A
ncient civilizations buit monuments dedicated to the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. For this week's Shooting Challenge, you'll just need to photograph it.
The Challenge
Capture a photo of the summer solstice - that's June 21st - sorry it's not a weekend, but the Universe sort of ignores the 7-day calendar. And yes, we'll push back the deadline for the Shooting Challenge appropriately.
The Technique
Maybe it's fiery pagan worship you have in mind. Maybe it's just a glass sweating in the sun on this first day of summer. This challenge is open to a lot of artistic interpretation, but chances are, the sun is going to be in the shot.
Our sunrise/sunset Shooting Challenge has links to lots of tips and tricks for managing to capture the exposure and color of that giant ball of fire in the sky.
The Example
Our lead shot is by flickr's tarotastic. Despite its prominence, the photo is barely about the sun. The interesting components are in the burning red textures dotted with silhouettes.
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 Wednesday, June 22nd at 8AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Solstice" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameSolstice.jpg (970px wide) and FirstnameLastnameSolsticeWallpaper.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.