Webshots Blog

Spring is finally here! The changing season means changing weather, from wild storms to mild drizzle, the Earth is warming and coming alive. In this challenge, let’s see if we can capture this season of new beginnings. As the saying goes “April Showers Bring May Flowers”

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-aprilshowers. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.

Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.

2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered for first place or being featured on the homepage at a later date. Collages, however, are acceptable. Images submitted should be your own.

3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.

4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on March 31 to 12:00 p.m. on April 12 (all times EST).

5. 3 pictures per person (regardless of how many member accounts you have) tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-aprilshowers

*Note:Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.

NEXT CHALLENGE THEME: How Does Your Garden Grow?
Let’s celebrate the new life, colors and textures bursting forth from the previously frozen ground beneath our feet. From glorious spring flowers to delicate buds, luscious fruits to delectable vegetables, the garden is coming alive! Share your vision of the garden and you may win a spot on the homepage!

The issue with the missing comments has been fixed, and all your comments should now be restored. Please note that a small percentage of the comments you actually deleted may have been restored as well, so we recommend reviewing your comments and deleting any you don’t want.

Thanks again to the Webshots community for identifying this issue and to the Webshots team for getting the fix so quickly!

With the latest Creative Challenge: Eggs, everyone must have been inspired by our eggsamples, because after a brief scramble, there were some really eggcellent images submitted! Oh, yes…we love to crack ourselves up…we have no eggcuses.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

#1. Rabbit Eggs by Member flowerfurly - Congratulations! Your photo will be featured on the Webshots home page tomorrow!

#2. Think Green by member sigfusson

#3. Glass Egg – Reflections by member stanpacz

#4. Eggs3 by member shenyadesilva

#5. The Egg Box by member police370

#6. Onion Skin-Colored Eggs by member ALDitzler

#7. Two Eggs. Spring Flowers. by member lovejoy

#8. Colored Eggs by member bigsister861

#9. Egg in the Pan by member peg353

#10. The Egg That Disguised Itself, Dan Pagis – photo by member ykarelic4

PhotoWorks just launched a new line of Wall Art products that really showcase your favorite photos. Making them is as easy as ordering prints: Just pick your photo(s), select your preferred Wall Art style, and create your masterpiece!

Check out our different styles of Wall Art, and choose the one that’s best for you:
Mounted Prints

This lightweight alternative to framing makes a sleek, beautiful statement in any room. And no glass or laminate means no reflections, fading or muted colors—just bright, clean colors and crisp detail.

Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Fine, archival-quality canvas produces real-life images with rich colors and crisp detail. The versatile canvas print is ideal for grouping or as a single accent.

Framed Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Adding a tailored wood-grain box frame to our gallery wrapped canvas creates wall art that works well with any décor. Fine archival-quality canvas produces real-life images with rich colors and crisp detail.

Premium Framed Photo Board

Your favorite photos become unique, beautiful pieces of art with a sleek, framed photo board. They’re printed on high-quality, matte-finish art-poster stock then mounted onto a masonite board, creating clear color resolution and detail. The tailored wood-grain frame complements any outdoor or indoor photo setting.

We’re offering Free Shipping on all Wall Art orders through 3/31/2010, so order yours today—it only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to make!

Good news, everyone!

We have identified and fixed the problem we had last week with comments disappearing on Webshots. No comments were lost, and our team will be working this week to restore them. We’ve also made additional changes to prevent this from happening again.

A huge thank you goes out to the Webshots Community, who helped us identify this issue in a timely manner.

Photo walks, a popular activity among photo-sharing communities, let us all be a part of something no matter where we are in the world. By taking a walk this weekend and sharing the pictures with us, you’re contributing to a global mural of life.

So put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and go for a walk. You’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. We’d love to see all of your photos as you can submit as many as you like!

Please tag your photos with Weekend Photo Walk 122 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!

