365 Project Blog

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 154

Wed, 22 May 13 20:30:48 +0100

1) Hold on by arefin

2) Bleeding heart by arefin

3) The weatherman is predicting rain by lunaksi

4) Boy Meets Girl by Michael Elliott

5) Day 183 - Halfway by thirtysevenways

6) HDR Experiment #1-Buckingham Fountain Revisited by TaffyR

7) Untitled by Gerry

8) Poppies by Mariya

9) Quartet by Abhijit

10) May16: Mowing the Lawn by ๏̯͡⊙ Bulldog

11) Happy family by J.dMulli

12) alphabet by kali

13) Empire Green by Michael Elliott

14) Following The Right Mum! by Lisa

15) Ominous View North from Van Buren Street by TaffyR

16) Bicycle by Carol W

17) A bit of shimmer by Bernadette

18) Touch Down (best viewed large) by Lucy Dolittle

19) Dandelion and Forget-me-nots! by Paula Watts

20) Side by Side by Lisa

Hold on by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Bleeding heart by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

The weatherman is predicting rain by lunaksi

Boy Meets Girl by michaelelliott

Day 183 - Halfway by thirtysevenways

HDR Experiment #1-Buckingham Fountain Revisited by taffy

Untitled by gerry

Poppies by mariyakey

Quartet by abhijit

May16: Mowing the Lawn by bulldog

Happy family by jodimuli

alphabet by kali66

Empire Green by michaelelliott

Following The Right Mum! by rennes

Ominous View North from Van Buren Street by taffy

Bicycle by sturnus

A bit of shimmer by bernadette

Touch Down (best viewed large) by lucypics

Dandelion and Forget-me-nots! by paulaw

Side by Side by pflaume

Theme Vote - Patterns In Nature

Wed, 22 May 13 22:52:17 +0100

Wow, So it took me about 3 hours to go through all of the entries to the Patterns In Nature theme... check out all the fabulous shots over here... Patterns in nature. I did eventually manage to whittle it down to just 5 shots. Thanks for all the entries!

1) Top Left
2) Top Right
3) Bottom Left
4) Right Middley Bit
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Flight

Mon, 20 May 13 19:59:42 +0100

Congratulations Beau for winning the Conceptual theme last week, we had lots of votes so thanks everyone, Beau was very pleased with his win.

Wow. I'm completely speechless, and deeply honored for even being chosen as one of the finalists. Never in a thousand years did I think I'd win, especially against so many incredible captures. A big thank you to all who voted.
For this weeks theme, I'm inspired by a passage from Oscar Wilde:

"Never regret thy fall,
O Icarus of the fearless flight
For the greatest tragedy of them all
Is never to feel the burning light."

Would love to see the beauty, the exhilaration and wonderment of flight.

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-flight.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 20th May and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 26th May). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 153

Wed, 15 May 13 09:24:09 +0100

1) roman bridge by amy spada

2) Sometimes there isn't anything else to do... by Paul "Snapchap" Everest

3) Jumping for Joy! by Michael Elliott

4) never say goodbye by arefin

5) Day, Night & In Between by Michael Elliott

6) Tower Bridge - London UK by Netkonnexion

7) 'Florrie'! The cat from Hell. by Darrell Burnett

8) Drip by Humphrey Hippo

9) the watcher by ☠northy

10) Chocolate cookie for a rainy day by lunaksi

11) romantic afternoon by arefin

12) Headstand by Abhijit

13) Picket Fence by Lisa

14) Delicate Arch by Peter de Graaff

15) Moment by beachradish

16) Whyte Islet by Alexis Birkill

17) Dragonfly on a rainy day by Corine Wernsen

18) Loving this balmy May weather by Jennifer C

19) let's go fly a kite by Jennifer C

20) Dancing poppies by Katerina

roman bridge by amyspada

Sometimes there isn't anything else to do... by steampowered

Jumping for Joy! by michaelelliott

never say goodbye by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Day, Night & In Between by michaelelliott

Tower Bridge - London UK by netkonnexion

'Florrie'! The cat from Hell. by darrellburnett

Drip by humphreyhippo

the watcher by northy

Chocolate cookie for a rainy day by lunaksi

romantic afternoon by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Headstand by abhijit

Picket Fence by pflaume

Delicate Arch by peterdegraaff

Moment by still_beachradish

Whyte Islet by abirkill

Dragonfly on a rainy day by cbawernsen

Loving this balmy May weather by jenrobcarr

let's go fly a kite by jenrobcarr

Dancing poppies by katerinatina

Theme Vote - Conceptual

Wed, 15 May 13 22:02:51 +0100

Well done to everyone that entered this week, it was a great theme to pick, I loved guessing at what everyones photos were depicting before reading the description.

