Did you enter the Steve Huff/Seal M9 Giveaway?

[sper]

I did! He'll be revealing the top 15 this week I guess. Three a day, for the rest of the week, starting later today. I've got my fingers crossed, because I'll tell you this is the only way I'll be able to get my hands on an M9.

This was my entry. My theme was "portrait of the photographer at work."



Self Portrait # 1 by marksperry, on Flickr


Self Portrait # 2 by marksperry, on Flickr

Lets see your entry!

 

[sper]

I'm surprised more RFF'ers aren't into this contest...or maybe you're keeping quiet!

Anyway here is the first set of 'top 15' if you haven't seen them.

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/02/07/the-top-15-entries-in-the-leica-m9-contest/

I like the Octopus pics best out of the set. That little kid certainly is a nice story, though the photographs are kinda lame. The deathbed pictures though are pretty well done. I like the octopus shots the most because I think they work on a visual level.

 

[DRabbit]

I joined, and like you, am hoping for a win since there's no way an M9 will come into my possession except though a contest or the lottery. Plus, I've been a huge Seal fan for a LONG time, so the idea of winning a Leica signed by him is a thrill for me! LOL

I'm going to hold off on sharing my entry until all the finalists are announced... not that I think I'll be in that group...

I really struggled with the contest though... I had several ideas throughout the month that I couldn't figure out how to execute, I didn't feel were strong enough as stories, couldn't get the right permission for, etc. I ended up shooting my final idea on the very last day and submitted my entry with only two hours to deadline... and even then I was still agonizing! I really tried to tell a story with a beginning and and end, and that's hard with just two photos!

The first batch of finalists is looking great so far... and I like your entry here too 🙂

BTW, there is a group of us talking about it over on DPR (Leica forum)... several people from there seem to have joined in...

 

[bmorena]

I entered as well. Very rewarding experience conceiving and executing a two image narrative. I was happy with my entry and felt my photos came out very close to what I planned. After seeing the first round of finalists I doubt my entry will be selected. The stories presented have a much more human touch than mine. My submission was essentially about a bike, leaving alot of the story to be interperated by the viewer. It's a great prize to compete for and I think my overall photographic approach grew as result of producing for a specific assignment.
Good luck to my fellow RFFers.
Brian

 

[LeicaFan]

I entered, but after seeing some of the entries, I doubt that I'll place in the top 15. As much as I want to win (don't we all? 😛), even if I don't make the cut, it was a fun contest.

I like this one a lot:

 

[sper]

Does anybody else thing its weird that Steve keeps changing the contest rules?

 

[DRabbit]

I got picked as a finalist!

I saw this morning one got disqualified because he took one of the photos a year ago.

Sper... I think Steve is just trying to make it more fun and keep it fair. Originally he was only going to pick 10 finalists, so he expanded that to 15 and now the last three will be picked by the viewers (by voting). At the end of the day, the final two judges (Heidi Klum and Rankin) are going to pick the big winners though.

 

[sper]

Congrats dude! Nice work!

But I don't like that he decided to only wait 1 day before announcing the finalists. He was going to wait until the 15th, which I think gives enough time to really do a solid edit. Then maybe those awful baby pictures wouldn't have taken the place of a more well thought out set.

 

[bmorena]

Terrific submission Amy. Maybe my favorite of the lot. I may have preferred some bolder post work as I see on your website but the chosen tonal range fits the series very well. I think you told a very effective story.
No real harm in sharing my submission at this point so here it is. The title is "ride"
take care
b

 

[bmorena]

wow! I'm aweful at attaching pictures.

 

[hipsterdufus]

I didn't end up submitting anything for it, even though I wanted the M9. I just thought the rules for entry were a tad ridiculous/scammish (register at a whole bunch of different websites and hope we can track all of your registrations; reminded me of the "Get an iPad/Xbox/iPod for free" scams you see all of the time). I'm sure it's legit, but it sure seemed fishy. Plus, knowing me, I would have screwed up one of the steps and rendered myself ineligible after putting a whole bunch of work into it.

 

[sper]

Terrific submission Amy. Maybe my favorite of the lot. I may have preferred some bolder post work as I see on your website but the chosen tonal range fits the series very well. I think you told a very effective story.
No real harm in sharing my submission at this point so here it is. The title is "ride"
take care
b

Brilliant! Yours are sweet!

 

[DRabbit]

Terrific submission Amy. Maybe my favorite of the lot. I may have preferred some bolder post work as I see on your website but the chosen tonal range fits the series very well. I think you told a very effective story.
No real harm in sharing my submission at this point so here it is. The title is "ride"
take care
b

Thanks!
And your submission is very cool... it's so different and striking, which I really like. A bit of a unique story to me, which is a breath of fresh air!

Hipsterdufus - the second website was Seal's, which seemed a fair trade for him donating his M9 to give away. Problem is, some people did have some functionality problems with that site in the first few days, so I'm not sure how strict they'll be on that part of the rules. *shrug* dunno.

 

[LeicaFan]

I got picked as a finalist!

I saw this morning one got disqualified because he took one of the photos a year ago.

Sper... I think Steve is just trying to make it more fun and keep it fair. Originally he was only going to pick 10 finalists, so he expanded that to 15 and now the last three will be picked by the viewers (by voting). At the end of the day, the final two judges (Heidi Klum and Rankin) are going to pick the big winners though.

Wow, one of our own got picked. Congrats!!! 😱

 

[Paddy C]

I was sure I was going to submit something but just didn't get around to it. I didn't have a lot of confidence in my ideas.

Having seen the selections now I'm really kicking myself. I don't think they're very strong overall. Good, with a few that stand out, but not really amazing. And I expected it to be a very tough competition with a high standard of quality amongst the finalists. Many of the folks that have submitted photos for his "daily inspiration" posts have had stronger work on an individual image basis. It appears the story in two pictures made it difficult.

I think it's a little odd that Huff changed the rules etc. But then that's the nature of his site: off the cuff. And I don't think the changes have harmed anyone or made the contest unfair.

Congratulations Amy on being selected.

Jacques L. Gudé's “Dreaming” may be my favourite of the lot as it breaks from the obvious "before and after" or "A then B" arrangement of a lot of the stories and instead gives two images that are completely different, but taking place at the same time, that still manage to tell a story and one that, IMO, opens the mind up to start thinking beyond the image. Interesting approach and well done.

 

[alifil]

and then the light eats Laurens

and then the light eats Laurens