ThirstyPhoto™

We have added a rating system to the Facebook App now.  For every photo submitted, a Facebook user can now rate the photo from 1 to 5 stars.  This is how winners will be determined for contests.

Expect to see more features with the Facebook App around rating photos.  The next couple of weeks, both our current contests are scheduled to open for voting.  Since this feature just came out, you are now able to vote for the Popular Selection for both contests early.  Be sure to give feedback on this!

example rating

The website has supported a 5 start rating system before the App was released.  In the past, the voting window was turned on for a specific time in order to determine winners, and then closed again.  Let us know your thoughts on how we should support photo rating in the future, by voting on the poll below.

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Nick Newell Facebook, Our Site Development 5 star rating, photos, voting

The “Street Photography” contest is now open for submissions!  This contest is a bit shorter than the HDR Contest, which is still open by the way. Each submission must follow the genre-based theme of “Street Photography” in your submissions. You will be able to submit up to 3 photos for this contest.

1st Place prize is the Blackbird Fly 35mm toy camera. Other prizes are available for Judges Selection and Popular Vote ( 1st , 2nd, and 3rd Place).

We ran a quick Poll to help choose the theme for this contest. Be sure to check back when we post the next poll so you can get your vote in.

How do I submit a photo?

For more info on the contest, its prizes, how to submit, and schedule go to the Facebook App now. Be sure to check eligibility if you are new to the App here - http://apps.facebook.com/thirstyphoto/contests/rules/eligible.php. The Facebook App will redirect you back to the site when you are eligible to upload a photo.

Example of Contest listing in Facebook App

What do those Icons do?

The Facebook App has a number of icons you can click to access different parts of the application, a contest, and photos. By the way , the icon images below are not click-able. Be sure to enter the Facebook App (screen-shot shown above) to interact with these icons.

The file icon can change depending on submission options.

1. This icon will check your eligibility for a contest.
2. Once your eligible, the icon will change to which will allow you to upload photos to the contest. When you click this icon for a contest, a pop up will report your remaining submission quota, and give you the link to upload.
   

   Example of the Upload Dialog

3. If you hit the quota, or the contest is closed to new submissions you will see the icon.

The ‘camera‘ icon will take you to the contest photos, where you can view, comment, share your photos or other photos on Facebook.

The ‘calendar‘ shows you the dates of each phase of the contest.  You can also join the Facebook event associated with the contest.
The ‘prize‘ icon shows you all available prizes offered to the top placed photos.

The ‘info‘ icon will display contest information.

Nick Newell Contests, Toys street photography, toy cameras

UPDATE - Poll is closed the next contest theme is “Street Photography”!

We have set the theme for all our contests to date.  Now its time for you to decide. February is coming up and although we still have the ‘Learn HDR’ contest open,  we want to have another Contest now!! Simply choose from the poll below.  Feel free to add more suggestions in the comments box and we may use them for future themes.

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Nick Newell Contests poll, you choose theme

These days digital cameras/phones have become so ubiquitous with how we shoot quick snaps of our daily lives we are accustomed to the high quality these devices provide. The latest products tout high megapixel ranges, bigger zoom-levels, and so many advanced features that we come to expect more out the pictures we create.

As technology seems to advance the quality of digital photography almost on a monthly basis, you will find an increasing trend towards a more basic , low-tech approach to photography. Almost as a revolt to the ever increasing presence of digital cameras , a class of cameras are taking their stand and attracting a cult following along the way.

The value of Toy Cameras is in direct contrast to their hi-tech counterparts.  To the enthusiast, the attraction is their characteristic flaws…

• The cheaper the camera the better.  Most popular toy cameras are under $100.
  • plastic body, plastic lens
  • almost no controls on the body ( like a view finder or focus control)
• Image “characteristics” are more important that image  “quality”
  • Lens effects like vignetting
  • Light leaks
• Easily modded, hacked, and tuned
  • cheap enough to take apart and put back together again.
  • a strong mod community has tons of ways to trick out your toy camera, and get some great custom effects.

Some of the most popular Toy Cameras out there today have communities online and popular Flickr groups dedicated to them.. Below are some great sites for the overall toy camera enthusiasts.

• www.lomography.com
• http://www.flickr.com/groups/toycameras
• http://www.picturenoise.com/

Listed here are 4 of the most popular cameras today under 200 bucks and some resources for each. Know of anymore? Feel free to leave a comment on your favorite toy camera!

1. Diana Camera - $50

For around $50 you get a plastic lens, two shutter settings, and three aperture settings.

• http://www.dianacamera.com/
• http://www.flickr.com/groups/dianaphotos/

2. Holga - $50

For around $50 you get soft focusing, full double-exposure capability, intense vignetting, and unpredictable light leaks.

• http://www.flickr.com/groups/86881528@N00/
• http://www.holgamods.com
• http://www.davidniles.com/holga/about.html

3. Blackbird Fly - $125

More on the high-price range ( for a toy camera that is), at $125 this 35mm twin reflex camera is a flagship for the Toy Camera community. You get two shooting options f7 at 1/125th and f/11 at 1/125th. - essentially “sunny” and “cloudy”.

• http://blackbirdflycamera.com/
  

4. Golden Half - $50 to $60

With a half-frame camera, one can fit twice as many pictures onto a standard roll of film. For example, 72 exposures on a 36-exposure roll, 48 on a 24-exposure one, and so on. The exposures have a vertical (portrait) orientation as opposed to the horizontal (landscape) orientation of a 35mm SLR or rangefinder.

