. Shafts of Sunlight sat unpublished in the CMS of the previous Lenzr website, and the blog widgets would pick it up and show the same three images … But nobody could enter – the contest didn’t go live until June 1st on the new website.
At first this contest was just a collection of lens flares and foreground lighting affects at best, at worst in some shots including those I deleted and many that came afterwards, there were no noticeable shafts or flares beyond overexposure. However, the sponsor is very happy with the results of this contest and found the whole experience quite illuminating.

A COUNTING EXERCISE
The most successful Lenzr photo contest to date – count up the numbers! This contest has exceeded the previous record holder, Backyard Critters
by about another 25 images. It had 152 pictures total! And it attracted an amazing quality of originality – I was and will always be extremely proud of this contest for being so successful and imaginative, original and cool. That’s right, it was cool. We hit on something in the zeitgeist there – people do like to count things.

In fact, this contest was so well constructed, I want to show off my favourites of the ones that didn’t make the Top Ten images. Lenzr admin will give ‘honourable mentions’ which has never happened thus far in the entire history of the website, but some pics were so good I sat and marveled at them and wondered how to celebrate them and their creators:

Shark!!!

Great job Toylady.

Tam-Tadam-ta-Tadam

Terrific – perfect for the theme – this is something I would count ! Great job mr_slava
(Next time give it a better name that’s easier to write and to remember)

Plenty of Purple by kevyn2992

Awesome picture dude.

The sponsor , or actually it was Mark Goodfield, The Blunt Bean Counter, wrote a summary of A Counting Exercise, and included  his favourite pics (almost none of which made it into the top ten) and a general overview of the attraction.

Message from Rob Campbell
We’re just a small photo contest website that is growing slowly, painfully slowly. There are a couple dozen real obvious things I want to change about the new site and the same amount again of irritating things that I know could be improved. But the fixes are happening every day now and will continue until they are all completed, hopefully by the fall… and then we will probably evolve again.
The Lenzr estore will be called The Lenzaar or maybe The Bazr, I haven’t quite decided yet. In there will be a smattering of our clients’ products that we know will make great prizes in the free Community Contests. These will be for sale as prizes – when you buy the prize, the contest is free.
Custom Widgets? Yes – we are real excited about the idea of being able to offer custom widgets that display either the most recent three pictures, or the top three pictures, or perhaps just your own three pictures on your own website or blog. You will also be able to select the contests you wish to chronicle in your sidebar widget – or banner – or button display.
API – the ultimate customization is to be able to put the Lenzr photo contest software module on your own website and collect votes and comments and make that page of your own website relevant – and it will forever host a database of well optimized images directly related to your company’s products or services.
Post your picture to Facebook? Yes, and Tweet individual photos of course this is going to be available. And a monthly newsletter
We endeavour to become the world’s best and most well known photo contest manufacturer.

Community Contest Updates on Winners

This post is long overdue–eleven days overdue, to be exact. The Community Contests that were put on the new website right after our June 1st launch were test subjects. They were put there to test the functionality of the Start Your Own Contest component, which is, without question, the most significant improvement to the new Lenzr website. We are still testing this improvement and have not yet been able to present the optimal user experience.

We appreciate everyone’s patience while we’re working out the kinks.

The Most Glorious Colours

This was in effect the very first Community Contest ever created and executed on Lenzr.
A synopsis of the Glorious Colours photo contest read, “There is magic in every sunset, colour, mood, and cloud formation.”–this contest was looking for sunset submissions and the prize offered was a solar powered radio. The challenge was won by MrSlava with his Jamaican Red Stripe photo. The contest started on June 1 and ended on July 1st with 51 stunning photo entries.

A Line Has Been Drawn

The sun has produced energy for billions of years. Solar energy is free, and its supplies are unlimited. Every year, the Earth absorbs 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) of solar energy; it is time to harness it. SolarLine Power manufactures and assembles portable solar generators (PSGs) that are affordable, reliable, quiet, and deliver clean renewable power.

SolarLine Power makes Mobile Solar Work Units that can deliver remote power for industry, entertainment, disaster relief, and remote living scenarios.  If you’re currently using dirty, noisy, diesel generators for your remote power needs, or simply want to make your business greener, then you should consider a quiet, clean, environmentally friendly Solarline PSG. Portable solar power is here.

MrSlava with his Jamaican Red Stripe photo wins a portable solar powered radio.

