Photography Competition - a plea for volunteers and prize donations

[Flo]

Apologies in advance if you run into this thread twice - I am cross posting it in both the Photo and Community Chat forums for maximum exposure.

hi all :)

Since I set up the photo comp last year it has really gone from strength to strength, and it gets plenty of support from entrants and voters alike. I get great inspiration from the entries every month, and I'm sure I am not the only one - the quality of the photography is extremely impressive - sometimes rivalling that seen on websites dedicated to the pastime.

Unfortunately, however, I'm not sure how long I can continue to keep the competition alive in its current form :(

The way we have run it up until now is that every two months a new host takes over for the following two month period.

This involves a fair bit of work from the host, especially at the end of the month when they have to pick a shortlist of 20 entries and set up a little web page and poll so that the public out there can view and vote for the shortlisted photos.

But more importantly, it also is quite costly for the host, as a prize is provided from their own pockets. I myself have done a few stints at hosting and have always put together a prize from my own stash worth around £15 (this month with a welcome addition from Park Lane Papers!), and to be honest I'm kind of running out of stuff to give away! And I'm sure that it is the prize providing requirement that is putting off people from volunteering to host the competition.

As it stands, I have nobody lined up to take over from me at the end of my current stint (ie from August onwards), and so I'll either have to carry on hosting it myself (but with no prizes I'm afraid :() or it will have to fold, which I think would be a real pity.

So - I was thinking - I know you guys out there who run businesses are all struggling horribly at the moment (I work in retail myself, we're all going through it) - but would any of you be prepared to help us with the prize situation?

I'm sure if the prizes were taken care of, then I'd find it much easier to find people prepared to host the competition for a couple of months at a time....

I'd happily namecheck the prize-donating business each month in the Photo Comp thread - "this month the theme is xxx and the prize is donated by yyy" - that sort of thing.....with a link to your shop too, if that's allowed, and if you're a UKS sponsor of course....

So - how about it guys, can you come to our rescue????

I hope so :)

Please PM me if you can 1) donate a prize or 2) would like to volunteer to host the competition (NB own web space / photo gallery required)

cheers

Sarah x

[bridget.withers]

Just a thought here, do we really need a prize for the winning entry. I myself feel that just the experience of entering these competitions and occasionally being selected in the top 20 is enough to make it very worth the effort.

We all gain so much from this sort of competition and it would be a real shame to see such things cancelled for such reasons as no prize available.

I really do understand how much work has to go in to keep the competitions going. I would be more that happy to offer my services, Just shout if you would like any help, ven if its setting up the links each month for the finalists.

This was just a thought.

[erisindevon]

I would also say that a prize is not a necessary incentive. Nice, yes! But I'd still take part if there was no prize as such - having people say nice things about my photography is incentive enough!

I would volunteer to host the comp, in terms of setting up a gallery of the shortlist etc, but I couldn't really afford to donate a prize.

Eris
xx




*edited for typos

[katrina]

Oh
I thought the prize was a brand new digital SLR?:D

As a sponsor I would be happy to donate a small prize, but would that mean I'm not allowed to enter?:(

I've just got the photography bug and entered July's comp, I would like to enter photographs in the future, because it does inspire you to try something a bit different.

I personally think that the excitement of possibly being in the top 20 would be enough for most people to continue entering. Maybe just have an extra gallery for photo comp winners, like a gallery of honour:)