Every day, the 7 billion people on earth all do something different. For this week's Shooting Challenge, I want you to capture that idea for one day. You'll photograph Memorial Day.
The Challenge
Take a photo on Memorial Day. It can be of anything you do or anywhere you go. Just capture the day.
The Technique
For Americans, Memorial Day can ranges from formal commemorations of soldiers to the first picnics of the year to a day to catch up on housework to an annual binge at the Indy 500. You don't need to take photos of flags or vets (but you can)—consider this a place and time challenge. Capture the fleeting moment of May 28, 2012, somehow.
Just do me a favor and don't use this as an excuse to half-ass a submission. No one needs to see a shot of your desk if you had to go to work. Get out there and capture a piece of humanity.
The Example
Our lead photo is by Don Hankins, taken at a cemetery in Eugene, OR. What a slice of life, right? It's a group of civil war re-enactors celebrating the original purpose of Memorial Day—the Union soldiers who fell during the Civil War.
The Rules
1. Submissions need to be your own.
2. Photos must be taken since this contest was announced (read more on that above).
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, technique and story behind shot.
4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com, not me.
5. Include 970px wide image (200KB or less) AND a 2560x1600 sized in email. I know that your photo may not fall into those exact high rez dimensions, so whatever native resolution you're using is fine.
6. One submission per person.
7. Use the proper SUBJECT line in your email (more info on that below)
8. You agree to the Standard Contest Rules - though we DO accept non-US resident submissions.
9. If the image contains any material or elements that are not owned by you and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the image, you are responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the image in the manner set forth in these rules without additional compensation. If any person appearing in any image is under the age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.
Send your best photo by Tuesday, May 29the at 10AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Memorial Day" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameMemorial.jpg (970px wide) and FirstnameLastnameMemorialWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) naming conventions. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the body of the email along with a story of the shot in a few sentences. And don't skip this story part because it's often the most enjoyable part for us all beyond the shot itself!
Mark Wilson is the founder of Philanthroper, a daily deal site for nonprofits.