USEF Accepting Photography Bids for 2009 North American Junior/Young Rider Championships

The United States Equestrian Federation is now accepting bids from photographers who would like to be named "Official Photographers for the 2009 North American Junior/Young Rider Championships." The North American Junior/Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) is the only FEI Championship held annually in North America and showcases the very best Juniors and Young Riders on the North American continent. For the first time ever, NAJYRC will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY – which will be home to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The NAJYRC features the three Olympic disciplines of Dressage, Eventing and Jumping as well as the World Equestrian Games discipline of Reining. An official discipline-specific photographer will be named for each discipline.

To request an application form, please email photomanager@usef.org.

Best Pregnant Belly Photo Contest Seeking Entries

Babygizmo.com is on a search for the best pregnant belly photo. The Web's most comprehensive baby product resource, BabyGizmo.com announced its Best Pregnant Belly Photo Contest. A picture of a fabulous (or even funny) belly could win mom a great Quinny Buzz 4 Complete Stroller Package.

"Spring is a busy time for moms-to-be and what better way to celebrate all these mamas but to throw a contest featuring the best part of their body - the fabulous pregnant belly!" said BabyGizmo.com Founder, Hollie Schultz. "Whether it's just a little bump or a big giant belly, we'd love to see it!"

The contest is open to photos of pregnant bellies. Winner will receive a Quinny Buzz 4 Complete Stroller Package consisting of the luxury stroller, Quinny Buzz 4, matching Quinny Dreami Bassinet, a Buzz Box, and Quinny Cup Holder.

Moms who wish to enter the contest can visit http://www.babygizmo.com/. Baby Gizmo judges will choose 10 finalists and post them in a Best Pregnant Belly Photo Gallery on BabyGizmo.com. Baby Gizmo visitors will then vote on the best photo to determine which mom will win the Quinny Buzz 4 Complete Stroller Package. The photo submission deadline is March 12, 2009. Online voting will take place March 16 - March 27, 2009 with the winner being announced March 30.

Fodor's Travel and Japan National Tourism Partner on Photo Contest

Fodor's Travel and the Japan National Tourism Organization today announce a user photography contest, "Show Us Your Japan." Visitors to http://www.fodors.com/ can submit their favorite photos from a past trip to Japan, along with their stories, for a chance to win prizes including luggage from Timbuk2, Fodor's guides and the opportunity to have the winning photographs showcased on the website.

"Japan is a must-see destination, and I'm excited to see Japan's diversity reflected in the photos and first-hand stories from those who have recently visited Japan" said Tim Jarrell, Fodor's Publisher.

"Japan is a fabulous destination for photography fans" said Akihiro Obata of the Japan National Tourism Organization in New York. He added "Often travelers see what locals don't see. We can't wait to see what you found in the land of the rising sun!"

Photo submissions will be accepted at www.fodors.com/contest/japan through March 16, 2009. Fodor's has previously run contests for Florida, Costa Rica, Turkey, Israel and Alaska. Winning photos from these contests can be seen on http://www.fodors.com/.

WPD 2009 Professional Wedding Photo Contest Accepting Entries

The WPD 2009 Professional Wedding Photo Contest is open to WPD members and outside professional wedding photographers alike. Contest finalists will be revealed to the public for voting and critique. The winners will be determined by voters. Points will be judged leaned towards creativity and concept. The $1,000 grand prize could be yours!

The previous WPD Wedding Photo Contest has received over 2,700 entries. Over 87,000 votes were analyzed to determine the winning selections. The WPD would like to thank the wedding photography community; your support has enabled the contest to thrive and evolve into a great success.

Contest Awards:

Top 10 Finalists: One-Year WPD Membership ($360 Value) - Top three winners and seven runner-up finalists will receive a full year of WPD membership or extension. Photographers must reside the operate their business within the United States or Canada to receive this reward.

1st Place: $1,000 Grand Prize

2nd Place: Adobe Photoshop CS4 (full), or Adobe Creative Suite CS4 (upgrade)

3rd Place: Seagate Black Armor 320G Hardware Encrypted External HD

Public Critique Commentator Award: The nature of the WPD wedding photo contest's public critique is to elevate the contestant's level of creativity via honest and constructive open feedback. The WPD Contest Commentator Award is given to the individual that provides the best and insightful critique. The winner will have a selection of Adobe Photoshop Plugins to choose from the following software vendors: onOne, Extensis, Alien Skin, and Zevrix.

Contest Timeline

3/15/2009- Contest submission closes.
3/16/2009 to 3/25/2009- Initial WPD pre-qualification selection.
3/26/2009 to 5/26/2009- Contest wedding photos open for public voting and critique.
6/8/2009- Public voting data is analyzed, and winners are announced.

Website contest rules

Annual Calendar Photo Contest Call for Entries

Stop Pet Overpopulation Together (SPOT) is hosting its 4th Annual Pet Photo Contest in search of 100 cats and dogs for the 2010 calendar. All photos entered will be featured on http://www.spotusa.org/. The top 24 cats and dogs will win prizes and be highlighted as a calendar star of the month. 76 cats and dogs will be included throughout the calendar and in the 2010 marketing campaign.

Last year SPOT distributed 6,000 vouchers for discounted spay/neuter procedures with 66% redeemed in Pinellas County. In support of National Spay/Neuter Month, SPOT will celebrate the grand opening of its first clinic on February 19th at the corner of 43rd street and 62nd Avenue. Help SPOT make a difference in our Tampa Bay community by supporting the only no kill solution to pet overpopulation. Stop by SPOT’s grand opening event or for more info and to submit your contest photos visit www.SPOTusa.org.