• http://www.brooklyn5and10.com/The-Golden-Half-Plastic-Camera-superior-optics-p/gh01.htm
• http://www.fourcornerstore.com/collections/golden-half-versions

Nick Newell Cameras, Toys blackbirdfly, diana, golden half, holga, toy camera

The “Learn High Dynamic Range” contest is now open for submissions!  We have allowed this contest to be open for a while longer than previous since this is a technique-based theme.  This requires the submissions to follow the general usage of the HDR technique.

Each submission must follow the technique-based theme of “High Dynamic Range”, HDR. If you are new to HDR be sure to download the free trial of HDRSoft’s Photomatix Pro 3 here. If you wish to purchase Photomatix Pro, simply use the coupon code ‘ThirstyPhoto’ when purchasing online at www.hdrsoft.com for a 15% discount.

You will be able to submit up to 5 photos for this contest. 1st Place prize is Adobe Photoshop CS4!

After some development time, the Facebook App is evolving in a good direction and we hope it will be the main interface for contests to come. Expect the site to be more streamlined over the next couple of months.  A simplified cleaner site will replace the current one in time.

How do I submit a photo?

For more info on the contest, its prizes, how to submit, and schedule go to the Facebook App now! http://apps.facebook.com/thirstyphoto.

Look for the Eligibility Icon ( as seen on the left) in the App and click it. Once clicked, the Facebook App will do some checks to confirm you are able to submit a photo to the contest. If you are eligible, you will get access to the  proper upload link for the contest.  For a breakdown of these icons see info page http://thirstyphoto.com/blog/?page_id=12

Nick Newell Contests, Facebook, Our Site Development contest, facebook app, HDR, photomatix

Our next contest will have a technique-oriented theme, rather than a subject-oriented theme as we have done to date.  This is the first in a series of  ‘technique themes” designed to focus on either how the photo is shot, or how the image is post-processed.

So get a head start before the contest is officially announced!

Our next theme will focus on High Dynamic Range shots.  There are a number of software solutions out there.  Since HDRSoft has a full trial version I recommend downloading it here.  The resulting image adds a watermark for trial versions of the software, but this is fine for submissions.

Prizes will include Photoshop and Photomatix Pro!

Nick Newell Contests, Software HDR, photomatix, photoshop

Popular Vote Complete

Our third contest has finally come to a close and the winners have been selected for the popular vote! Congratulations to 1st Place Jessica McDade, 2nd Place David Anjema , and 3rd Place Kim Cartledge. There were a lot of photos that had good activity from members.  I intend to open the voting module up permanently in the next contest or two so people can vote any time for all submissions, and see the overall scores via the developing Facebook App.

Thank again to everyone for your participation.  I’ll be sending our prizes to all the winners of “Faces”.  Stay tuned later this month for a new Contest Announcement!

1st Place Photo By : Jessica McDade

2nd Place Photo By : David Anjema

3rd Place Photo By : Kim Cartledge

Nick Newell Contests popular vote, winning photos

Tallying the votes and reviewing images.  Will announce Top 3 early next week!  Thanks again everybody for the great turn out.  Another contest is coming soon!

Nick Newell Contests popular vote

The popular vote is a chance to pitch your submissions, rate other Thirsty Photographers’ photos, comment on your Favs, and see what feedback you get on your own photos. With so many submissions this contest I recommend we all try to vote and comment on at least 5 random photos.  In the future, this type of participation may be a requirement for eligibility in the contest - so its a good time to put your critique hat on and try it out!

The popular vote window is now open for 7 days after the Judging Panel has made their selection in the contest. The top 3 rated photos will move to the Showcase Album along with the top 3 photos selected by the Judges at the end of the Contest.

Campaign for the most popular Photo

In order to qualify for placement in the top three, the submission must have a minimum of 15 votes. The best way to get votes is to vote for other submissions, and pitch your favorite photo on Facebook. For each photo, the “by-line” has a Share button. You can also use the Facebook App. This will allow you to post a link of your own photo (or your favorite photo ) to your news feed. Let friends know your in the contest and get them to participate - after all, its a popular vote so campaign for your favorite photo!

Accessing Photos

The Facebook App has been evolving, and can now be used as a way to quickly view your own photos and share them without leaving Facebook.  There are still some kinks to work out on the Facebook App, but try it out.  Some useful links

1. View your Photos for Faces   : here
2. View the Faces Contest Page : here
3. View 20 Random Photos from the Contest : here

Nick Newell Contests popular vote

Judging Round Complete

Our third contest is coming  to a close and the winners have been selected for the judges round! Popular vote is now open, so get out there and expose your photos to friends, Facebook, and the world.

Congratulations to 1st Place Saud Al Faisal, 2nd Place Marco Simola , and 3rd Place Abhiruk Lahiri. There were over 600 shots submitted this contest. This meant there were tons of great photos to review, and a tough choice to choose the top 3. So I have also shown the photos that made it to the top round of judging. Be sure to check out the Facebook App for more details.

1st Place Photo By : Saud Al Faisal

2nd Place Photo By : Marco Simola

3rd Place Photo By : Abhiruk Lahiri

Nick Newell Contests contest, facebook, winning photos