In the West, sooner or later, most musicians or musical groups will get around to making a Christmas album. Sometimes it is seen as a symbol of having arrived. Even Bob Dylan has recently come in line, though he arrived a long time ago and then departed and then arrived…. Well, it is high time that the Crim-Dassler photo contests got in on the act, though it will produce an album of a different sort.
Whether you put your belief in the person at the center of the Christmas story or not, Christmas, for better or worse, has a large footprint in much of the world on and in the months leading up to December 25th. It is a time filled with all sorts of visual delights, both indoor and out, and emotions ranging from depression to great joy, so there is great scope for any photographer to find a niche in this contest. You will be judged only on how well your entries follow the parameters of this contest.
Theme:A Christmas Carol
Entries must be titled to a reference to one of the following:
- A sacred Christmas carol or song
- A secular Christmas song
- A line from Charles Dickens classic, Christmas novella, A Christmas Carol, which, in my estimation, falls on the secular side of the equation. I am including this on the insistence of my brother Adrian. Thanks for the good idea.
Submission Deadline:Thursday, December 17th, 2009. All photos will be posted on The Dassler Effect on Friday, December 18th in the order submitted, initially without the names of the photographers.
Number of Possible Submissions and Entry Fee:Two , and this contest is free (what a deal!)
- The Dassler Effect 1st Place Award: $100
- Edward Crim Photography and Forest Park 365 2nd Place Award: $50
- Edward Crim Photography and Forest Park 365 3nd Place Award: $25
- Email your photo(s) to Neil as an attachment with your name, your photo title(s), your location (city and country), and your blog address, if desired.
- Photos must be .jpegs but can be of any size. Photos will be displayed with a maximum width of 500 pixels, but will be judged using the file in which they are submitted.
- 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.
- In order to avoid the need for modeling contracts, any individuals pictured in photos must have given verbal assent to the photographers to have their picture displayed in the contest. The photographer assumes any and all liability from any disputes or legal action resulting from ignorance or breach of this policy.
- Contestants may submit up to two photos.
- Photos must have been taken within the five years.
- Entries must have titles which correspond to one of the three subject areas mentioned in the theme section above. You may slightly modify a title or lyric (e.g. pluralize a word) but not significantly so. If you feel your title references an obscure song title or, say, a passage from the 3rd paragraph of on page 16 of A Christmas Carol, please send along an explanatory link.
- Non-digital photos will be accepted if mailed in time to be scanned. Email Neil for snail mail address.
- Edward Crim and Neil E. Das, the contest sponsors, retain the right to reject any submission. We do not forsee major problems here, but if we feel that a photo portrays a subject in a degrading or demeaning manner or is outside the decency standards of Edward Crim Photography, Forest Park 365, or The Dassler Effect we reserve the right to reject any entry.
Finally, to prime the pump, here are some samples which illustrate the scope this contest allows. I am hoping for both “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Here Comes Santa Claus, Right Down Santa Claus Lane” submissions ;).
Alright, there you go! Now go express the tremendous freedom and creativity that can occur within the space of parameters and limits and get your photos in!!
The Dassler Effect 