The Eton Scorpion Wind Up / Solar Radio is a truly fantastic addition to any travelogue.  Mr Slava’s many friends will envy his new found ability to bring the music wherever he is, especially if the like the music he brings.

What’s In Your Garden Photo Contest

This photo contest asked for photographers to show the plumpest tomatoes, crispest lettuces, ravishing radishes, beta carotene rich carrots and anything and everything that’s growing in the garden. This contest was not looking for just a quick snap shot, it was looking for images with shapes such as, squares, circles, triangles, octagons and triangles that required the imagination. This contest only ran for a month, yet it attracted 51 photo submissions of profoundly beautiful works of art. Truly amazing. The What’s In Your Garden photo contest was won by Bev Jay, who won the Ames Lawn Buddy. This prize may prove to be perfect for maintaining that vibrant garden.

What’s in Your Garden was sponsored by The Grass Cutters

They’re not just tree huggers… they love lawns, shrubs and gardens, too. The GrassCutters are the first clean-air lawn care service in Canada. Their goal is to provide a clean grass cutting experience, and they’re busy building the nation’s first and best sustainable lawn care service that’s powered by renewable energy. They intend to eliminate and/or reduce our dependence on fossil fuel esp as its used in two cycle engines, (like most gas powered lawnmowers). They use quieter more efficient electric equipment, provide organic weed, fertilizer and pest control options and in some cases use a good old fashioned push mower. All this to protect future generations from the harmful effects of dirty gas mowers and unnatural lawn care practices.

Here is the winning picture, sunkissed, by user tluvr. The contest garnered 49 uploads which accrued 427 votes.

Living the Life Photo Contest

This contest was just for bragging rights – there was no prize involved. Lenzr members were asked to upload photos of moments of extreme relaxation–the perfect summertime contest and a laid-back introduction to Lenzr’s Community Contests.

This Community Contest was started by MuskokaGirl, a Lenzr member who runs her own successful Muskoka blog. The winner of the contest, as picked by MuskokaGirl (anyone from the Muskokas is an R&R connoisseur, right?) is Lenzr member Imoxide for this photo, called Living Free.

By the Light of the Moon Photo Contest

This contest page was home to some controversy when a new Lenzr member, omoxx1, blew the whistle on a couple of submissions that were using Photoshop and may (or may not have) pasted a moon image clip-art style into the photograph. For the record, here at Lenzr we see nothing wrong with using Photoshop on a submitted image; however, cut-and-pasting is just not cool for two reasons: 1) it’s not a photograph anymore, it’s a collage, and 2) clipping all or part of an image from an unidentified source is a violation of copyright laws and plain old plagiarism, the sworn enemy of artistic expression. This contest was offering a big prize, and when there’s a big prize on the line the likelihood of cheating or sabotage is higher–not just in a Lenzr photo contest but in any field of competition!

While we appreciate omoxx1′s passionate cry for fair play, we wonder how it could have been more inquisitive rather than accusatory–we like to give our members the benefit of the doubt. The photographs that were called out did NOT win the contest, and potentially, that may be due to the whistle-blowing. Lenzr doesn’t want to see this happen again so over the next few days we’ll be devising a plan on how we can better inquire into photographs that may look suspicious. Please bear with us as the site has only recently launched–we are working to have the Lenzr Forum reinstated as soon as possible, and think a suspicious picture inquiry section on the Forum would be more appropriate than commenting on the photograph itself. We also wanted to thank Lenzr member Martin Savaria, who for months has been submitting beautiful work to the Lenzr contests but also wrote in to administration to voice a number of kinks he’s noticed in the site. Suggestions from Lenzr members are highly valued and appreciated, especially at this early stage in what will hopefully be a very long lifeline for Lenzr.

By the Light of the Moon was Sponsored by It’s My Potty

It’s My Potty is a forward-thinking portable restroom company committed to improving the portable washroom experience. This company believes “using a portable restroom should be a normal, everyday, clean, comfortable experience; not a mind numbing, nose altering embarrassment,” and their products as well as unmatched customer service are testament to that. They’re green-friendly too–a pioneer in its field, It’s My Potty introduced solar panels in their units long before the green renaissance. Their portable restroom solutions have received compliments from the attendees of many formal, upscale events–now that’s clean!

The winner of the By the Light of the Moon Contest and a 5-day 4-night cruise was, this being a Community Contest, at the sole discretion of It’s My Potty (the Lenzr judges had nothing to do with it). So without further ado, congratulations to Dasha for her photo called Silver Night.