April Photo Contest ideas

[sandnsea]

She says as she timidly dips her toe in this pool of phenomenal photography talent...

I have a couple of ideas. One came from the Huffington Post "Alien Landscapes"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/26/9-of-the-weirdest-alien-l_n_510511.html

Another idea, which would need a title, is how light reflects on things and completely changes the photograph, adds depth, etc. Impressionism I suppose, but maybe not. I think of this because I have absolutely no idea how to do it and think it would be instructive as well as producing some fascinating photos.

Another idea, because my dear departed mother's birthday is in April, and Mother's Day is coming up, is just "Mothers".

Post your ideas. And again, I am truly flabbergasted to even be in this position.

[Mira]

1. You are in that position because your Photograph rocked.

My family loved it, and a friend to whom I linked the finals chose it as well.

I won't recommend anything right now and wait, if I say "Stairways" everybody will collapse laughing, anyway.

I like "Mothers" I really do.
Maybe Mothers on Stairways....I digress.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

2. That'll teach you to not pick up the camera!

:)
We are all glad you are here. One thing about NOT asking for suggestions is that it keeps me an my toes. Not sure what the next subject is until announced allows me to NOT dwell on what kind of pics I might have to go find to submit.
Whatever you decide will be fine! :toast:

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I'm not particular,

but alien landscapes kind of appeals to me. I have ideas.

[Mira]

4. Me again. I just now went to look at the link you posted.

I believe I want to throw my hat into the ring of Alien Landscapes.
I have been to Antelope Canyon, and to Bryce Canyon and though I had a 7 mega pixel point and shoot then, I think I can come up with something.
I really do.
:)

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

5. I like Alien Landscapes!

Mostly because I think I already have something to fit that.......... :)

[Mz Pip]

6. I don't live in AZ

but I might be able to find some weird landscapes around here. Works for me!

[Schema Thing]

7. How about Alien (political) Landscape ;)

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Metal. Water. Either one of those works for me. :^)

[Sheepshank]

9. hair

we talked about this once before
big hair, shiney hair, curly hair, flat hair, nair hair, hair gone, pet hair, messy hair, bed head, hare lol

Still...I kinda like alien landscapes....

[Mira]

10. I like the hair idea - I think it's brand new.

Now it looks like sandnsea will have to do a poll after all.....

[Celebration]

11. hmmm

I like, but don't love, all the suggestions. Alien landscapes around here in spring is a bit impossible, but who cares? It would be fun to see other alien landscapes, so I am on board. I think mothers would be good too. The "hair" thing I just don't get, I guess. Now if it was expanded to "hair, fur or feathers"--that might be fun.

[teamster633]

12. Any chance we might have a topic to work on tomorrow?

With the way weather has been around here, if I have to shoot outside, tomorrow might be the only chance I'm going to get. We got over 10 inches of rain in March, but it's going to be sunny on Sunday.

[regnaD kciN]

13. I didn't like the HuffPost "Alien Landscapes"...

...because so many of them were absolutely standard landscape photographer hotspots like Bryce and Antelope Canyon. It struck me as having been written by someone who'd never looked at a landscape photography book in his or her life.

[Celebration]

14. the problem with that one

Is that the popular ones might require travel. Not sure if creativity would be rewarded, or just travel to a particular alien landscape.

The best alien landscape I have ever seen is Norris geyser basin in Yellowstone. But, alas, don't have a picture, or at least a digital one. It would probably be better for contests not to give a premium on travel to remote, mostly inaccessible places.

Still, I love looking at alien landscapes. No way I could get into the finals with an entry, though, without going to some sort of extreme measures. But, I don't care all that much.

[Mira]

15. How "alien' it is one would be in the eye of the photographer, and then the beholder.

If this would really mean an actual shot of a landscape of hot spots on earth that are "alien" looking, then we can't do it because we don't have travel allowances.
It could also mean we would run into each other in Antelope canyon, and that sucker is narrow. As we throw sand in the air for the sun's rays to create those famous photos we might hit each other and no longer be friends.

I would immediately put in for travel to Petra, for instance, or to that highest on earth waterfall they just discovered in Peru.

If we did that theme, our hostess would probably give guidance, it could include actual travel shots, or "creations" of ours that we could call a landscape.

What I like so much is the diversity of our interpretations, which shows up if we have a theme with a broad brush, such as the one discussed, or a narrow one, like hair.
Hair would be tricky for me because I have two hair pictures I took that I love, and I don't know how to chose between them....

These contests are so much fun, and stretch my imagination every time.

[Celebration]

16. you mean photoshop stuff?

Is that what you mean by creations? Actually there is a place in town with an alien sounding name. I could enter a picture of a bar!!

The Mississippi River would be pretty decent if the water was low and I could figure out a way to not get lost. Alas, the water is high.

But I don't really care. I took some pictures of fungus, thinking about beautiful decay and I could always enter those. They are weird enough, and alien enough, but not anything like Norris Geyser Basin, which I would vote for in a heartbeat, over anything else on earth, with just a point and shoot camera going in any direction.

[Mira]

17. I need to clarity "creations" - that did suggest photoshop and I do not mean that.

I'm thinking, so many outdoor shots could qualify, anything not ordinary, like the twisted trees in the other thread, or a puddle with reflections, or an installation I have in my back yard, or a close up of any area on Robb's desk.
Unless the hostess specifies it has to be a recognizable landscape the sky is the limit, really.

