Three new photo contests will launch July 10th 2010. They will be subject to a new voting ritual. A change is occurring whereby pictures are collected and displayed until the last two weeks of the contest, when votes are collected. This levels the playing field for photographers and professional contesters.  Please read more about the new Lenzr voting mechanisms in the next post.

May June contests come to a conclusion, with one strange upset…

Another unusual chapter in the story of Lenzr has been written today. An unprecedented event occurred at 11:45pm on June 30th, 2010. Mommakoala’s image, My Candy Stash was eliminated from the competition. The correction was made by admin.  The result of their decision makes her ineligible to win the Portable Luxury photo contest, and the Las Vegas vacation prize for which she has been campaigning in multiple social networks for a month.

Debbie is upset, Bill is furious, but Lenzr has to be fair to all members.

As everyone knows this blog is connected to a serial photo contest website that issues new challenges every sixty days. Its the only indy photo contest website of its kind, and as such it has developed a core following of veteran contesters that dominate each challenge and sub-divide the spoils. These individuals scour other social networks recruiting votes and promoting their work, and this activity is encouraged by admin. That’s right. We like it when that happens. When contesters put the message out on their own social platforms it compounds the quality and distribution of the marketing.

However, Lenzr website admin must also guard against proxy IP vote fraud and multiple domain registrations for / by which the only activity is voting perfect 10s for specific images from specific members (and voting 1 for everyone else) We can see when that happens.

Although Mommakoala’s My Candy Stash was the only photo removed in this session, almost all of the photos uploaded by just about every member have red flags attached to them in Lenzr reports; they are being flagged for some terms of service violation or another, by both humans and the filter. And that’s understandable because its just the way the votes are collected…

WHO’S TO BLAME? Because the abuse is so widespread across the entire database we have to believe that individual contesters themselves are not really responsible for the methods and passion of their friends, or strangers who might otherwise seek to disqualfy them.

Its a strange web we weave when we invent and launch a ‘democratic photo contest website’ made ‘by the people for the people’ wherein admin has ALMOST no control.

Remarkably, Seattledredge’s Portable City had no such red flags or suspicious activity. It appears to have collected 330 points in a most organic fashion. Admin had to act here, to be fair to Seattle and reward her for submitting some very pretty images in all three categories.

So a decision was made to reward Seattle’s image over Mommakoala’s submission, and as Admin has no power over the voting algorithm itself, our only option was to eliminate Debbie’s image entirely from competition.

Mommakoala is one of our favourite associations. As you will read in the next write-up, Debbie’s Elton Johnish photo is the winner of the 50 Going On 15 photo contest, and she will collect over 50 lbs of pure chocolate from Choclicks courtesy of TempoToronto.ca

Ve3bnw Bill Watson, Debbie’s husband will reap the Blackberry reward for having submitted the first place photo in the Crowded Places photo contest. I myself, Rob Campbell the Lenzr blogger have offered to host a banner promoting Bill’s aerial photography business in the sidebar of the Lenzr blog.

NOW WE ADAPT A SMARTER PROGRAM where VOTES ARE COLLECTED AT THE END

From July 1st 2010 forward, Lenzr has a new voting ritual. The new procedures will cure all the vote fraud malaise as we together evolve and perfect this social experiment and make it friendlier and fair for everyone that chooses to participate. Comments and queries are encouraged and will be answered directly.

Slimmswitch is Really Cutting Grass now!

Here’s a prize winning Lenzr member named Slimmswitch cutting his own lawn with a Neuton CE6  electric battery powered  lawnmower.

The How Green Are You? photo challenge ended dramatically on May 1st 2010 with Slimmswitch twenty points ahead of Johnny. The web challenge collected 27 photos which garnered 1592 votes.  Almost all of the images are focused on green subjects, and most share insights into one or more facets of the green energy industry.