1) Top Left
2) Middle
3) Top Right
4) Bottom Left
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Patterns in Nature

Sun, 12 May 13 19:31:36 +0100

The voting for the winner of our last theme was really close, DreaMaTrix just scraped through to win with this great photo...

I am very flattered that my picture was chosen out of so many entries. I am even more flattered that it won, against such amazing photo’s. Thank you so much to everyone who voted.
I have so many idea’s for this weeks theme, it’s not an easy decision, and it’s going to influence some photo’s for a week!
My theme this week is patterns in nature. They’re very easy to find, some are repetitive, some look chaotic, most are very beautiful.

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-patternsinnature.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 13th May and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 19th May). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 152

Wed, 08 May 13 21:22:02 +0100

1) Alice and the Looking-Glass by Michael Elliott

2) Day, Night & In Between by Michael Elliott

3) Fox cub! by Jo

4) Jordan, Henry and a Sunset by Jason Daniels

5) shhhh...I'm dreaming! by arefin

6) Mom's Garden by KWind

7) Stargazing by Alexis Birkill

8) Seduction by J.dMulli

9) WOOOOW! by Lena

10) Early by Sjouk

11) the watcher by ☠northy

12) Eye to Eye by Nancy

13) Dreams of Riding by Jennifer

14) #123 by martine

15) Belly 'Button' by Amy

16) Secret Garden by cheryl

17) A Fisherman's Life by lunaksi

18) San i dai pinis wanpela moa taim by Jason Daniels

19) gift of a bird by arefin

20) The Right Moment by Aaron

Alice and the Looking-Glass by michaelelliott

Day, Night & In Between by michaelelliott

Fox cub! by jo13

Jordan, Henry and a Sunset by bobfoto

shhhh...I'm dreaming! by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Mom's Garden by kwind

Stargazing by abirkill

Seduction by jodimuli

WOOOOW! by cameraholic

Early by sjouk

the watcher by northy

Eye to Eye by nancyperry

Dreams of Riding by jesperani

#123 by 3sixty5

Belly 'Button' by amyamoeba

Secret Garden by cheribug

A Fisherman's Life by lunaksi

San i dai pinis wanpela moa taim by bobfoto

gift of a bird by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

The Right Moment by grizzlysghost

Protect Your Copyright! We are 100% behind you!

Wed, 08 May 13 22:24:27 +0100

New laws in the UK could threaten existing copyright protection for creatives, in particular photographers. While many of you on 365 take part for the experience, and not for professional gain, we not only want to assure you that we would never exploit loopholes in copyright law or use your pictures outside of the project without your permission!

However, protecting copyright is a serious issue, so here are a few tips to help you understand how to protect your images online.

Watermarks

There are plenty of quick and easy programmes out there that will add an instant watermark to your work, and ultimately this is the most protection you can add to an image when posting online. But if you just want to share your pictures without the added "detail" for commercial purposes, a watermark can distract from the aesthetic quality.

Meta Data

A digital camera automatically attaches a time and date stamp as meta data to an image. This can be modified however to include your name so that any images that you have online are not orphans. To do this, you will need to use an exif editor such as PhotoME

There are programmes out there that can strip watermarks from an image and meta data too - these are only deterrents! Read on for more ways to protect your images!
Register Your Images - by adding your images to a registry, not only are you upping your chance of being credited for your work, getting your images out in to the public arena and giving yourself a chance to make money - you are also making it easier for someone to find you with "reasonable effort" and therefore not use your images without consent or acknowledgement. Registering every image you take however is tie consuming and can often actually cost money.

imgembed.com promises to track, protect and monetize images.

copyrighthub.co.uk (coming soon) if a match is made with a picture on a registry that links with Copyright Hub, author name and contact details are displayed.

Plus Registry a global, multilingual hub for other registries, allowing registration and search using third-party applications and plug-ins.

Fail safe plan?

