We’ve opened this contest up to accept submissions from people living in the USA and Quebec. And a few other matches on site in October will also be open to folks living south of the border in the United States of America. Don’t panic if you loved Lenzr because it was Canadians only, that’s not changing…. much. Its just that in this next contest cycle, and perhaps others we will have some different contests, clearly marked Open to USA that allow submissions from people living in the United States of America to enter and if they have the best pictures according to Judges, Lenzr will award the prize. The contest will probably not be extensively promoted in the USA because we dont really know how to do that very well, and in fact that’s another reason we are trying this. And because we are backlogged on fixes and changes and further web development, this seems to be something we can easily try. So bear with us, and please let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Warehouse Stockpiles is the second in a series of three photo contests sponsored by a software company that seeks images for their new website.

Similar to A Manufacturing Process this competition follows a new style reward structure whereby the winning image is licensed alongside three other images selected by the sponsor, from anywhere in the index.

In this match the sponsor is seeks images of stock being managed to accompany text on the website in which they show thought leadership in Production Planning and also Inventory Management

These two pages need some visual references that compliment the text, but are not so spectacular they are distracting.   The prize is $250 CAN in exchange for the rights to use your photo*  Non exclusive license for 3 yrs. Solarsoft is under no obligation to display photos. Three other photographer’s works will be offered non exclusive license agreements for their works at a rate of $75 each.

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 everywhere. Lenzr will ship prizes anywhere in the United States and Canada, and yes that includes Quebec.

Sound off here in the comments or visit the discussion forum, Warehouse Stockpiles Open to Americans.

Who are these Lenzr Judges that pick from the Top Ten groupings in all four July August Contests? Why should they get to decide the winners? If you read this blog from the start, you will comprehend a two year account of an ongoing evolution toward a truly democratic photo contest website. We keep changing the rules as we go along to try and ‘evolve’ a totally fair arena that’s fun and exciting for everyone – adding ideas like delayed voting and making comments count for points etc have all worked to make the site more interesting and honest. In the beginning, we tried to host and maintain a purely user ranked victory mechanism, but that of course was subject to excessive gaming and vote hoarding. Now we have Eight Judges who pick from the Top Ten and the quality of winning images has dramatically improved, and its more fair for the members (who can get their submitted images to rise to top 10 in the index*).

Its with some pride that myself the rest of us here at Lenzr Corp can wash our hands of the responsibility of actually picking the winners. We have no say in it. But we are responsible for making sure that Judges’ votes are properly recorded, and everyone is kept updated on who the Judges actually are..? And we’re proud of our judges cause they’re all pretty cool.

Here’s a terrible composition, my own work, that shows the rough outline of five of our Lenzr Judges,

We haven’t heard from Marc Gendron , the guy on the end,  the proprietor of In The Eye of the Lens yet, so we are not sure if he is still a judge or not? Considering the job doesn’t pay anything except honour, which is obtained in blog posts like this, it’s not surprising that busy people drop out of the program. It’s okay Marc – just let me know, so that you can go back to being a participant and maybe winning some merchandise in Sept. There’s going to be some cool contests launching on 1st September 2011, or shortly thereafter.

On August 25th four photo contests will close to voting and the membership will wait as the Lenzr judges pick their two favourites from the Top Ten images in each contest.

August 2011 Lenzr Judges

1) Bill Watson owner of a cool aerial photography business with very affordable prices.
2) Debbie Watson aka Mommakoala, is still tied in first place with an expanding core of Lenzr members who share the honour of having won four photo contests.
3) Taku Kamabe, previous Lenzr winner and art director for trade magazines and websites.
4) Richard Carmichael is back for another round of Judging. He’s a busy guy with his work at Frank Ideas and Execution and his full time job as a father of three and editor in chief at Heads-Up Dad. But he remains committed to Lenzr
5) Gregory White of Gregory White Photography – thanks for you help last session.

And now, introducing,

6) Adrian Fiebig

Ignore the pretentious profile picture – its all he had. Adrian Fiebig is a cool guy. He has been working as a freelance photographer for the last 25 years. Born in London, England, his work has taken him to many parts of the globe including London, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Miami, Amsterdam, and Toronto. He met Rob Campbell while waiting for the rain to stop out front of Archeo restaurant in The Distillery District the same day / storm in which rob shot the highly acclaimed YouTube video entitled, Sudden Rain Shower interrupts The Distillery Tenants BBQ on Monday 15th of August.

Adrian’s experience, skills and creativity contribute to his lasting success in the fashion industry.