[alfredo]

19. For me an alien landscape would be the inside of a church

or a beauty salon.

[Mira]

21. It was you, my dear Alfredo, and your proven wit and imagination

I was thinking about when I said some of what I said.
:)

[alfredo]

25. Thanks. All that fun I had during the 60's and 70's paid off.

[hippywife]

27. LOL! Me, too!

:rofl:

[alfredo]

28. I did like the wine served at my dad's church. The priest

was a lush and a real hell raiser. He'd really knock down the remaining wine in the challis. By the time the third mass was held, he was quite animated.

[sandnsea]

18. I actually thought of Alien Landscapes in the Alien sense

I've lived all over the west and can think of alien topography in every place I've lived. Here I've got the dunes, moss covered trees, swamps, tidepools, caves. I thought perhaps folks could bring a bit more to the subject than those standard canyon shots.

But frankly, my heart was with "Mothers" anyway, and do you have any other ideas?

[Celebration]

20. I'm voting for mothers!!

I don't want to dilute the votes by suggesting something else. Although I guess I already did suggest adding feathers and fur to hair.

You could just choose the topic, you know. ;)

If its Alien Landscapes maybe I will get out my camera, sit outside at night, and wait for a UFO to land.

[Mz Pip]

22. LOL

Ask for a ride back to where they came from and take your camera! You'd win with a real alien landscape. :-)

[Xipe Totec]

23. We should reserve May for the Mother of all Photo Contests! n/t

[Richard D]

24. I'm all for . . .

. . . kittens and babies on alien stair-scapes.

[hippywife]

26. ...

:spray:

[GreenPartyVoter]

29. I forget.. have we done bridges recently?

[HappyCynic]

30. Themes...

Here's all the past themes (bridges was apparently Feb 2007):

2010
Mar - Beautiful Decay
Feb - Still Life
Jan - Your Favorite Shot of 2009

2009
Dec - A Shot in the Dark
Nov - Named After a Song
Oct - Wabi Sabi
Sep - Looking Up
Aug - Green
Jul - A Shot Taken in Your Yard (Or What Counts as Your Yard)
Jun - Portrait of a Stranger
May - Scene at a National Historic Register Site
Apr - The World of Work
Mar - Gates/Doors
Feb - Red
Jan - Street Scenes

2008
Dec/Nov - Celebrating
Oct - Need for Change
Sep - Let's Get Small! (closeups & macros)
Aug - Old dilapidated structures
Jul - Light and Darkness
Jun - Transportation
May - Wildlife
Apr - Making Connections
Mar - Main Street
Feb - Water's edge
Jan - Diagonals

2007
Dec - Surrealism
Nov - (postponed)
Oct - Spooky
Sep - Recurring Patterns in Black and White
Aug - Scenes of Zen
Jul - Barriers/Divides
Jun - Using Light Creatively
May - Cutloose (No theme)
Apr - Sky
Mar - Tranquility
Feb - Bridges
Jan - Motion

2006
Dec - Tis The Season
Nov - Silhouettes
Oct - Paths/Pathways
Sep - Trees
Aug - Texture
Jul - Portals
Jun - People Pictures
May - Something Old
Apr - Making Connections (Juxtaposition)
Mar - Architecture
Feb - Absence of Color
Jan - Close-Up

2005
Dec - Extreme Processing (unofficial)
Nov - Fall
Oct - Strength
Sep - Reflections
Aug - Hot Days of Summer (unofficial)
Jul - Water
Jun - Flowers
May - Light & Shadows
Apr - (No Theme)
Mar - Green
Feb - Cemeteries
Jan - Winter Cold

2004
Dec - (No Theme)

[Mira]

31. Please tell me how you did that?

I know I'll reveal my abysmal ignorance of finding alternative ways...but the way I would have been able to assemble this would have taken longer than I have in all probability left to live.

[HappyCynic]

32. I have to admit...

I had previously asked dug around for the previous themes and went back 2 years. If I remember correctly, regnaD kciN supplied the rest of the list. I kept a copy in a text file and I'm updating it each month. In case you're curious, when I originally looked for the themes, I actually searched for "submission thread" and that got most of them.

[Mira]

33. Thanks - I needed that.

:)

Still learning all the time.
It would not have occurred to me to search for "submission thread" until about the second month or so of assembling the list by going back and more back....

I hope your Easter was very happy!

[sandnsea]

34. Thank you

I think I'm just going to choose a theme.

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. I think every contest host should be given a copy of that so that they can post it when they

set up their "what should our next contest be" posts. :)

[HappyCynic]

37. I'll keep it updated

I've only been posting it when "past themes" has come up. I didn't really want to foist it on all the hosts because I feel, rightly or wrongly, that it might stifle some of their ideas when choosing a theme. Even similar themes will produce much different results. Also, they might reject older themes even though most will not have been around for them. (It hasn't even been a year for me.)

[GreenPartyVoter]

38. Hmmm.. That's true. But it can be handy when you want it, so thanks for keeping it updated. :^)

[cherokeeprogressive]

35. Showers! duh... n/t