The Loupe Awards are on Again!

The International Loupe Awards are open for 2011.

Hang on a minute wasn’t it called the Aperture Awards?

Yes, the awards have been  changed  to the International Loupe Awards. Why have we done this? The change is due to an unfortunate trademark conflict.However the vision of the awards remains unchanged. We are still dedicated to excellence in  photography and bringing greater awareness and exposure to our amazing entrants.

$20,000usd first prize for the Open Awards.

The Major Open Awards prize for 2011 is $20,000 cash. The Top 5 Open category placings will receive a cash prize with first place winning $1,000. All category finalists will go forward to the final judging round where they will be rejudged to determine who will win the major prize.

BUT what I’m really excited about is the new Medium Format Fine Art Prize.

The art prize is a premier showcase of medium and large format imagery. The art prize is open to all photographers, professional and amateur however the images submitted must be shot from a medium or large format digital or film camera.All images submitted will go through an online elimination round. This round will produce a shortlist of finalist images. The Top 40 – 50 images from the shortlist will become part of an Exhibition which will be showcased in various locations.

The Exhibition will culminate in a final event where the winner of the Medium Format Fine Art Prize will be awarded.

As well as a major prize of an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 printer (I want one!), the focus of the art prize will be on exposing the participants to new markets and showcasing photography as the beautiful art form that it truly is.

Details on when an where the Exhibition will be running will become available later in the year.

Entries are now open and will be closing at the end of October 2011.

 http://www.loupeawards.com/

Chelsea Jetty

Chelsea Jetty, a photo by Nat’s View on Flickr. 

Shot on Canon EOS 550D with ND8 filter @ 100 ISO, f18, 2.5 sec exp. 

This was shot at 4 in the afternoon after a stormy day. I drove home along the beach and stopped at places I remembered from when I was younger. Antonio Ranieri showed be a great way of creating b&w and sepia in Photoshop so I thought I’d apply the technique it to this. It seemed to fit the mood.

Pro Feedback now offers histogram and capture information.

Pro Feedback is constantly evolving. The latest feature to be released  is the enhancement to the assessor panel.

All images submitted to Pro Feedback now show the histogram and capture information to the assessor so they can give more informed feedback.

Check out more @ http://www.pro-feedback.com

Pro feedback has arrived.

What is Pro feedback?

Pro feedback allows any photographer, school, teacher, designer or student to upload an image and have it assessed and critiqued by experts in a range of fields.

If you’re about to enter a competition why not upload it to a Pro feedback expert first and maximise your competition chances.
If you are looking for help in taking your photography to the next level, Pro Feedback is for you.

Create your own Pro Feedback site or Search for an Assessor and submit an image for feedback.

 

The Canon Creative Asia Awards, Meet the Judges.

Meet the Judges

Have a look at a couple of great video interviews that have been conducted as part of the Canon Creative Asia Awards.

He is a man who has done everything. A glittering career in photojournalism that includes the coverage of the Watergate scandal, writer of over 35 photography books, the advisor of WPPI…meet Bill Hurter who tackled a host of tough questions about photo competition in this video interview.

Michael Greenberg is WPPI 2010 Grand Award winner & Canada’s top 10 wedding photographer. He shares the inspiration behind is award-winning work and his experience as a judge at WPPI.

CM Leung

Hong Kong

CM Leung is the creative director and principal photographer of CM Leung Fine Art Gallery, one of the top photography galleries in Asia.

With his god-given talent in art and photography, CM is the first asian photographer who has been granted two grand awards that include “international wedding print of the year” and “international photojournalism print of the year” by WPPI in 2010, within a single year’s time.

In addition cm is also the possessor of seven winning prints (includes 1st, 2nd & 3rd places under different categories ), the 3rd place of non-wedding album award and more than 110 excellence awards of WPPI competition since his first participation in 2008.

Luke Simon

Australia

Spending almost half of his life with camera in hand, Luke has established a highly successful boutique wedding studio in Hyde Park, South Australia.

Luke is fast becoming a household name in the wedding photography industry and his imagery has been published in numerous magazines, both nationally and internationally.

A multi-award winner, his talent is regularly sought out by wedding couples in Australia as well as the UK and USA.

Louis Pang

Malaysia

Louis Pang is an internationally sought after photographer and speaker. He is a the first Asia-based photographer to speak at Wedding & Portrait Photographers
International (WPPI) convention, the world’s largest wedding photography conference held annually at Las Vegas, USA. He has been a featured speaker for Asukabook, Epson,
Lastolite, Nikon and Think Tank Photo. His photo “Standing Tall” graced the cover of Wedding Photographers Handbook by Bill Hurter, published by Amherst Media.

Louis’ work is published in numerous publications including the American Photo magazine, a recently published book Wedding Photography and syndicated by the Associated Press and AFP. He has taught workshops in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, USA.

Entries close 10th December, 2010.

Enter online at http://awards.creativeasia.tv

The Canon Creative Asia Awards – Call for Entries

Call for Entries – wedding & portrait photographers worldwide

The Canon Creative Asia Photography Awards 2011

A revolutionary new photographic competition launched in conjunction with the Creative Asia photography conference
Jan 17 – 21, Kuala Lumpur

Enter online at http://awards.creativeasia.tv

ONLINE ENTRIES NOW OPEN

(Creative Asia workshop & conference http://www.creativeasia.tv)

The Creative Asia photography workshop and conference is being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Jan 17 – 21, 2011. The Creative Asia Photography Awards for wedding and portrait photography is being run in conjunction with this event, and online entries are now open to all photographers worldwide.

The Canon Creative Asia Awards is revolutionary in its vision to evolve, include and educate its entrants.

Entries are accepted online as digital images. The entries will be judged online in a pre-elimination round to determine the top 25 images in each of the 7 categories. There are 4 wedding categories and 3 portrait categories in the competition, and all images judged online will receive feedback from the judges.

The top 175 finalist images will be printed and mounted expertly by Epson. These prints will be hung on display in the “Epson Creative Asia Gallery” during the Creative Asia Conference.
These 175 finalist images will be judged live by our panel of experts on January 19th 2011, from 8:30am – 4:00pm.

WHAT MAKES THE CANON CREATIVE ASIA AWARDS DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER COMPETITION?

The whole judging event will be broadcast live online with video and audio of the judging panel, judges scores, image previews and interactive audience chat. Entrants can experience
from their own location, the insight and education that comes from watching a live judging event.

In the final judging round there will be 4 judges and the original online category score will act as the 5th judge with the 5 scores will be averaged to produce the final score for each image. The 4 judges will not know or be able to see the original online score. The 4 winning Wedding images and the 3 winning Portrait images will be re-judged in their respective field to determine the Wedding Photographer of the Year and the Portrait Photographer of the Year.

PRIZES & AWARDS

Each of the 7 category winners of the 2010-2011 Canon Creative Asia Awards will receive a Canon EOS 7D. The 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners per category will receive a
Canon Creative Asia Awards trophy. Gold, silver and bronze awards will also be awarded based on overall final scores.

The Wedding & Portrait Photographers of the Year will receive a Canon EOS 5D MK II! The Creative Asia Photography Awards is proudly supported by Canon, Nikon, Epson, Lastolite, WPPI, Asukabook, Digital SLR Photography, Triple Scoop Music, AIPP, Clubsnap and Fotograf.net.

Earlybird special entry fees are currently on offer,
including one free entry with every 5 entries, and 3 free entries with every 10 entries.

Earlybird specials end on 15 November, 2010.

Entries close 10th December, 2010.

Enter online at http://awards.creativeasia.tv

Proud partners of The 2011 Canon Creative Asia Awards

The unexpected benefits of writing a blog.

I’ve recently found that writing a blog has helped me to stay focused and on track. When I first started blogging I had certain goals in mind and a clear reason to invest my O’ so short time on producing regular blog entries.

I thought that writing a blog would be like pulling teeth and that no one cared what I had to say. However my opinion has now changed and I look forward to finding quiet moments to bang out a few lines here and there.

Ok so some of the obvious reasons I started blogging were work related. I wanted to drive more traffic and I wanted a greater level of interaction with customers, competition entrants and new visitors. That is still the case but it’s no longer the driving force. What I’ve found is that I enjoy it.

I really like the idea of giving back. My interests have always run in the direction of programming, graphic design and photography, and Luckily enough my work life has led me in this direction and I’m now happily in the position of designing and running photography competitions.

So where’s the giving back come into it? I have some amazing relationships with some of the worlds best photographers as well as new and newly established photographers. And common themes come up often in conversation. The challenges of starting out, forging relationships, how to deal with customers, the importance of mentors and talking to peers and on and on and on.
I realized I had relationships with guys that have been through the wringer themselves and come out the other end bigger and stronger for it. So why not talk to them, interview them, share the knowledge for the next generation to hopefully give them a kick start and some guidance.

One of the other things I’ve discovered about my self is that having a place to throw out ideas and half formed concepts is clearing my head of all the bits and pieces that hang around in there and I feel more focused.
I can lend my mind to a task and see it through more consistently without having those “OOo shiny things” moments where I drop what I’m doing and start up something new.

You may be reading this and be thinking “I don’t have the time to write a blog” or “I don’t have anything to say” and you may be right. But you might also find that like me having a place to form thoughts and share knowledge will start to show you benefits in unexpected ways.

N@

William Long explains “My passion for dancing drove my photography”

Originating from the UK, William Long studied both the performing and visual arts. Starting his professional life as a performer, resulting in a 17 year career as a Principal Ballet Dancer with The Scottish Ballet.

William’s photographic career effectively began in 1975, quickly establishing a niche market in Europe, within the highly specialised field of ballet & performing arts photography. His work evolved to include a varied range including corporate, commercial & advertising photography.

The  1990′s brought about a permanent move to Australia, forming Longshots Photography; concentrating on the exciting and varied world of Corporate, Industrial, Advertising and Studio photography.

How long have you been picking up a camera?

Amazingly its been over 35 years now. I’m not sure if I’m surprised as to how old I am, or the fact that in photography, there is always something new to discover or learn, so you barely notice the time going by.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a photographer?

No. I wanted to be a dancer from the age of 5. And after a similar style “Billy Elliot” story, I joined a leading theatre school in London, moved to Rambert Ballet School as a student, joined Northern Ballet as a soloist, and then moved on to become a Principal Dancer with The Scottish Ballet. It was because of the move from Northern to Scottish, that I had 4 weeks holiday wages due to me from Northern, and I was starting with Scottish. So like any other young guy with too much money in my pocket, I blew it all on a whim of wanting a camera. A Nikkormat with a 50mm lens. Brilliant, the thing was bomb proof it was so well built.

What is your speciality as a photographer?

Well I bought the camera, because I was frustrated by photographers not understanding the technicalities of dance/ballet. And I innocently believed that I could have a go, considering I did understand ballet. I soon found that other dancers, and then other dance companies were buying my work or commissioning me to shoot their next production. And because of that, I began to have a dual career, as a ballet dancer and performing arts photographer.

Once my camera was bought, almost immediately, I started to photograph my fellow dancers in rehearsals and class, and it was like a light bulb moment, when I decided after the 2^nd or 3^rd roll of film, that I was going to be a dance photographer. And thats what developed, a speciality market, where my dance training, experience and knowledge gave me a much higher edge over any non dancing photographer . And so I now photograph heavy industrial sites and buildings…… ah the never ending journey of discovery.

When your not shooting for clients, what kind of images do you like to shoot?

Most of my work would now be labelled as “Commercial”.

I love architecture, and heavy industry, but I enjoy shooting just about anything really.

You have been an international judge for many years now, how did you first get into judging?

I remember it was about 17 or 18 years ago, I was asked if I would like to judge at Qld Pro Photography Awards, and then I think the same year at APPA. I’ve been a deputy chairman of jurors at APPA’s and chairman of jurors at Qld level numerous times. I also panel chair at National and State awards. I enjoy judging at any level.

Do you think there are extra considerations to be made when entering an International versus Local competition?

Not not really. The formula, if there is one, to ensure that what you’re entering is the very best work you can enter, and that its flawless in the production. At the end of the day, the subject matter can be hugely subjective and what will appeal to one judge, may not appeal to another. Which is why I think that the APPA and IAA judging systems work so well.

It’s been said many times that entering a competition is more than just winning. What do you take out of a competition when you enter?

What I get out of it is the satisfaction of continuing that photographic self motivation, that constant push to produce something that would be an award image, not just in my eyes, but in the eyes of the judges.

What are the first 3 things you look at in your images when you enter a competition?

Composition, Subject Matter, Light.

What advice would you offer photographers entering a competition for the first time?

Have a go. Check everything. Put your print up on the wall and stare it for a week or longer. Seek alternative viewpoints, and importantly don’t justify your reason of liking it, just listen to all views and opinions. Some of the best advice I’ve received is from those who have no involvement in photography. Although I never thought I would say this, winning isn’t everything, taking part is the most important part. Photographic competitions aren’t similar to a simple athletic race, but are judged on so many subjective variables, that a winning image from one competition isn’t necessarily going to be judged as high in another.

 

You can find out more about William at http://www.longshots.com.au

Entries to The 2010 International Aperture Awards close on 15th October.

 

6 ways to improve your photography website.

In my last post about photography websites I wrote that I’d give you 6 easy to understand ways that you could look at adopting to get your website traffic moving again.

A few of the most important things to consider in the assessment of your site is the user experience.

1. Am I giving people a reason to visit my site?

2. Am I giving them a reason to come back?

3. Am I making it easy for them to tell others about me and my site.

Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes. You visit websites don’t you? Well think about the sites you visit often. What is it that appeals to you about those sites? Is it the content, or the ease of use or the community they attract?

Now look at your site. What appeals to you about your site, apart from the fact that your name is splashed across it.

Does it tick any of those boxes that you find so attractive in your favourite sites? I hope so.

When assessing your site you have to look past the pretty pictures and think like a visitor.

Ok here come those promised tips. No need to hold onto your seat for startling revelations, or to get out your abacus for advance calculations on predicting web traffic. Most of this information relates to common elements to think of when implementing a website but are quiet often forgotten.

1. Why are they here? – Why are people visiting your site? “How the hell should I know?” you say. If you don’t have a website traffic statistics program on your site this is the first thing you should look at implementing. If you don’t know why people visit your site and what they are looking at, how are you going to improve their experience? “Ummm,  I do what to what now?” Implementing a stats program sound super technical? Well its not. One of the easiest to implement is Google Analytics. All you need to do is create a Google account. You can add your website to your profile and then you Cut & Paste a section of code into the bottom of your website pages. This is probably beyond most people’s web skills but your web developer can implement this for you in under an hour. If it takes them longer you may need to look for a new developer. Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, Know what I mean, Know what I mean.
2. Make it easy to use – Find it hard to navigate around your own site? How do you think your users feel. If your familiar with your site and still find it hard to use your users are going to be completely lost. Make your site navigation obvious, having funky clever navigation is great, but if it’s impossible to find or use you are going to lose visitors.
3. Give them a reason to come back – Why would anyone visit my site more than once? This is an important question to ask yourself. A great way to build your traffic is by increasing your chance of returning visitors. If someone visits you more than once they are more likely to recommend you to others.One of the easiest ways to increase the likelihood of returning visitors, is to add a blog to your website. “But I have nothing to stay!” Huh! You do so. You shoot jobs don’t you? Why not post one or two of the images from each job on the blog with a short description. No one ever said you had to write an essay. This gives you multiple benefits. The client from the job has something to share with friends, family or co-workers. Its a great showcase of your skills to general web traffic and having new information on your website all the time shows Google and other search engines that your website is active and they will push you higher up the rankings over more dormant websites.
4. Sharing is easy - Have you ever visited a website and thought “Oh Jane would be interested in this, I’ll send it to her.” Adding sharing links to your site means that it is easy for people to spread the word. Most people think about sharing websites or articles but if they have to manually copy links and address’ it usually becomes to hard and they don’t bother.A really easy way to add the ability to share your website pages is by using AddThis. Addthis is another free easy to implement widget that can be placed in any part of your website. Create a free account and choose your button style. All you have to do is cut & paste a small section of code onto your page. Again its a quick job for your web developer to implement. Add this will give your users the ability to bookmark, print and share your pages on all major social networking sites.
5. Network – Social networking can be a great way of driving traffic through to your site. Get on Facebook. Create a Facebook fan page for your business. Start tweeting. Facebook and Twitter can be great ways to bring in addition traffic to your site. On the flip side they can be a great way to waste huge amounts of time. God Damn you Bejewelled!!!!! But if you treat them like a marketing tool instead of endlessly catching up with friends from primary school you can tap into huge viral networks. Put follow me on Facebook and Twitter buttons on your website (that’s right make it easy for your visitors.) and then post links to the latest information or happenings related to your business.
6. Offer Incentives – This relates back to giving people a reason to visit your website. Offer exclusive website discounts and promotions. If your customers know that you offer online deals and specials it will soon grow your website traffic and your sales.

Think about the ideas that have been put forward here. Make your site easy to use, encourage your users to talk about and share your site and give them a reason to keep coming back.

And remember if you don’t know what your visitors are doing when they visit you website you are working blind. Adding visitor statistics is not hard to implement or understand and it will make a big difference to understanding your audience going forward.

What do you give a man who has done everything? An Interview.

Bill Hurter started out in photography in 1972 in Washington, DC, where he was a news photographer. He even covered the political scene, including the Watergate hearings. After graduating with a BA in literature from American University in 1972, he completed training at the Brooks Institute of Photography in 1975.

Going on to work at Petersen’s PhotoGraphic magazine, he held practically every job except art director. He has been the owner of his own creative agency, shot stock, and worked assignments (including two and a half years with the L.A. Dodgers). He has been directly involved in photography for the last thirty five years and has seen the revolution in technology. In 1988, Bill was awarded an honorary Masters of Science degree from the Brooks Institute.

In 2007 he was awarded an honorary Masters of Fine Arts degree from Brooks. He has written more than 35 instructional books for professional photographers and is currently the editor of Rangefinder and AfterCapture magazines.

How long have you been picking up a camera?

I didn’t pick up a camera until junior year in college. I got hooked right away and took four classes with Washington Star-News picture editor, Don Moore, who suggested I pursue it further professionally. He helped me land a job with a small news agency in Washington, D.C., Reni Newsphotos, where I held U.S. Senate and White House press cards six weeks after landing the job.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a photographer?

No, not at all. Not until I was almost 20 years old. I wanted to be the great American author… Ernest Hemingway. Oh, well.

What is your speciality as a photographer?

I started out as a photojournalist, but enjoyed the structure of portraiture. After two years as a journo, I went back to school, Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA and majored in Portraiture. It was the absolute right thing to do for me.

When you’re not shooting for clients, what kind of images do you like to shoot?

I like to shoot graphic images and images that have inherent stories. I was an English major in college and enjoyed all aspects of the narrative. When I got into photography, I thought the narrative element should be a part of every picture I took.

You have been an international judge for many years now, how did you first get into judging?

I first started judging here at WPPI, when they didn’t have enough judges to fill a panel. So I would sit in. I realized I knew enough from picture editing for the magazines (Rangefinder and AfterCapture) to be a pretty discerning judge.

Do you think there are extra considerations to be made when entering an International versus Local competition?

Absolutely. One has to discount a lot of one’s own cultural preferences in favor of a more open-minded approach to the images. This is especially true of wedding photography, where customs and rituals are different in every country around the globe.

It’s been said many times that entering a competition is more than just winning. What do you take out of a competition when you enter?

Well, personally I don’t enter contests any more, but I think competitors should not rely on winning or losing for self-justification. It has always been my philosophy that one should enter print competitions to learn and as a quality check, to see how your work stacks up against your peers’ work.

What are the first 3 things you look at in your images when you enter a competition?

Trick question, isn’t it? Impact, impact, and impact. No, seriously, impact. An image has to, in some way, take your breath away. Surprise you or enlighten you. Aside from all the technical details being in tow, the image has to bring you to a higher intellectual or spiritual level by virtue of its existence.

What advice would you offer photographers entering a competition for the first time?

Roll the dice and see how you do. It’s not life or death, it’s a print competition. Your self worth as a person or a photographer is not at stake. But you can learn a hell of a lot from entering. Sometimes all of us are in a bubble of our own making and we need a reality check, usually provided by discerning print judges.

You can find out more about Bill at http://billhurter.com/ or http://billhurter.wordpress.com/

Entries to The 2010 International Aperture Awards close on 15th October.