Adrian has shot professionally for a broad range of advertising, catalogue, and editorial clients including BMW, ING Direct, Harrods, Marks and Spencer, Jaeger, Burton Group, Weller, Clairol, L’Oreal, Cover Girl, Revlon, Procter and Gamble, Sony and Labatts. Catalogue clients include Sears, Hudson’s Bay Company, Empire Stores, and Gratons. Editorial clients include Cosmopolitan, Company, Seventeen, Options, Woman’s Own, Good Housekeeping, Living, Hairdressers Journal, and Flare.

And finally,
Donna Dolphy has agreed to let me shoot a video of her picking her favourites in all four contests, including her own match Haircuts and Hair Styles which has a large amount of pictures. The Top Ten is interesting, but not for the haircuts. We intend to shoot the video right inside Donna’s Yorkville salon so viewers can get a sense of this fascinating woman inside her castle. Its a very social place and we all love her energy.

And so that’s all eight judges, if you count Marc Gendron. I haven’t given up on him yet.
Good luck for all participants that managed to get shots in the Top Ten groupings. I remind readers that we are working on counter measures to prevent one or two members from dominating the Top Ten and we hope to have these in place before Sept 15 or Oct 15 at the latest.

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.

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

There is a small glitch on the website Sunday May 15 – the voting is down and the wrong messages are being displayed under all of the competing images. The contests have NOT ended.

Hopefully everything will be fixed before Monday May 16th 2011.

Okay THE WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK AGAIN !

The voting will begin Monday now when everyone is at work, instead of Sunday, when everyone was home surfing and looking for things to do including voting of friends’ photos …

Hey WHAT”S UP WITH SHAFTS OF SUNLIGHT?
Some people are wondering about the ghost contest that appears in the widget and but not in the index – and … some members have even managed to enter the challenge. But there is no official challenge yet – its just a premonition of something amazing that’s coming down the pipe… something new. Dont worry if you entered the match in May, it just means you’re first in line for the competition in June.

SOMETHING AMAZING IS COMING DOWN THE PIPE
I will update all members and readers very soon – this week perhaps, if I believe my dream has finally come true. Will the new website be ready for June 1st? Who wants a Lenzr t shirt ? we need a design – perhaps that should be a contest?

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.

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

This contest is about using water as a medium of reflection. Don’t think just swimming in a pool of water, but instead think about how to use the pool to create a reflection of shimmering lights.

What you need to know:

The objective of this contest is for you to take pictures of water reflections. Think under water lights, or the beautiful sunset on the beach. The main things needed for Reflections in Pools are water, reflection and a light. It can be rain trickling down a window with the reflection of a person on the inside watching. Be creative and surprise us with your shots. A pool of water must be the source of your image.

Our sponsor:

Pro Green Landscaping design is sponsoring this contest. They specialize in swimming pool and landscaping design. They are known for their great customer service and 20 year experience. Pro Green stands behind every project and design they work on.

The Prize:

Alright all you photography fans, you are going to go gaga for this prize. Olympus STYLUS TOUGH-8800 underwater camera courtesy of Pro Green. The Olympus camera is virtually indestructible. Make with Breakthrough features like Dual Image Stabilization and Tap Control make it hard to hurt. A revolutionary system of waterproof seals and gaskets keeps water out so you can take pictures as deep as 33 feet underwater.

Voting starts March 15^th 2011 and ends on March 25^th 2011. From there our judges will deliberate and the winner will be announced April 1^st 2011. Check out our post on our judges to learn more about what impresses them. Lenzr is open to all Canadians, contest not valid in Quebec.

When photographing someone, you take into consideration the lighting, flash or posture. The “wall” is rarely a factor that determines the beauty of the image. Up against the wall celebrates the magnificence a wall brings to a picture. Use the wall to accessorize the image. Bring attention and focus to the image or person the wall is surrounding.

What you need to know:

Have the wall set the boarders of the image you want to take. Take a picture of a lamp that brings out the beautiful cracks in a brick wall. It can be an image of you playing the guitar against a destroyed wall. Using the wall to create the theme and feeling your image represents.

Winner gets a Sony Laptop courtesy of Amvic building Systems, Amvic is famously known for their wall systems. ICF structures combine expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and concrete thermal mass. This highly effective combination of materials minimizes temperature fluctuations by absorbing and storing heat.

The Prize:

The winner gets a Sony laptop. Yes we did say Sony laptop. All of our prizes are incredible, but even we have to admit, a new laptop is always a nice addition to any technology loving family. Voting starts March 15^th 2011 and ends on March 25^th 2011. From there our judges will deliberate and the winner will be announced April 1^st 2011. Check out our post on our judges to learn more about what impresses them. Lenzr is open to all Canadians, contest not valid in Quebec.

Have Fun and enjoy snapping for those pictures !!