Sponsored by a solar powered grass cutting business in Toronto Ontario, the company used the contest to showcase their green services which includes bio fuel trucks and lawnmower trailers adorned with adjustable solar panels. The firm proudly offers a sustainable, organic grounds keeping maintenance that is also a relatively silent. The Neuton battery powered lawnmowers are also very quiet as Slimmswitch has no doubt discovered.

Portable Luxury is the best kind of luxury - those pocket size, or backpack sized items you can take with you on the run. We expect to see a whole lot of small things, and some big items of course, but mostly hand held conveniences that help separate humans from animals. Things like expensive watches and diamond rings will no doubt be popular entries, but also technological apparatus. And remember its all about the photography; if you have a great photo in the mix, its a lot easier to get your friends and strangers from other social networks to come to Lenzr and vote for it. Some of them will sign up and submit their own pictures no doubt, with the prize being so cool, this contest winner is going to have to engineeer support groups.

The prize is a Las Vegas vacation! And that means airfare and hotel accommodation for two people for three days and two nights in this hedonistic hotspot in Nevada. At the time of this writing, Lenzr admin doesn’t know the exact dates, carrier or hotel specifics. No mention of meals, but from what I understand good food comes cheap in Las Vegas hotels. Finally, please remember, the winner is obligated to send Lenzr admin some pictures and anecdotes for storytelling on this blog.

The sponsor is a portable toilet rentals business that owns and can deploy several dozen luxury units to any location in Southern Ontario. If you ask them what the words  ‘portable luxury’ mean, they’ll open the catalogue and show you what Hollywood movie companies rent for A list stars, and the bathrooms going out for the foriegn dignitaries at the G20 summit.  They have some really fantastic bathrooms on wheels.

Backyard Party Events  - Photo Contest Winners

Here’s Sandra Ausma the 2nd place contestant standing beside John Kenyon the marketing director at Absolute Tent and Event Services who was actually the first place winner of the challenge.  It wasn’t a mistake - his photo was excellent and you can read all about it in the contest summary two posts below this one on the Lenzr blog.

Sandra’s photo was equally storyful and she was rewarded with the 10×10 pop-up tent that you can see big John leaning on, as well as, a $500 gift certificate to be spent on anything and everything this unique Toronto party rentals warehouse stocks.

On behalf of John Kenyon let me thank everyone that participated in this very entertaining Lenzr photo contest.

16th photo contest on Lenzr launched May 3rd 2010 has already become a busy space with a couple dozen photos, several hundred votes and sixteen comments.

Crowded Places has become a rich media repository for images relating to really popular recreational activities. Here’s an inside look at unpleasant traffic jams, and pedestrian bottlenecks in rush hour.  There are many geographic variables and circumstances that make popular places that spawn crowded spaces.

Like all photo contests on Lenzr this web challenge is specifically designed for Canadians.  Yes of course anyone may upload photos and participate, but the prize may only be won, and will indeed only be shipped to residents of Canada.

Just as the name Crowded Places implies traffic and commerce, so too has the odour and intensity of competition become manifest in this online photography event. Behold photos of Olympic torch athletes and fish ponds, raves and transit problems.

Everyday the whistle blows and you hear the alarming sound of the municipal rooster in the morning - just watch the people start moving forward on sidewalks, streetcars and subway cars. The same whistle blows all through our history, at meat packing plants and on factory floors. It issues forth from the subway cars and the whistle also sits in the dry mouths of the brave captains who urge their men over the top.

Innate Media Group is a full service web, media design, application development and internet marketing company that consistently provides effective solutions for global business. They make websites that perform well in search engines and this makes crowded places on the internet.

PS everyone at Lenzr just loves the photo of Smojoe submitted by Ampfoto.  The picture was taken at the IABC conference on May 12th at Ryerson in Toronto. The image captures the moment when Rob Campbell announces to the audience that Smojoe stands for ’social media optimzation’ joe. You can read all about the seminar in Smojoe blog. There was a crowd of at least forty people in the room, and so it does indeed qualify as a crowded place.  The Toronto web developer that sponsored the Crowded Places photo contest is sitting at the laptop with his back to the window.

