Poi around the World - Photo Competition

2008 will be Home of Poi's 10th birthday and among the many things we are thinking of to help mark the occasion is a calendar. A calendar showing poi in use all around the world. And since Home of Poi could not exist without the dedicated following of the fabulous HoPpers, we want your help to create this calendar.
Therefore, we announce our latest competition - "Poi Around the World".

Competition Rules

All submitted entries become the property of Home of Poi. By submitting images to this competition, you grant us permission to use them for any product or purpose we choose. Of course, credit will be given wherever possible, but your prior permission for each instance will not be required.

All submitted entries must be original photo images. No editing/touchup, photoshop creations, "pirated" images etc. Cropping is the only editing allowed. Submitter must be the "owner" of the image.

Only 3 images can be entered by any one person. We expect a LOT of entries - without a limit, we will have practicality issues including site bandwidth and fair judging. We think a limit will mean the images submitted will be of a very high quality.

Digital images submitted should be of at least 2592 x 1944 resolution or better to allow full-screen PC display and high quality printing.

Entries submission will close in31 July 2007. This is to allow sufficient time for "judging" and calendar production. Calendar will go on sale in October (in time for the 9th birthday).

Images must be of safe and legal content - i.e. no climbing over the barriers to take a photo at the tip of the Eiffel Tower/Statue of Liberty etc etc. If we believe or are informed that local laws were broken or personnel safety was jeopardised in the taking of the photo, the image will be rejected. (We care about your safety and you shouldn't have to go to great lengths to get a good photo).

Images must include at least one element of poi/staff arts being displayed. The performer does not need to be visible - but the prop/toy must.

Other requirements will be shown on the image submission page of the website.

Prizes

This is not a "1st, 2nd, 3rd" type competition. This is a competition essentially for "bragging rights"! However, each person who has an image or images chosen for the full page photo's on the calendar will receive a prize of USD$150 credited to their HOP account.
Remember we will be choosing at least 12-13 images - for each month and the calendar cover. If the images are particularly impressive we may choose more than one image per month, or produce more than one calendar - in which case each calendar would be "themed" (e.g. "Poi Around the World - Structures" & "Poi Around the World - Landscapes"). We will also use the image pool to create computer wallpapers, screensavers and possibly cards etc. so there will be many opportunities for bragging rights.

So there you are then - you have 3 seasons to get out there and take awesome inspiring photo's. The timing should allow you summer and winter shots regardless of where you live.
This is kind of a "Stills COL" and as such it should be easier for our members to participate in as you don't need high skill, video equipment, editing equipment, access to royalty free music etc. Because of this, as stated in the rules, we expect almost everyone will enter hence the image limit. Also, this should make the standard of the images very high indeed, so you need to consider all aspects of the image - the location, the lighting, the time of year etc.
And you probably don't have to travel to exotic locations to get that "winning shot" - although it may be hard to beat a shot of say brightly coloured comet poi twirling at the top of Mt Everest or in front of the Antarctic South Pole! Every place in the world has amazing scenic locations, and even the "normal" ones can be scenic in the right lighting conditions and with the right subject in the foreground. Consider lightening storms(!), sunrise/sunset, full moon, street/building night lights etc.
Given the competition name is Poi Around the World, we are likely to be looking for images showing recognisable international landmarks as the backdrop for poi arts, however this does not necessarily mean it has to be a famous building (pyramid, Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, etc), or famous location (Ayers rock, Niagra Falls, the view up Lake Pukaki of Mt Cook etc) as long as it is a recognisable location. A close-up photo of you twirling poi on a backdrop of snow doesn't prove it's the North Pole! It doesn't have to be a well known international location, but it should at least be recognisable to anyone who has been there.

Think about is it the kind of picture people will want to have on their wall for a whole month and then maybe want to frame it. Visual appeal is what we're after.

The submissions page will be added over the next few months and will be linked from this page. We will attempt to include the functionality for you to change your mind and replace an existing submitted image with another.
Good Luck and Enjoy!




George McNeur