Wacky Winner Gets ME Contest.
Yep – I will either come out to you and do a one on one workshop, or you can come here to do one in Phoenix. If you decide to come out here, airfare will be taken care of round trip (there are some caveats – see below). The workshop is gratis, and the fun is over the top. Hey, this thing is probably worth a buck, 3-80 and change!
We can hang in your home town, or you can hang with me in mine. We will tailor the learning to exactly what your needs and desires to learn are, and all levels are welcome. I will warn you that the competition is stiff, and there will be many photographers gunning for this spot.
If I come to your studio, you can even invite 3 of your buds and they can take the workshop with you. However, you cannot charge them any money for it, it has to be on the house. Think of what they will ‘owe’ you after the workshop… heh.
We will do some video taping and we will broadcast out to the Project 52 group at some point in the workshop.
So that’s the deal, now here are all the rules and stuff.
Rules and Regulations and stuff:
The winner gets a one-on-one two-day workshop tailor made to their needs and level. Two different ways the workshop can be conducted:
A. I will fly to winner’s hometown, and do the workshop with them in their studio. Winner can choose up to three additional photographers to join him/her, but cannot charge for their attendance.
B. Winner will be flown (by me) to my studio in Phoenix for a one-o-one workshop. Winner can still invite up to three additional photographers, but they will have to furnish their own airfare. They can also not be charged for their attendance.
If I fly to the winner’s hometown, I will pay for my own hotel and rental car (if needed), breakfast and dinner. Winner buys lunch for both of us.
If the winner flies to Phoenix for the workshop, they will be responsible for their own hotel, rental car (if needed), breakfast and dinner, I will pick up lunch. (Probably gonna be Mexican, and really, really good. If you are not a fan of Mexican food, I will not hold that against you, we have other great restaurants right around the studio.) Round trip airfare will be provided to the winner from any airport that Southwest Airlines services.
If models are required, every effort will be made to book one, but if there are fees involved, the winner is responsible for those fees. No models are implied or guaranteed without payment to models. Hey, you wanna chance a MM’er not showing up? No, neither do I.
IMPORTANT Information to consider.
I am using my Southwest Airlines Frequent Flyer points for this contest. If I am to fly out to you, you must live within a two-hour drive from the airport where Southwest flies. If you are coming to me, I will purchase your round trip flight on Southwest, but getting to a nearby Southwest airport is up to you.
Whoever wins will have to be able to book this workshop before April 1, 2012. We will also have to work around some airline scheduling challenges, but that is easy. I would say it will be easier to do a mid week than a weekend, but we can try to find a date that works.
OK – them’s the rules. Eezy-peezy.
Now for the contest:
To enter the contest, the photographer will submit the following:
1. A portfolio of no more than 15 images and no less than 10 images. Images must be sent to don.giannatti@gmail.com in a zipped folder. the images will be formatted as JPEGS and should be named with the photographer’s name-image# as in “don-giannatti-img1.jpg”. Watermarks are encouraged, but keep them small and unobtrusive, please. Remember to name the folder with your name as well.
2. Images should show a variety of the photographer’s work, but the most important thing is to show what you consider your best.
3. A written statement of what the photographer would hope to learn at the workshop, as well as a brief overview of the photographer’s current struggles and challenges. Please also tell me why you think this One-On-One Workshop will help you be a better photographer.
4. Photographs must be submitted in JPEG form, 800 pixels on the longest side.
5. The photographer keeps all rights to their images, but by submitting them to the contest does give permission for Lighting Essentials to show them as submissions and to use the images to promote the contest. No additional usage is implied. All images may appear on the Lighting Essentials site, as contest entrants, for the duration of 2012.
6. There are no second or third place winners… just as in real life. Sorry.
7. All entries must be in my hands by January 5, 2012. However, it is best to get them to me as soon as possible. All entry galleries will be made live as soon after that date as possible. There is no advantage to waiting to the end.
How to Enter:
Send an email with the subject line: “Wacky Contest” to don.giannatti@gmail.com
Include:
Full Name
Address
Phone
Email (if different from one you are using to submit)
Website Link if you have one.
Attach Zip File with images.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND THEM ONE AT A TIME, or include them in the body of the email.
NOTE: We don’t use the emails for anything other than contacting you back, so don’t worry.
I would suggest that you sign up for the newsletter as well (see top right) as there will be some sneak peeks at entries as we go along.
Plan your work now, and make sure you get more than enough shots to do the contest. Seek help with your edit. A three-judge panel will make the winning decision and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. I will have no input into the decision.
The judges will be announced on January 2, 2012 and all are seasoned professionals in their roles as editors and portfolio experts.
I am sorry this contest is not available for those living outside of the US… unless you want to get to either NY or LA, or some other Southwest Airport on your own. If that is the case, I am happy to fly you from whatever Southwest airlines airport you choose.
I hope I haven’t missed anything, but if there are questions, I will start an FAQ page.
Good luck to each of you who decide to take on this challenge.
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