There’s an art to creating good content on the web; its substance over style here at Lenzr - we admire web content portals that inform readers using an interesting perspective and tone of voice. And we’re always looking around and reading other people’s blogs and scrutinizing other people’s websites (esp photo contest sites), as we surf the net looking for information and opportunities.

This summer lots of people over 50 years old will probably become more aware of Tempo Toronto an online magazine stuffed to the spine with stories and coupons and contests shaped for their demographic. That age group is hard to target, and even harder to please.

Tempo Toronto will satisfy them. Its a decision maker’s magazine that chronicles the sophisticated lifestyles of fascinating people over 50 years old and living and working in the city. Stuffed full of advanced fashion tactics, high class art and photos and links to gorgeous sexy fashion designers like Catherine Curtis. Last month the magazine covered the LG Fashion Week and focused on the Lundström Collection with exclusive pictures and quality journalism. The web portal also reviews Toronto restaurants, theatres and the latest books by bestselling Canadian authors. And of course there’s recipes, coupons, links to contests, and profiles of other people – lifestyles of other cool fifty year old people, musicians and artists and investment bankers.

The 50 Going On 15 photo contest on Lenzr is destined to capture the most courageous 50 year olds riding mountain bikes, motorbikes and driving muscle cars. Show us folks with a little grey in their hair acting years younger, water skiing, snowboarding, or running for their cars in a rain storm. The best pictures will show people in action, doing something outrageous.

The prize is outrageous. It’s a wheelbarrow full of dark chocolate. No kidding – the prize in this Lenzr photo contests is over 50 pounds of pure chocolate, supplied by Chocolicks, Toronto chocolate located at 573 Eglinton Ave west in the heart of Forest Hill.

You might ask yourself, what am I going to do with that much chocolate? We agree it’s a problem. But it’s a nice problem to have.

Introducing a fourth contest on Lenzr for March and April 2010.  This is the first time there has ever been four consecutive photo contests running simultaneously on this serial contest website.

Obsolete Office Equipment invites workers to submit shots that showcase yesterday’s business standards. Let’s make people marvel at what used to pass for modern technology! Together we’re hoping to see huge early cell phone ‘bricks’, call center switchboards, and lots of old typewriters, adding machines and rotary dial telephones.  Show us your business antiques, and add a brief story.

We hatched this contest to remind folks that choosing the correct business telephone system is very important, because that system will be an integral part of everyday operations and will foster growth and better relationships. And conversely the wrong system can cripple your firm by stifling communications and alienating clients.

Understanding your business needs is the most important part of choosing the right telephone system, as the closer your chosen telephone system comes to meeting your specific requirements, the greater the value it will add to your business.

The Prize, courtesy of an business telephone equipment sponsor
is a 4 Line office telephone AT&T Model 1070. This state-of-the-art communication device has 4 line speakerphone & answering system capability. With Caller ID / Page / Intercom / Call transfer / Expandable to 16 stations / 32 # speed dial / 3 party conference / 6 number redial,  it has so many wonderful functions!

This contest ends May 1st at which time the member that uploaded the highest ranking photo will be issued this wonderful prize. Contest open to all Canadians age 13 yrs and older, excluding Quebec.

Lenzr gets even greener in March and April 2010 as they welcome technologically advanced start-ups as sponsors for photo contests.  Forward thinking people are helping Lenzr grow and reach a wider audience.

The How Green Are You? photo challenge hopes to collect one sentence stories and images that display a wide array of useful ideas for the rest of us increasingly environmentally conscious citizens to admire and adopt.  Sharing your wisdom and energy-saving tips here in this photo contest could actually help save the planet.  And we’re excited about what new ideas we might dredge up.