The new law will state that a person who has found an image will have to make "a reasonable to find the originator" - as such, your best bet before uploading via instagram, twitter, flickr and the like is to post to your own blog and ensure that you add your name to the meta title and meta description (not to be confused with the image meta data) in the content management system. IMPORTANTLY add your name to the alt tag in image uploads as well as a description of the picture.

This ensures that anyone who makes a "reasonable search" will find your image on your website.

Tip

It is also a good idea to back up images to CD - if you find that someone has conveniently "stripped" the image meta data and claimed the image is an orphan - you will have the evidence needed to prove that it was yours, because once it is on CD there is no way you could have tampered with the information.

What you can do now

People in support of retaining copyright protection have until the end of the year to petition against the change - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49422 or read a full review of the new law (and the logic behind it) here

Theme Vote - Composition

Wed, 08 May 13 21:24:30 +0100

Last week we had the Composition theme, and I've been overwhelmed at the response. Over 500 entries to this theme and I've just spent a good 2 hours going through all the entries and have come up with the 5 shots below which I feel all have an interesting composition.

So without further ado, please vote for your favourite shot.

1) Top Left
2) Top Right
3) Bottom Left
4) Bottom Centre
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Conceptual

Mon, 06 May 13 00:50:51 +0100

Hey guys, it's the start of another week which means another great theme to get stuck in to. Arefin was the winner from our last theme with the photo below. I spoke to him over the weekend and he chose us the Conceptual theme.

wow this is such an honor and great pleasure! Huge thanks to everyone who voted and made my shot win, and congratulations to other brilliant finalists! Now for this week I'd like the new theme to be ''Conceptual''. You can choose and use anything as subjects,do whatever you like,it can be a very simple idea or a complex story, just be creative and imaginative. There are plenty of examples in websites and google, you can see them for inspiration. examples
So put on your thinking cap and have fun! :)

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-conceptual.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 6th May and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 12th May). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 151

Wed, 01 May 13 19:07:27 +0100

1) Lady in Red by Michael Elliott

2) Tulip Fields by Alexis Birkill

3) Laig Bay Sunset, Eigg by Juliette Packham

4) Summer's just begun by arefin

5) Live Colourfully by J.dMulli

6) Spin the wheel by Dem Mie

7) Pink by Danielle

8) Water-of-life by Peter Dulis

9) Vertical - 114/365 by David Candlish

10) Congratulations it's a gosling! by Lucy (aka Snow White)

11) Gosling Hatching by Lucy (aka Snow White)

12) Nature's message by arefin

13) It all ends where it began by Johanna

14) Day 57: A walk by Cisco

15) The Crypt by Mandy dineley

16) Lemonade by Richard Creese

17) juicy by Justine Wood

18) My magnolia by Judith Greenwood

19) Honey I'm Bringing Home Dinner by Al Perry

20) Bridge over troubled water by J.dMulli

Lady in Red by michaelelliott

Tulip Fields by abirkill

Laig Bay Sunset, Eigg by sparkle

Summer's just begun by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Live Colourfully by jodimuli

Spin the wheel by demmie

Pink by danitech

Water-of-life by pdulis

Vertical - 114/365 by cedarsphoto

Congratulations it's a gosling! by lucypics

Gosling Hatching by lucypics

Nature's message by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

It all ends where it began by joa

Day 57: A walk by cisco

The Crypt by penndin

Lemonade by richardcreese

juicy by justine_x

My magnolia by judithg

Honey I'm Bringing Home Dinner by hollandcrew

Bridge over troubled water by jodimuli

Theme Vote - Found Letters

Wed, 01 May 13 19:09:03 +0100

Hey guys,

Thanks for your entries to the Found Letters theme, lots of inspiring shots, well done for going out letter hunting!

1) Top Left
2) Top Right
3) Bottom Left
4) Bottom Centre
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Composition

Sun, 28 Apr 13 21:17:03 +0100

Congratulations Joni for winning our Fashion theme last week. This photo was picked by you and got the most votes.

Joni sent over the following...

Wow, that's amazing. Thanks for the voters! I've only been on the site since the beginning of April, so this feels great. I'd like the next theme to be "Composition". I would like for the participants to really seek for a special composition, something that's nice, balanced and draws the viewers attention. The subject itself can of course be anything.