Contest Details

Entry deadline: April 30th, 2009

Entry fee: $10 per photo, all proceeds go toward low cost spay/neuter programs

Smiles of Winter Photo Contest

Smilebooks - the fun and easy way for people to turn their digital photos into professionally bound and printed photo books - announced today its Smiles of Winter Photo Contest.

Following the success of their Smiles of Summer contest, Dominic Brezinski, General Manager of CeWe Color said, "We received a number of requests for another contest. People love taking and sharing their favorite digital pictures and we share their enthusiasm. We look forward to receiving entries for our Smiles of Winter Photo Contest."

The Smiles of Winter Photo Contest invites individuals to enter their favorite shot of a person or pet having a blast this winter. The top prize is a $100 gift certificate with second and third prize winners receiving $50 gift certificates all good towards SmileBooks photo books.

There are a number of categories in which a favorite photo can be entered including:
Snowmen
Nature & Landscape
Pets
Baby/Kids
Vacation/Travel
Opening Holiday Gifts
Friends and Family

All entries are to be sent to Contact(at)smilebooks.com by February 28th, 2009. Winners will be announced on the SmileBooks Website once the contest is over.

Website: http://www.smilebooks.com

Professional Wedding Photography

The steady, ongoing work produced from wedding photography generates the majority of new clients for most photography studios and freelance photographers. A wedding photographer will need to comfortable with the following activities & skills:

* Candid shots (photojournalistic) and posed shots
* Making slides, prints, and slideshows (digital or otherwise)
* Traditional albums
* Taking shots in the outdoors at a party, beach, or rustic locale
* Snapping shots indoors at a temple or church

In the late 1860's in America, couples started hiring photographers and posing at the wedding. The art form of photography for the wedding was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. However, the idea of live action shots and of capturing the event itself came up after the Second World War. Often, the photographers would just show up inconspicuously at a wedding, snap the photos, and venture to sell them later on to the family. This forced studios to start covering the events, lest they be booted out by freelance photographers.

After the wedding is over, a small time lapse is incurred, and, thereafter the photographer shows "proofs" to the couple. The proofs can be in the form of prints, thumbnail galleries, or all of the images on CD-ROM. They may also make separate galleries or slideshows, and they're sometimes themed.

Photographers may sell additional prints to the couple through a web site with thumbnail galleries and an e-commerce back-end, often in conjunction with a vendor or broker website that charges a commission for each print purchase.

The common types of wedding photography include the photojournalistic realism and spontaneous photographer behavior of some, the classic or traditional posed method, and a hybrid of the two called fashion-based wedding photography.

In big cities, there are often studios devoted to wedding photography because photography for the wedding is such a mammoth market in metropolitan areas. People are always moving in and out and getting married. Take a look at a portfolio of the photographer's former work for assurance.

The Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and, especially, the Wedding Photojournalists Association (WPA) offer training, professional support, and tips to member photographers.

Mark Clayson is a professional, home business entrepreneur, mentor and speaker. Visit Start Work at Home for more information on starting or developing a home business or his official site to find out more.

Canon a590is Enthusiasts Celebrate The Start Of A Blog

Canon Camera moguls are celebrating the 2009 launch of their Powershot a590is blog. The website contains multiple articles on the Canon a590is digital camera, citing tips, tricks, the best techniques and answering the most common questions asked by the cannon a590is owner.

The blog hasn't even been online and running for one full month and it is already off to a flying start with five lengthy and informative posts. Alongside these posts are useful pages listing customer reviews, product descriptions and the all important technical specifications for the powershot a590is. This is not to mention the star of the show - a page for readers who want to go ahead and buy the Canon a590is digital camera directly.

"I was reading a Canon a590is review and found that they were impressed with the same things that I was" says the founder of powershota590is.org, "that spurred me on to create the blog, as I though there must be hundreds of others out there looking for information too."

Powershota590is.org is progressively gaining steady ground amongst die hard Canon fans. This happens as the team behind the blog continue to update their posts regularly and inform the Canon Digital photography community of the best techniques on maintaining the powershot a590is and making the most of its remarkable technology.

The blog, also known as http://www.powershota590is.org/ is the first of its kind to cater exclusively towards the powershota590is camera model and is finding many areas of use to write about and many tips from readers to share.

Dark, Dangerous Alleys are Photographer Xavier Nuez's Inspiration

They are dark, dangerous places where you are warned not to go. But for photographer Xavier Nuez, bleak urban settings are his inspiration and second home. For many years, late at night he has ventured into some of the country's most threatening corners, frequently leading to trouble. Whether it is an eerie alley in Compton, California, an inner-city ruin in Detroit, or a dead-end back-lot in Brooklyn, his pilgrimage has a purpose.

A selection of Nuez's photographs will be featured in an exhibition at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, California, that runs from January 31, 2009 to March 1.

"I've been chased by violent street gangs, accosted by crazed addicts and drug dealers, and have been held at gun point. If the police see me lurking in a dark alley, often I am questioned and searched. And yet under these trying conditions, and within the filth and stench of the city's gutters, I find inspiration. With a family history of homelessness and with a belief that I was next, I found the need to create monuments out of these irrelevant places."

Nuez uses three Hasselblad film cameras, two of which are more than 50-years old.

To capture vivid colors at night in his images, he brings lights and colored gels that are combined with long exposures, sometimes more than one-hour.

Xavier Nuez's photographs have been featured in solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States and in Canada, including the Farmington Museum in Farmington, New Mexico; the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke; the Schneider Gallery in Chicago; and the Peak Gallery in Toronto. His work is in numerous public, corporate and private collections, including those of the Norfolk Southern Collection, the City of East Lansing, Michigan; the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Ohio; the University of Richmond Museum in Virginia; and the Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The museum is located at 500 Palm Drive in Novato, California. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 4pm.

Nuez's urban images are on his web site: http://www.nuez.com/