Good examples might include photos of people in expensive suits, carrying briefcases, riding their bicycles to work. Or maybe water powered or wind powered gadgets,  or colourful compost heaps, or photos of recycling trucks compacting plastics.  Even a walk in the woods would constitute green activity. There are so many photo opportunities here, its actually hard to decide on the right approach - so we leave it to shutterbugs to submit their spiffiest shots of whatever green subjects they can imagine.

Be sure and remember to add a detailed caption as good imaginative tag lines seem to be the common denominator in each previous Lenzr photo contest winner’s strategy.

The GrassCutters is quite possibly Canada’s first sustainable grass cutting business. The company uses electric lawn mowers powered by clean renewable solar energy produced by large panels mounted on their trucks and trailers! See the picture above that’s so cool it just might win any photo contest.  The set up is sure to attract the attention of your neighbours.  The enterprise reduces the need for fossil fuels and makes cutting grass very quiet, clean and more sustainable than anyone else on the block.

The business is competing against some other very notable competitors in the 2010 Green Innovation Awards in which the City of Toronto will invest up to $50K in the winner’s project.

How Green Are You? photo contest on Lenzr ends May 1st 2010.

On May 1st the highest ranked image as decided by the members wins a Neuton CE 6 Battery-Powered Mower with DURACELL® battery technology. There is no gas or oil to spill and no engine emissions to pollute the air. The 360 watt-hours of battery provide plenty of power. The Neuton CE 6 mower can cut about 1/3 acre (approx 15,000 sq. ft.) on a single charge. If you need more time, just swap in another battery and keep on mowing! Approx retail value $489.00 + shipping.

Saturday Feb 27th 2010 in The Better Living Center at Exhibition Place in Toronto, on day seven of the National Home Show, Lenzr met Steve Hamoen.

Steve is a geothermal guru.

The word geothermal comes from the Greek language - the root ‘geo’ means earth, and ‘thermos’ means heat.  In modern times the word has come to mean ‘power extracted from heat stored in the earth’ and Steve’s company uses that power to heat houses.

Geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals, and from solar energy absorbed at the surface. It has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times, but is now better known for generating electricit. In large scale power plants this is done by simply boiling water to make steam to propel turbines.

But Geothermal energy is not exactly free power…

A common misconception about geothermal energy is that it just comes up out of the ground in easy to use levels. Sadly, once again nothing in life is free, not even the Earth’s heat.  In this case the heat units that come from the ground are referred to as low grade energy, and they need to ramped up into more viable residential or industrial heating (or cooling) strengths. This usable heat also needs to be distributed to from the source to the areas that require heat and all of that sort of thing requires electricity. But overall the system is part of a bigger, better planet saving solution.

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has historically been limited to only a very few areas of the globe, like Iceland. Recent technological advances have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications such as home heating, and in particular floor heating.

The Fire and Ice photo contest on Lenzr is sure to melt minds and set hearts ablaze on the homepage. The contest is probably the most technically challenging request this session, and it will almost certainly ‘go viral’ as friends tempt each other to submit their best fire photography. Already there are some terrific pictures in the index, and you can be certain, more arctic infernos are coming. Contest ends May 1st 2010

The Prize is GeoAir PCO air purifier

GeoSmart’s GeoAir PCO (PhotoCatalytic Oxidation) is perhaps one of the most advanced air purifier technologies available today. Unlike existing air cleaning systems that rely solely on ultraviolet light, the PCO integrates a titanium dioxide semiconductor to leverage photocatalytic oxidation allowing it to vaporize indoor air pollutants, including those that cause odors, and break them down into non-toxic products like C02 and H20. Bacteria, viruses, mold spores and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) are destroyed when they come into contact with the system’s 187 square-inch Ti02 grid. The system is cost-effective, maintenance-free and provides maximum energy efficiency with negligible resistance to airflow.

The perception of indoor air quality (IAQ) is based on the interaction of a complex set of variables including chemical, biological, physical and psychosocial factors.1 Concern about indoor air quality has been driven mainly by health problems believed to be attributed to exposure to gaseous, particulate and microbial contaminant.

