As the end of 2013 approaches, photographers from all over the globe have begun compiling their photos from the past year to share with others. While I enjoy this time of year as an artist, I tend to see too many photographers get way too wrapped up in having others choose their “best” images of the year, often relying on something as ridiculous as how many Facebook “Likes” or Google+ “+1s” an image got to help determine the quality of a photo. Instead, I prefer to look back at the last 12 months of experiences and photographs I captured and reflect on their significance and what they meant to me as an individual. Photography is not only an artistic median, it is a very personal art form that allows each of us to capture the world around us as we see it. So why should we look to our followers on Facebook to determine our “best” images of the year?

It is within this context that I am very pleased to announce a new photo contest/giveaway that centers around the idea of singling out the images that mean the most to us from over the last 12 months and sharing the stories behind them with the world. The contest will run through January 8th and I am stoked to announce that it is sponsored by Wacom, Adobe and onOne Software, who have provided a nice mix of some of the best photo editing tools around that I use one my images nearly every day. More details can be found below…

Contest Rules:

End Date: January 8th, 2014

Prizes:

• Grand Prize – (1) Wacom Intuos Pro SE Medium Tablet + 1 Year of Adobe PS & Lightroom ($589 Value)
• 1st Prize – (1) Wacom Intuos Pro SE Small Tablet + 1 Year of Adobe PS & Lightroom ($489 Value)

• Bonus Prizes to Win
  • (1 Pack) Nik Collection by Google + onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 8 ($328 Value)
  • (1 Pack) Nik Collection by Google+ onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 8 ($328 Value)

Contest is open worldwide and only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry and who do NOT reside in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, the Province of Quebec, Sudan, or Syria. CONTEST IS VOID IN CUBA, IRAN, NORTH KOREA, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, SUDAN, SYRIA, AND WHERE PROHIBITED.

How To Enter:

In order to enter in this photo contest, you must follow all of the instructions below…

• In the comments below, upload an image (2mb size limit) of yours that was captured in 2013 and tell me why this image is one of your favorite images of 2013. Tell me why it means so much to you.
• Below, you can sign up for my monthly Newsletter. I only send one Newsletter out per month and you can opt out at any point after the contest.

Do note that you have up to THREE entries to win and every photo uploaded with the above stipulations counts as a single entry!

Bonus Chances to WIN:

For a chance to win the bonus prizes you can do one (or all) of the following. You do NOT have to enter the main contest to win these prizes:

• Sign Up for my Monthly Newsletter, found just above or in the right hand sidebar.
• If you entered the contest, Upload any of the photos that you entered into this contest to Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr and include the text that explains why this is one of your favorite photos of the year. Include the hashtag #Photosof2013 in the post so that I can track the uploads + include a link back to this post.
  • You MUST be the owner of the copyright of any image you choose to upload.
• Share this blog post on your social network of choice.

How Are Winners Picked:

• The Grand Prize and 1st place winners will be chosen based in part on the image they entered, with a heavy emphasis on the personal story attached to the image. In order to win, you must also subscribe to my monthly newsletter.
• The two “Bonus Winners” will be chosen at random based on the bonus chances to win stated above

Disclosure:

• You retain FULL copyrights for any image you choose submit into this contest.
• By submitting an image in this contest, you grant Colby Brown Photography Ltd. the right to share your photos (full full credit and attribution) via any social networking platform or blog of our choosing, solely to promote this photo contest.
• Winners will also be asked to join a Google+ Hangout to showcase their winning images and talk about the back story behind the images in question.

UPDATE – AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Please congratulate the following two winners (picked at random) of the Bonus Prizes (complete suites by Nik and onOne Software):

Ashley Gangadean & Örjan Gustavsson

For the Grand Prize winners, I picked to two based on partly on the image they submitted, but more so on the story behind their images. There were so many great submissions that it was difficult to narrow down!

Jacob Bage

No, this is not a grand landscape, but over 2013 I’ve realized that my grandest photos are the ones I’ve taken right at home. This is my father… He has a hereditary disease called Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) – it is a
genetic mutation that does not inhibit tumor growth. He has had three brain surgeries and surgery on just about every other part of the body to remove tumors. As a kid my dad was a superhero to me. As an adult, he’s the superhero I try to be. So this is my father, holding my youngest daughter Zoe. He’s still kickin’, and I still look up to him very much.

Ken Wah

Sometimes a photographer’s journey can be lonely. Such is the case for me. I have mostly always gone out photoshooting alone, as I have not had the chance to meet some of the local photographers in person. I was at a very low point of my life at one stage, having taken on a new role at work that was stressful and I did not know how to handle, everything was going the wrong way, no one trusted in my skills, and no friend to confide to except for my partner. I’ve lost my self-esteem so much I considered a career change, which is impossible. Then one weekend I decided to go on my own ‘journey’. It wasn’t too far away, just a conservation park with waterfalls about half an hour drive. I needed this trip to step back and put everything into perspective. I did not plan anything, just walking and climbing along the track and taking photos when I felt like it. Then by chance I came across this place. It is a rock platform just above one of the waterfalls, and the vista view is unbelievable.

I felt a sense of relief and calmness, and I knew everything will be ok. I post processed the shot according to what I envisioned in my mind. After I finished I realized how similar it is to the movie version of Rivendell from LOTR and The Hobbit, hence I named the photo “Rivendell”.

I picked myself up again after that, and everything worked out fine in the end, and I was glad that I went on this little trip to rediscover myself.