Dear Members,

We are having issues with comments being deleted, so we are going to temporarily disable comments while we work on the problem. Please stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter, and the blog for more updates.

by Roger Canada

It’s widely accepted that autumn is generally the favorite time of year for most photographers (myself included). Winter offers fantastic rewards for photographers willing to brave the bitter and challenging conditions, and it can yield images not seen in person by a vast majority of the public. Summer is splendid, but for me, spring offers something the other seasons do not: Rejuvenation! Just as nature begins a fresh year of new growth, so, too, can photographers.

As spring nears, many photographers begin shopping for that new piece of gear to help get that once-in-a-lifetime image. While new equipment can be exciting and help open some new possibilities, the real key to improving your images lies between your ears. Oftentimes the camera and lenses that you already own are more than sufficient for that award-winning shot. Spring is a great time to rejuvenate your photography and work on developing your personal vision.

Everyone will have a different way of seeing, even with their tripods side by side. I’d like to share some of the basic approaches I use when I am in the field to help hone my personal vision for better photographs in spring.

My top priority is to find the largest expanses of wildflowers that I can. This may seem obvious, but sometimes the largest expanse is only four feet wide! Whether four feet wide or four hundred feet wide, I will aim to fill the viewfinder from corner to corner with flowers. If I am in an open field, I will include the sky if the conditions are right. If the sky is bland, I will eliminate it completely. Try to work the area where the best-looking blooms are. Shoot horizontals, shoot verticals, shoot from low angles, shoot from high angles, shoot looking straight down on the blooms, or shoot underneath the blooms utilizing backlight! By trying different approaches, you will begin to find what works for you.

It is very difficult to get your wildflower images to stand out from the billions upon billions of flower photographs that have already been photographed. However, don’t let this stop you from trying! I personally am not a big fan of macro photography; I appreciate it and am in awe of photographers who do it very well, but it doesn’t seem to satisfy my own personal vision. I would rather juxtapose a few beautiful blooms with the mossy bark of a tree trunk or even an out-of-focus stream in the background to give the image contrast and interest. I am not saying one style is better than another, it just comes down to one’s personal vision.

My favorite lens is the wide angle, and I will always find a reason to pull it out of the bag in most situations. For wildflower close-ups, a wide angle will give you a new perspective. Even the slightest repositioning of a few inches to the left or right will dramatically alter your image. I find that even a few colorful flowers can make or break a wide landscape image. I always look for red in particular as it often has more impact than other colors. A little red goes a long way. Add in some clouds, fog and beautiful light, and you may capture that once-in-a-lifetime award-winning image!

The bottom line is to try different compositions, lenses, and techniques until you find your own vision. Don’t worry about what you’ve seen in books and magazines or on websites; don’t worry about what your buddy is photographing a few feet away; concentrate on looking for that wow factor in your own camera’s viewfinder and press the shutter!

Editor’s Note: Roger Canada will be conducting photo tours this spring and summer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. His spring workshop will take place April 19-20, and space is limited, so please visit his website for more detailed information.

It’s Millionaire Monday as we celebrate member annedm1‘s over 3 million views on Webshots! She joined Webshots on October 2, 2002 and has since contributed 259 albums, including the stunning Butchart Gardens In Autumn, which was featured on the homepage in 2005.

Her albums offer a wide variety of subjects, from nature to Creative Challenge entries to her wonderful family, including her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Charlie and Poppy.

Please spend some time with her amazing albums, and be sure to wish her many congratulations on her 3 million views…and counting!

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Do You Have 1 Million Views or Downloads?
Let us know and we’ll feature you in the blog! Post a link to your member homepage in the comments.

Photo walks, a popular activity among photo-sharing communities, let us all be a part of something no matter where we are in the world. By taking a walk this weekend and sharing the pictures with us, you’re contributing to a global mural of life.

So put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and go for a walk. You’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. We’d love to see all of your photos as you can submit as many as you like!

Please tag your photos with Weekend Photo Walk 121 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!