"Banner Class" Example - Photo by Lisa Kerans
Updated Info: The Second Annual British V8 Photo Contest!
as published in British V8 Magazine, Volume XVI Issue 1, May 2008BREAKING NEWS : Dan Masters has volunteered to judge this year's competition!
BRIGHT IDEA : This photo contest would be a great way to share your hobby with your spouse or your kids.
One benefit of moving The British V8 Newsletter online was to facilitate sharing
colorful photos of the cars we love. If you poke around on this website you'll
find about 5000 photos so far, and we add more almost every day. Cool! But frankly,
in my humble opinion, two things could improve. Number 1: I'd really like to see
more photos of PEOPLE HAVING FUN with their cars. Number 2: I could really use
some help finding glamorous photos to keep the main pages of the website looking
"fresh" for frequent visitors and to spice-up general-interest newsletter columns.
These two selfish desires are the impetus behind the two classes of our 2nd Annual
British V8 Newsletter Photo Contest! The rules will be simple, the judging
will be arbitrary, the prizes will probably be almost non-existent... but there's still a
big reward for participating: we'll all have some great photos to look at! Interested?
Here Are The Rules
"General" Class:
The theme for this class is "People Having Fun With Performance-Modified British Sports Cars." To be a winner or runner-up in this class, photos must include both people and cars. No exceptions. Second rule: it must be possible for a "reasonably knowledgeable enthusiast" to spot some detail of the car that's modified from "original". Either the people or the cars can be the emphasis of the photo. Points will be given for composition and craft... but also for how much fun the people are having and for how cool the performance mods are. Winners will be selected at the discretion of the judge or judges.
Most of the photos on our website are displayed 600 pixels wide by 450 pixels tall. The photographer needn't be concerned about this, but the judge or judges will be asked to give preference to photos that look good when re-sized or cropped to this size. (Please see the General Submission Guidelines.)
"General Class" Example - Photo by Gerald Kannenberg
"Banner" Class:
The theme for this class is "Performance-Modified British Sports Cars." To be a
winner or runner-up in this class, photos must show the modification in a glamorous
way. Showing a badge, decal or painted logo that indicates or suggests the existence
of a modification counts too. The photo doesn't need to contain people. Points will
be given for the photographer's creativity, composition and craftsmanship. Winners
will be selected at the discretion of the judge or judges.
Photos submitted for the Banner Class should look great when cropped or resized
to 700 pixels wide by about 200 pixels tall. (See above for an example.) The photos
may be cropped before submission, or the actual cropping may be left to the judge's
imagination. (From my personal perspective, as editor and not as judge, the latter
is actually preferable. Please see the General Submission Guidelines.)
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(Suggested contribution is twenty bucks per year. Feel free to give more!)
General Submission Guidelines
You may submit your photos however is most convenient for you, including e-mail.
Our contact information can always be found here:
http://www.britishv8.org/British-V8-Contact-Info.htm
If you're submitting the photos as digital files, then "the higher the resolution the
better". If you submit the photos by physical mail, please indicate whether you want
them returned. (It wouldn't hurt to include return postage.) You may submit however
many photos you like. If you submit a photo that meets the criteria of both classes,
it will be judged separately in both classes.
No matter how you submit your photos, we ask that you document them as follows:
a) Please specify your full name, how we should credit you, and how we may contact you.
(Include this with all submitted materials.)
b) Please only submit photos that you took yourself.
c) Please advise us the names of any people who appear in the photo, if you know their names.
d) Please advise us the owners of the car/cars that appear in the photo, if you know their names.
e) Please advise us the make, model, and year of the cars. (Generally, the more info the better!)
Some photographers like to develop their own film. Others like to alter their photos
digitally. The contest rules neither restrict nor prohibit this, but we don't
particularly want to encourage it either. Generally, high resolution un-altered images
are what we prefer to receive. Please note, however, that we routinely modify photos
before showing them on our website. For example, we use several optimization tools
and techniques to reduce digital file size. We also frequently crop, re-size, and
brighten photos. We have a weird habit of airbrushing out at least one or two digits
from license plate numbers (unless they're vanity plates).
Participating in this contest implies that you're making the photos available to British V8 for use at our discretion. We will credit you as the photographer, but we will claim copyright rights on any and all photos that appear on our website. If you don't own a photo or if you're uncomfortable with our having the right to display it, please don't submit it.
Judging, Awards, and Deadlines
Dan Masters - a former British V8 editor and the original founder of this website - has
volunteered to judge this year's competition!
We're still working on identifying potential prizes. (Contact me if you'd like to sponsor
the contest and provide awards!)
The deadline for all entries is July 1, 2008. Winners
will be judged and announced at the British V8 Meet, later in July!
DON'T PUT THIS OFF --- SEND IN YOUR PHOTOS NOW!
I wish everyone good luck and hope everyone who participates enjoys this informal competition!
Sincerely,
Curtis Jacobson, editor
