It’s a new month, and that means a new photo contest! While our judge gets to work reviewing last month’s delicious pie photos, we’re going to go ahead and get you going on our new theme: white space. You know, that space around your subject. Sometimes called “negative space.” It’s empty, “unused” space around your subject matter used to help isolate the subject and give it visual weight and impact. It’s an important compositional concept, not just in photography but in all arts, and we want to see what you can do with it. Sort of like a back to basics course.

So, you know what to do. Get out there, shoot, pay attention to your background and foreground. Are they too busy? What can you do to reduce the visual clutter? Maybe find a cleaner wall? Change your angle on that field? And, either way, show more of the space, don’t close your subject in with the crop. Give them room to exist, give them space. And then upload the picture to our contest page before midnight November 30th.

And, because we love you all dearly, he’s an example photo we like to get you started on the right path:

Enter this month’s contest here: http://blog.robertscamera.com/monthly-photo-contests/white-space/#axzz1cTtM976T

Due to some staff shortages around here this week, our judge for the contest is buried and won’t have time to review last month’s entrants until next week. Sooooo…. we’re just going to extend the August contest through to midnight September 11th. You’ve now got an extra few days to get us those pictures of “Hot,” don’t waste them.

So, we finally got a new photo contest up (whoo!). The theme? Forced perspective, baby. You know, that trick they used to turn Elijah Wood into a hobbit? You know, using distance between a far object and a near one to create a spacial illusion with their differing size? Oh, you know what, just check out the Flickr group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/catching_sun/

Then go out and shoot your own. Come back and upload it here. At stake, as always, is a 16×20″ print for your own personal collection. And some fun. Do people still like fun these days?

So, last month we had a photo contest, it was called For The Birds. It was out biggest turnout ever (thanks everybody!) and as such took our judge a lot longer than usual to get through. Sorry about that. But, without further ado, here are the multiple winners for that contest:

by Richard Gentry, Monthly Photo Contest winner

by Nathan Gardner, 2nd Place

by Robert Dromgoole, 3rd Place

by Emily Wood, Honorable Mention

Well, it’s April 1st, and that means the last photo contest is officially over. Nope, sadly, this is not a joke. We’re done accepting entries for “For The Birds,” and judging will now get underway. By the way, congratulations to everyone who entered, with 193 total entires, this was our largest contest turnout ever. Go you!

Now, it’s time for a new theme. We wanted to do Spring, but sadly it hasn’t shown up here in Indy yet. So, instead, it’s springs. Get it? Yeah, we’re awful. But, still not kidding. Springs, like the metal ones. They’re everywhere in our post-industrial society. Find a way to make them interesting, and you stand to win a 16×20 print and the respect of your peers. And even if you don’t win, you get to get out, take photos, and have some fun. So, get to it. Go. Shoo. Stop staring at this computer screen, there’re pictures to be taken!

by Michel Roy, Monthly Photo Contest Winner

Well, we’ve (finally) dragged a winner out of our manager, and congratulations and the 16×20″ print go out to Michel Roy for his shot of the ice-skating duck. Woohoo!

So, congrats, Michel, and thank you everyone who entered. We had some staff realignments in the middle of it that made things rocky, and we’re sorry, but we appreciate every submission we received!