A marvellous March photo competition

For the month of March we're looking for images that make use of patterns. Get creative looking for Fibonacci spirals in vegetables, ancient mosaic tesserae, or jars lined up on a shelf. If your image comprises a pattern, we want to see it!

Thanks to the wonderful team at Fracture, the winning entrant will be able to claim a 12 inch Fracture for free.

To submit an entry, head over to the Small Aperture Flickr pool, and link your image in the March 2013 competition thread. (Remember, we've changed the rules slightly and the image must be in the thread as well as in the pool.) It's still one entry per person. The competition opens today (Friday 1 March) and closes on Friday 29 March 2013.

I've reproduced The Rules for your reference, so all that remains is to wish you good luck!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t be related to either me, Haje, or Gareth to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the relevant monthly thread within the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me, Haje, and Gareth) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Pixiq.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

If you've any questions, please just ask!

A stunning silhouette for March

Thank you, everyone, for your fantatsic entries in our silhouette-themed photo competition. What a stunning collection of photos made their way into the Flickr pool. The winner, though, is this stand-out image, Ant on a twig:

Oh it's a simple photo, but it has been tremendously well executed. The detail and sharpness of the ant is superb. It's a wonderful example of a silhouette. Congratulations Drew Eldridge!

The lovely people at Fracture are kindly providing a 12" Fracture as a prize for Drew.

April's competition will be opening within the next day or so, so please keep tuned for that. Don't forget, though, that you can always keep up-to-date with the latest competition news - and other photographic shenanigans - by following @SmallAperture on Twitter.

A photo competition for March!

Flax against the dawn. Lake Wanaka.

Okay, I've got a bit of a thing for silhouettes at the moment, so I thought it'd make an excellent competition theme this month. There, pretty simple then: silhouettes.

If you submit the winning entry, you'll win yourself a 12" Fracture courtesy of the wonderful guys at Fracture. (And if you've not checked out their work, then you should!)

The competition opens today (Thursday 8 March) and closes on Thursday 29 March. Entries need to go into the Small Aperture Flickr pool, but please remember that it's one submission per person.

I've reproduced The Rules, in case you need to refer to them, but otherwise, good luck! (And don't forget, if you follow @SmallAperture on Twitter, you get up-to-date competition and other photographic news!)

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Pixiq.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

If you've any questions, please just ask!

Our November photo competition

The theme for November’s photo competition is taking a slightly unusual bent. My brother has suddenly become a key player behind a campaign to force his university to reconsider its decision to close its school of music. To try to bring a smidge of publicity to the cause in my own quiet way, and to bolster my brother, too, I thought that I’d make the theme music.

Anything musical will do. You might want to try your hand at concert photography; you might want to submit a photo of an instrument; hell, even an unusual and well-composed shot of your CD collection could swing it for us. We don’t mind, just think notes, scores, sounds, and performers. The best picture wins a 12″ Fracture.

The competition opens today – that’s Wednesday 2 November – and you’ve until Wednesday 30 November to submit your entry to the Small Aperture Flickr pool. Remember, it’s just one entry per person, please.

The Rules are the same as last month and all the months before, but they’re here all the same in case you need them. If you need me, you know where to find me. Otherwise, good luck!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

Our September photo competition

So my lovelies. We’ve had a few creative themes for the past few competitions. They’ve been marvellous, but a change can be as good as a rest, so this month, we thought we’d go and do something technical. We are, therefore, looking for your low-key photos. Dark, brooding, moody, seductive. Whatever take on low-key you want to give us, that’ll be fabulous. The one that we like the best will win a fabulous 12″ Fracture.

You’ve from today – Wednesday 7 September – until Wednesday 28 September to submit your entry. As ever, it’s one submission per person, and they need to go in our Flickr pool.

If you’ve any questions at all, drop me a note. Otherwise The Rules are here for your reference, and good luck!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

Our July photo competition

Hello All. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s photo competition day. For no other reason than we felt like it, this month’s theme is red. (Okay, so maybe me buying a brand new red dress had a little something to do with it, but only a tad.) Let your imaginations run riot with red. We can’t wait to see what you drop into the Flickr pool, and to choose a winner, who’ll get a gorgeous 12″ Fracture.

You’ve three weeks to submit a photo, so you have from today (Wednesday 6 July) until Wednesday 27 July. It’s only one photo per person, and they need to go in the Small Aperture Flickr pool.

If you’ve any questions, please be in touch. Otherwise, I’ve reproduced The Rules, just in case. Good luck and have fun!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

Our June photo competition

I’m very excited about this month’s theme. I dreamed it up a while ago (I say ‘dreamed up’ but it wasn’t exactly taxing on my imagination or anything) and cannot wait to see what you all produce for it. We’re looking for pictures that feature water this month. It doesn’t matter what form the water takes, whether it’s ice, waves, mountain tarns, steam, or puddles, it just has to be H₂O. As ever, the wonderful Fracture are providing the awesome prize of a 12 inch Fracture.

Seeing as June has five Wednesdays in it this year, we thought that we’d take advantage and give you four weeks (rather than the customary three) to submit an entry. This means that you have until Wednesday 29 June to throw an image (just the one) into our our Flickr pool.

If you’ve any questions, you know where to find me. Otherwise, good luck!

Oh, and here are The Rules, just in case.

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

(The picture is Haje’s. He took it diving. Lucky sod.)

January photo competition winner!

‘Crimeney – awesome stuff – it’s great to see that people are posting such fantastic images! I’m very impressed indeed.’ That was Haje’s reaction when we sat down to judge the January competition entries. So before I announce the winner, and invite you all to have a drink (alcoholic or otherwise, depending on your timezone and personal preferences) and a slice of cake to celebrate, to everyone who entered: thank you and well done. You made our lives difficult in the best way.

We delighted to unveil the winner of our monochrome photo challenge:

Mix, by Geoff Ridenour

Many congratulations! Please drop me an email, Geoff, and I’ll arrange a prize to wing its way to you.

Check out all the entries on our Flickr pool page. They really were phenomenal and everyone deserves credit. We’re looking forward to another great set of entries for February’s competition. Details will be going up soon.

Our January photo competition

Seeing as we have just revealed the winner of our December photo competition, it makes it time to announce the details of the January competition. We’ve had a lot of black and white entries over the past few months. It’s hardly surprising, given the themes were disposed to black and white, so this month we thought that we’d go for all out colour. But this is colour with a twist.

We want a picture that is dominated by one shade. It doesn’t matter which particular colour you choose, but the image should be about that colour; a riot of red, a preponderance of purple, a glut of green. (If you’re not quite sure what I mean, the picture illustrating this post should give you an idea.)

You’ve from today (Wednesday 5 January 2011) until Wednesday 26 January 2011 to submit your entries to the Small Aperture Flickr pool. And yes, we’ve a delicious photo book lined up for the talented winner.

For your reference, I’ve reproduced the rules. But go forth, take beautiful photos, and good luck!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.