Downtown Toronto, its winter time and Absolute Tent and Event Services is stuffed to the rafters with everything required to make a party.  This place is a bonafide party bomb waiting to explode with tents and staging, folding chairs and tables, event lighting and so many other luxuries waiting to be delivered and assembled in backyards all over the Greater Toronto Area.  Kaboom its party time!

Just because its winter time is no excuse not to throw a party. This building is filled with heaters and insulated tents, snow blowers, troughs and buckets. Maybe we should have a made their photo contest a ‘winter parties’ theme?

Their building is huge and multi-faceted and worth visiting if you live in Toronto and you’re organizing an event. Tell them you’ve entered a photo on Lenzr and you may get 10% off…  maybe.

Here’s Laura, the Absolute blogger who is our eyes and ears inside this busy Toronto tent and party rentals house. She gives us the skinny on upcoming events, Hollywood film shoots, parades and even Toronto waterfront conditions from the perspective of a rentals house employee, which is kind of fascinating. The company does movies and big City of Toronto public occasions too, like Canada Day,  Woofstock and Gay Pride Parade  and so its possible she will have celebrity pictures and details about the assembly and clean-up of big urban bashes. Another interesting thing about Laura are the little glimpses we get into her daily life at the business, and how she struggles to improve her skills driving forklifts and

Backyard Party Events is for the little people who host their own good times at home. Every photographer worth his salt has party pictures and the ones we want to see will hopefully show off some residential geography and show off backyard BBQs, games and dancing under shady trees. Already there are shots of some rowdy kids and a whole of beer cans, but I think we can do better than that.

The prize for the Lenzr member that uploads the highest ranked picture is a spiffy new 10×10 Popup Tent, and $500 Gift Certificate * that must be spent at Absolute Tent and Event Services obviously. Laura is actually building the tent prize in the photo above and the Absolute blog will detail its specifics.

Georgia and Susanne are very knowledgeable oenophiles (wine lovers) that have a wine radio show, a wine tv show, and a wine blog.

The Wine Ladies share their passion for wine, food and living life to the fullest, without hesitation. Their motto, “everything in life somehow comes back to the vine,” keeps audiences entertained and informed, because in their lives its especially true.

You can listen to The Wine Ladies every Sunday morning at 8:30am on The Jewel Network Jewel Radio which is Jewel 88.5 FM in Toronto and Jewel 98.5 FM in Ottawa as they host special guests from all walks of life on their weekly lifestyle radio show.  Watch The Wine Ladies live on the air Wednesday afternoon at 2:30pm-3:30pm for their internet TV/Radio show on ThatChannel.com and call in live at 416.204.9723 from anywhere in the world to speak with The Wine Ladies and their guests.

The Wine Ladies entertain Toronto’s top chefs, and Canada’s foremost winemakers, sommeliers, and culinary artists.  These ladies have shared special vintages with famous musicians, politicians and athletes, and actors like Canadian comedian and wine investor Dan Akyroyd, and Fashion Televisions’ Jeanne Beker. They just did a spot with dynamo Gary Vaynerchuk from WineLibraryTV, and even shared a glass with mega entrepreneur Jim Treliving of Boston Pizza International and Dragon’s Den fame.  Industry executives might recognize Jackson Triggs’ wine maker Marco Picolli, and Canadian wine icon Rossana Magnotta. But enough name dropping, they came to Lenzr to fund a contest that gathers up Canada’s best gourmet food pictures, to draw attention to their media, and share a Locaboire adventure with the winners.

This Lenzr photo contest, like others, gives storytellers permission to use the caption to hint at the subtleties of the experience behind the images. Tell us about the strange sights, smells and sounds of the kitchen, the cries of the lobster, the tang of the mustard, the pique of mint jelly and the mouthwatering experience of biting into a….

Best Gourmet Food is a license to tell stories about great cuisine. Stretch the experience beyond the beauty of your photography, and tell us why your image really is the best gourmet food.