Webshots Blog

Photo walks, a popular activity among photo-sharing communities, lets 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 1 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!

P.S. The Weekend Photo Walk will replace the Weekend Warrior because so many more people can participate. Thanks to everyone who earned their Weekend Warrior status and shared their creative shots with us.

The holiday season is my favorite time of year—I love looking at holiday window displays, eating yummy treats and most importantly, spending time with my family and friends. But somehow, the holidays always seem to sneak up on me, and admittedly, I haven’t crossed off one person on my gift-giving list!

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this boat, and like you, the idea of battling the crowds this weekend does not put a smile on my face. That’s why we’ve decided to give you the best gift this holiday: 20% off your entire order at the Webshots store.

Seriously, everything is on sale, so you can stock up on great gifts under $25, professional photos, stocking stuffers and more for everyone on your list! Plus, your gifts will be the ones they treasure the most because their custom-made with your photos.

Save yourself a trip to the mall and order all your gifts at the Webshots store—that’s what I’m doing!

Top Holiday Products
*Photobooks * Calendars * Canvas Prints * Mugs

Long or extended exposure photography requires a slow shutter speed to capture light and movement. The technique can produce interesting images, especially when the composition includes water, lights and moving objects. For this week’s Creative Challenge, slow things down a bit and experiment with long exposures.

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-longexposure. 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. Collages, however, are acceptable.

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 November 28 to 3:00 p.m. on December 3 (all times PST).

5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-longexposure

*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 WEEK’S THEME: Statues
Though they don’t move, statues have a lively quality about them. From the famous Lincoln Memorial to your city’s founder, people of importance have been memorialized in everything from bronze to stone. Get creative with this one and try capturing the statue from interesting angels, using a variety of filters or playing with the exposure. Got an idea for a Creative Challenge? Let us known on the blog!

The holidays are here, and it’s time to celebrate! Our gift to you is a giant 20% off your entire order at the Webshots store—so now’s the time to order Pro Shots gifts for everyone on your list, such as canvas prints, poster prints, T-shirts, mugs and more!

We’ve rounded up some of your favorite Pro Shots photographers—their photos would make great holiday gifts! Click on a photo to download it to the Webshots Desktop and click on a photographer’s name to see a selection of their best work!

Adam Jones

Dancing Pelican

Dennis Flaherty

Don Paulson

Donald Higgs

Larry Carver

Mike Briner

Minden Pictures

Paul Richman

Penny Adams

Roger Canada

Scott Tylor

Vincent Khoury Tylor

Willard Clay

In addition to looking at your amazing photos in the Creative Challenge: Thankful, we also enjoyed reading your captions that explained why you’re thankful for your mom or your pet or a beautiful sunset. This one was tough to judge because it was so personal, but we felt that these three winners said it all with their stunning imagery:

#1. What a great “natural” contrast captured by member mcnabb22! The blazing orange sky meets the cool blue ocean in a stunning composition—and the flock of birds is the “cherry on top,” making this our stand-out winner! Congrats to member mcnabb22—we’ll feature your photo on the homepage tomorrow.

#2. Member lynncb7 took the words right out of our mouths with her “Heavenly Rays” submission. The stream of sunlight illuminating the fall colors in Sequoia National Park is something all nature lovers can be thankful for.

#3. Children and grandchildren are such blessings, and we love this candid moment that member haneveercoremansshots shares with us.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Challenge and shared their most precious things with us. To see all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Thankful, visit the DISPLAY PAGE.

AmericanGreetings.com Holiday Photo Cards

Can’t find the perfect holiday greeting card? Why not make your own! AmericanGreetings.com, Webshots’ new parent company, just launched premium-quality photo cards that you can customize with your personal pictures.

How awesome would these Webshots members’ photos look on a holiday card?!

With over 30 holiday designs to choose from and classic American Greetings messages, your cards will be the star of the season! Plus, you can save 15% on your order with the code 15OFF4WEB now hrough December 31, 2007.

But you’d better order soon: There’s only 33 days until Christmas and 12 days before Hanukkah begins!

Tomorrow, many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving, a time to be with loved ones and reflect on all the blessings in out lives. For this week’s Creative Challenge, ask yourself what you’re thankful for and then take a picture of it. Perhaps it’s your baby niece or a secret family recipe or a glorious sunrise you saw while on vacation. Whatever it is, share it with us during this festive time.

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-thankful. 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. Collages, however, are acceptable.

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 November 21 to 3:00 p.m. on November 26 (all times PST).

5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-thankful

*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 WEEK’S THEME: Long Exposures
Long or extended exposure photography requires a slow shutter speed to capture light and movement. The technique can produce interesting images, especially when the composition includes water, lights and moving objects. Got an idea for a Creative Challenge? Let us known on the blog!

Beautiful blooms abound in the Creative Challenge: Fall Flowers! If only Webshots has “smell-a-vision” so we could get a whiff of the sweet scents. Alas, that technology doesn’t exists (yet), so the editors put on their gardening gloves and picked the top three flowers for the winners’ bouquet:

#1. When we saw member trotvalley’s “Twin Mums” entry, we knew we’d found our top choice: The brilliant fall colors, the stunning clarity and the tight macro composure blew us away. Congrats to trotvalley—we’ll feature your photo on the homepage tomorrow!

#2. What a fantastic shot of a Black Eyed Susan by member stenaphierose! We loved the way the green leaf seems to be caressing the flower as though the two were sharing a tender moment. Great job!

#3. When you think of a Hydrangea, you usually think of the full blossom, so we really liked how member smath101 focused in on the individual petals. Plus, the stunning color and elegant composure made it a definite top-three contender.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Challenge and filled our days with the beauty of fall. To see all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Fall Flowers, visit the DISPLAY PAGE.

We’re working on some awesome holidays sales for you this season, and we want to get your opinion on something: Would you rather make a custom photobook or a calendar?

Vote now in the comments section!

***UPDATE***
The votes are in…and the winner is…BOTH!

Hey, it’s the season of giving, and we want your friends and family to enjoy custom-made calendars and photobooks from their awesome friends at Webshots!

We’ll announce the savings in the blog soon, so start getting your pictures together!

:) Jess

Spring is usually the star of beautiful blossoms, but the rich colors and warm tones of fall’s flowers offer a subtle beauty, too. For this week’s Creative Challenge, keep your eyes on the lookout for Marigolds, Amaryllis, Mums and more—we want to see your best pictures of fall’s flowers!

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-fallflowers. 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. Collages, however, are acceptable.

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 November 14 to 3:00 p.m. on November 19 (all times PST).

5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-fallflowers

*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 WEEK’S THEME: What Are You Thankful For?
Thanksgiving is next Thursday in the U.S., so what better time to do a Creative Challenge around the things that you’re thankful for? Show us your favorite places, people, pets, pies (yes, I am thankful for pumpkin pie!) and more! Got an idea for a Creative Challenge? Let us known on the blog!