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-composition.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 29th April and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 5th May). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 150

Thu, 25 Apr 13 00:12:32 +0100

1) Summer's just begun by arefin

2) Royal Albert Hall by Juliette Packham

3) the book of love by arefin

4) 110/365 by James Hislop

5) in flight by Paula

6) the pawn by ☠northy

7) Diamonds in the "Rough" by Lisa

8) Royal Albert Hall by Richard Tyson

9) April 16, 2013: Poppies and More by Alice Burghart

10) Natures sparklers by Jo

11) Lullaby by Lisa

12) Rocky Wednesday by Aaron

13) The Old City, Saida. by Ruth Moucharafieh

14) Solitude by Denise

15) Breath...... by J.dMulli

16) What's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? ... by Alison

17) Sun worship by Bernadette

18) field of sunshine by Paula

19) A touch of magic by Lisa

20) Blue Moon by Danielle

Summer's just begun by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Royal Albert Hall by sparkle

the book of love by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

110/365 by jameshislop

in flight by paulavdmerwe

the pawn by northy

Diamonds in the "Rough" by pflaume

Royal Albert Hall by rich57

April 16, 2013: Poppies and More by libertylady

Natures sparklers by jo13

Lullaby by pflaume

Rocky Wednesday by grizzlysghost

The Old City, Saida. by ruthmouch

Solitude by denisedaly

Breath...... by jodimuli

What's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? ... by alisonp

Sun worship by bernadette

field of sunshine by paulavdmerwe

A touch of magic by mummarazzii

Blue Moon by danitech

Theme Vote - Fashion

Thu, 25 Apr 13 10:36:20 +0100

I was really looking forward to seeing the entries to the Fashion theme this week and you didn't disappoint. Here are our final 5.

1) Top Left
2) Top Right
3) Bottom Left
4) Bottom Centre
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Found Letters

Tue, 23 Apr 13 00:34:40 +0100

Well done to KWind for winning the Puddles theme from a few weeks back with the photo below...

I spoke to KWind who had the following to say about this weeks theme...

Thank you so much. I can't believe I won!! What a great way to end my first year of 365. I'd like the new theme to be "found letters". Spell out a name, a place or make a short phrase using interesting found letters from ordinary things like flowers, beach stuff, tools, rocks, food, etc. The possibilities are endless! Put the word in the context of a situation using props/people or leave it in isolation. Make it a single shot or a collage of several images. Just be creative and have fun!

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-foundletters.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 23rd April and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 28th April). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.

Official Top 20 Chart - Week 149

Wed, 17 Apr 13 17:50:48 +0100

1) Nice turn mate....she'll love that!! by Jo

2) calmness by J.dMulli

3) Waiting by arefin

4) Twinkle Twinkle ... by Michael Elliott

5) Thank You Flowers by Danielle

6) colours of the ocean by Dem Mie

7) four eager porkers by Jan Hall

8) The Aurora Chasers by Jon

9) Music love by Lena

10) Baby's breath by arefin

11) Framed by Lisa

12) Bridge Runner by Juliette Packham

13) Just remember... by Paul "Snapchap" Everest

14) come the apocalypse... by ☠northy

15) Starry Night by Michael Elliott

16) Butterfly by Jason Daniels

17) Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms by AnaZad

18) If these hands could talk by Redfl83

19) Day103 - Seascape by Elizma Fourie

20) 90/94 by Daniel

Nice turn mate....she'll love that!! by jo13

calmness by jodimuli

Waiting by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Twinkle Twinkle ... by michaelelliott

Thank You Flowers by danitech

colours of the ocean by demmie

four eager porkers by jantan

The Aurora Chasers by jonfrank

Music love by cameraholic

Baby's breath by wind_of_the_sothern_sea

Framed by pflaume

Bridge Runner by sparkle

Just remember... by steampowered

come the apocalypse... by northy

Starry Night by michaelelliott

Butterfly by bobfoto

Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms by anazad511

If these hands could talk by redfl

Day103 - Seascape by elizmafourie

90/94 by danielwsc

Beginners Guide to Photographing Insects

Wed, 17 Apr 13 17:54:23 +0100

True macro photography can require a wealth of specialist equipment, but that does not mean that there isn’t an opportunity for a beginner with nothing more than an SLR or a point and shoot to take pictures of all the beautiful bugs that are about.

Here are a few hints to get started with taking photos of insects, which we will follow up with a guide to macro photography for photographers who want to learn more advanced techniques.

Location

Hunting insects in the wild can be a frustrating and at times unrewarding task, but patience is the key. Start off trying to capture shots of insects you know will be in your garden, or head to a place where you know they appear. Alternatively, you can use a bug catcher or trap and contain your subject in a tank for practice.

Timing

Mid winter is not the time to decide to take up insect photography, unless you are planning to pass the long dark days by practicing indoor captive shots! Spring, summer and autumn are when insects are in abundance, but that is not the only time factor to consider. The golden hours in the morning and in the afternoon cast a favourable light for this type of photography; however, many insects are drowsier in the morning before they have had a chance to 'warm up' for the day. Therefore, you will be less likely to disturb them whilst taking a photograph.

Distance

Ideally you want to get as close to the insect as possible, because you want to take a macro shot, not zoom in (there is a difference, we will go into more detail in the Macro Photography post), but not so close you scare it off… or worse. How close you need to get will depend on the lens you are using. For example if you are using a 50mm lens you will be about 4cm away, whereas using a 180mm you can still get a life size shot from 20cm away.

Tip

Keeping distance between you and your insect isn't just about not scaring it off before you have released the shutter, it is particularly important if you are trying to take a picture of a poisonous insect, or one that may sting or bite.

Light

When you are approaching your subject, be sure not to cast a shadow. Insects are very sensitive to heat and light, and the slightest difference in temperature can cause them to change their angle, or disappear altogether.

Tip

For the same reasons, make sure that when you are getting up close that you don't breathe on the insect either!

Depth of field

Macro photography reduces the depth of field greatly, which means that you will need to decide what part of your subject is in focus. This should ideally be the most interesting feature or an aspect of the insect that you feel connects with the viewer. Traditionally in insect photography, this is the eyes, although patterns and shapes on wings for example are an interesting detail.

Angles

I have heard many people say that insect photography should be approached the same as a portrait. The idea is to capture the unique and interesting features that make that insect interesting. Avoid overhead shots that will have the aesthetic of a biology book, and instead think about framing the pictures as if it were a portrait of a person. Consider the background and how it will compliment or contrast with the shot and the characteristics of that specific species that make it an interesting subject.

These basic tips should help you get started with insect photography. Remember experimentation is the key, and not scaring off your subject is half the battle! We will go into more detail about macro photography in general in the next couple of weeks covering lenses, settings and specialist equipment as well as what true macro photography is, but in the meantime, please do share your insect pictures with us in the comments below!

Theme Vote - Puddles

Wed, 17 Apr 13 18:38:10 +0100

Last week saw many great entries to the puddles theme, I know some people in warmer climates had some trouble taking shots, but thats to everyone who did, here are the final 5...

1) Top Left
2) Top Right
3) Bottom Left
4) Bottom Centre
5) Bottom Right

To vote for your favourite photo, please reply to this with the number (in digit format) of the photo you wish to win, the winner will be contacted by myself at the weekend (please check your emails!) and gets the opportunity to pick next weeks theme.

Weekly Theme - Fashion

Mon, 15 Apr 13 19:56:18 +0100

Hey guys, first off a big well done to J.dMulli for winning last weeks Diptychs theme .

J.dMulli has picked us a great theme for this week, I can't believe we haven't had this before so I'm really looking forward to seeing the entrants.

A huge thanks & hugs to everyone specially to those who voted and put me up here,really appreciate and am so grateful. Also, congratulations to the other four talented finalist.!

So for this weeks,i choose theme-fashion. It can be anything from couture,streetwear, or casual,(mens,childrens or ladies),accesories(shoes,bags,ties,belts),store windows, etc... -anything that has something to do with fashion --style, advertising or editorial . and here's a link:
Most Famous Fashion Photographers and Their Brilliant Photography

So dress up--- and have fun on the 365 red carpet...:)

How to enter

If you wish to enter the theme this week, please tag your photo (on the edit/organise screen) with the tag theme-fashion.

Entry Guidelines

Entry to this theme starts on Monday 15th April and will accept entries until Sunday night (23:59 GMT 21st April). 5 finalists will be chosen next week and we'll start voting on Wednesday. Entries must have been taken and uploaded within the time frame only! Entries outside of the date range will not be accepted in to the final 5.