Photo Challenge Roundup - 2/1

By K David in Photo Contests on Feb 1, 2015

In the Northern Hemisphere, spring is approaching quickly. In the Southern Hemisphere, autumn will arrive sooner than you realize. This is a great time to get those end-of-season photos. To help spur your photographic creativity, here are some of the the many contests and events currently happening on PF. You can find them all (and hundreds upon hundreds of photos) in our Monthly Photo Contest,  Weekly Photo Challenges, and Mini-challenges forums.

1. Official Photo Contest Nominations: Best of 2014

Our Best of 2014 Contest has just closed and we've made the hundreds of stunning submissions visible for you to enjoy.  Browse the gallery and comment on your favorite photos to nominate them as finalists.  The top 15 photos will be announced in two weeks, when you will have the opportunity to vote for the overall winners. As with all our monthly contests, there's a great prize on the line. This month, the winner receives a Pentax K-50!  May the best photographer win.

2. Official Photo Contest for February

The February theme is going to be Moonscapes, so start siting your location, planning your shots, and prepare to create your best, winning moonscape image. And remember, sometimes the best moonscapes aren't taken with full moons.  The theme will shortly be announced in our official contest forum.

Exclusive moonscape by forum member mattb123

3. Post-processing Challenge #135

Each week (or so), the previous installment's winner hosts our post-processing challenge. Week 135 host Glenn5995 threw everyone for a curve with his bracketed submission. The resulting contest entries highlighted some fantastic post work among our forum members. If you've never given this contest a shot, it's one of the forums' most dynamic and competitive. Entries ranged from cleverly funny sublimely refined.

4. Project 52-7-03-Architecture-Backyard

Project 52 highlights what Forum members can do with a limited photograph capture window and specific theme. Installment 7-03-Architecture-Backyard tasked entrants with taking a great architectural photo of a backyard. Congratulations to Patrick9, noelcm, and jcdoss for their winning entries.

5. Weekly Caption Contests

The Forums' Weekly Caption Contest has suffered a bit in the last year for lack of participation and voting. However, it's one of our most fun weekly challenges. The Weekly Caption Contest challenges a winner to submit a caption-worth image. Participants can then submit any number of captions that they like. The winner is selected by a straight vote. To participate, find the Weekly Caption Contest in our Weekly Photo Challenges sub-forum.

6. Weekly Challenge #312 & #312 Winners

StephenHampshire, who wins everything, won Weekly Challenge #311. He submitted one of the most breathtakingly well composed and technically perfect silhouettes ever posted on Pentax Forums to take the weekly prize. The prize was the privilege to host the next weekly contest. Stephen's Weekly Challenge #312 History has drawn a significant number of entrants with fantastic image quality and was won by forum member Zantaphia with another impressive sepia shot.

Weekly Challenge #311 Silhouette Winner | StephenHampshire

Weekly Challenge #312 History Winner | Zantaphia

7. Weekly Challenge #313: Tension

The latest weekly challenge has just started as of February 1st!  Click here to enter.

8. Prime Portraits Thematic Challenge

Portraits are one of the hardest and most rewarding types of photographs to take. A good portrait photograph can make a photographers career, earn a well deserved reputation, and inspire future photographers today and for decades into the future. If you're interested in portraiture, head on over to our Prime Portraits Theme post for some fantastic examples and a great place to share your work.

9. Picture of the Week Challenges

Have you ever participated in the Picture of the Week threads? Each week (roughly) we have a new thread that covers a rolling two-week window for photos that users are taking, editing, or revisiting in that period. These are great threads to visit to check out other Forum members' work, submit and share your own, and chat about photography. Thank you to user Hattifnatt for hosting POTW threads #348 and 349.

POTW #347

POTW #348

10. Single in January 2015

Single in January had some fantastic participation and delivered characteristically great results. January had six challenges for this single-lens theme.

• January 04: RED
• January 11: GREEN
• January 15: ABSTRACT
• January 18: BLUE
• January 21: SELFIE
• January 25: B&W

Using the same lens, users submitted images the captured these themes. The Single theme is a great series where users exchange photographic ideas, knowledge, and build skills.

11. Single in February 2015

With a look forward, