Evoking Spring Photo Contest, Spring 2009

Well, it is past midnight as I type this, so my promise to deliver the results by midnight is broken. However, I did have some very good reasons for the delay. After checking and double checking the scores of 8 judges with a double weighted score for head judge, Ed Crim, I had a two way tie for 1st place and for 3rd place. So, I decided to call in the services of a dear FOB (Friend of the Blog) and had them also score the top 5 for me, and finally the result was in. And, then, for the Reader’s Choice, I just finished tallying all of the 157 e-ballots…twice…because 1st and 2nd place differed by one vote.

You can proceed however you like, but if I were you, I would peruse the pictures once again, which are now labelled with the photographer’s name, location, and blog address (if they submitted one) and then check out the results at the end of the photos.

My hope for blog contests such as these is to foster and encourage creativity, so if a photo moved you or intrigued you or delighted you or whatever, consider giving a shout out to the photographer. And, if you like, give a visit to the blogs of those who chose to list them.

Ed Crim and I would like to thank all the contestants for the great response. I would also like to thank everyone who voted for the Reader’s Choice award. Finally, I would also like to thank the judges, who were very kind to view and critique 35 pictures. I greatly appreciate that effort and care.

• Ed Crim, St. Louis, MO, Edward Crim Photography and Forest Park 365
• Jenny Shain, St. Louis, MO, Pummeled by Adoring Fans
• Tim Garrett, St. Louis, MO, Photobooth StL
• Angela Heirendt, St. Louis, MO, Last Answers
• H.H., St. Louis, MO
• Brea McAnally, St. Louis, MO, Brea Photography
• Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma, Grand Rapids, MI, Editor, catapult
• Jesse Heirendt, St. Louis, Missouri

Tony Thompkins, St. Louis, MO

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A. Burke, Columbia, SC,

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Sara White, Louisville, KY

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Rima Warren, Pittsburgh, PA, Art By a Bean

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Tala Strauss, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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Alan Lamberg, St. Louis, MO, Seelenadel

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Jeremy Huggins, St. Louis, MO

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Eddie Jones, St. Louis, MO

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Courtney Steever, St. Louis, MO, Still Have This Secret Hope…

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Virgil Das, San Antonio, TX

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Aaron Jones, St. Louis, MO

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Grace Das, Godfrey, IL

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Adrian Das, Godfrey, IL, Westminster Presbyterian Church

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Carrie Jones, St. Louis, MO

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Sophie Blanc, Sydney, Australia, Blancs at Large

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April Mininger, St. Louis, MO, Perhaps

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Chandra Mininger, Philadelphia, PA

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Jenny Whitman, St. Louis, MO

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Barry Sherbeck, Madison, WI

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Amanda Salmond, St. Louis, MO, Yeah, Like the Fish

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Vincent A. Das, San Antonio, TX

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Abi Svoboda, Chicago, IL

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Nathan Gemayel, St. Louis, MO, Sweet Chicken

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Tanya Mark, St. Louis, MO, Raindrops on Windows

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Jennifer Sodergren, St. Louis, MO

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Anna Hardy, St. Louis, Mo

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Susanna Jones, Columbia, MO

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Katy Owens, St. Louis, MO

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Barbara St. John, St. Louis, Mo, Barbara St. John

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Rob MacDougall, St. Louis, MO

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Nathaniel Brown, St. Louis, MO

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Anne Morley, St. Louis, MO

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Anna Eisenbraun, Chicago, IL

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Rebecca Brady, Yorkville, IL

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Cathy Reilly, St. Louis, MO

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Prizes

• First Place, $100: “#19, The Secret Life of Chives,” Barry Sherbeck photographer

• Second Place, $40 (yeah, it’s bumped up a bit): “#17, Bounce,” Chandra Mininger, photographer

• Third Place: “#25, Weed Eater,” Jennifer Sodergren, photographer

• Fourth Place: “#10, Exuberance,” Virgil Das, photographer

• Fifth Place: “#9, Spring Chicken,” Courtney Steever, photographer

Reader’s Choice Top Five

• First Place, $30: “#20, Untitled,” Amanda Salmond, photographer

• Second Place: “#4, Spring at Geneva,” Rima Warren, photographer

• Third Place: “#2, Untitled,” Ashleigh Burke, photographer

• Fourth Place: “#9, Spring Chicken,” Courtney Steever, photographer

• Fifth Place: “#22, Abandoned Kite” Abi Svoboda, photographer

Entries Submitted: 35

A Photo Contest of The Dassler Effect, Forest Park 365, and Edward Crim Photography
Theme: “Evoking Spring.” Photos needn’t be “about” any particular subject. They simply need to accomplish the theme. You decide how to do that.
Deadline: Midnight, Thursday, April 30th, 2009. All photos will be posted on The Dassler Effect on May 1st in the order submitted, without the names of the photographers.
Announcement of Winners: Friday, May 15th, 2009 on The Dassler Effect. All photos will be tagged with photographer infomation.
Judges: Judging will be done by an as-yet-to-be-determined panel of 4 or 5 judges with good eyes. Ed Crim will serve as the head judge, with a double weighted score. Judges will assign each photo a score between 1 and 10. The pictures accumulating the 4 highest point totals, respectively, win.

Prizes

• 1st: $100
• 2nd: $20
• 2 Honorable Mentions
• Reader’s Choice $30

Rules:

• Photos must be 500 pixels by…well, not quite infinity, but any heigth reasonable enough for blog viewing (500 pixels is the width off most of the pixtures on The Dassler Effect and any pictures submitted which are larger will be reduced to this size).
• Photos may only have undergone post-processing in the following areas: brightness, contrast, noise reduction, sharpness, saturation, color balance, curves, levels adjustments, dust spotting ,and cropping.
• Email your photo as an attachment with your name, your picture title, your location (city and country), and your blog address if desired.
• If a recognizable person appears in your photo, you must have them fill out this modeling contract and mail it in. Email for snail mail address.
• One photo per contestant please.
• Non-digital photos will be accepted if mailed in time to be scanned. Email for snail mail address.
• The Dassler Effect retains the right to not accept any submission. I do not forsee a problem here, by the way. However, I simply need to give myself some wiggle room.

Finally. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. We’ve got lot’s of digital wall space!
Further Opportunities
Keep checking this space for for updates of how many pictures have been submitted and for possible opportunites for photography workshops for contest participants conducted by Ed Crim!
Well, the entries are finally up and the judges will soon begin their work. The winners will be announced here on Friday, May 15th. In the meantime, you can help decide the Reader’s Choice winner. Please go to this link and vote for your favorite . Take your time. The voting will be open until midnight on May 14th. Please, however, respect the rules of this award and only vote once.
If you prefer, you can view the entries in a slideshow on Flickr here. If you want to activate the slide show, click on the link near the top right.

If you are a contestant and do not see your entry up here, contact me immediately!
Well, without further ado, enjoy!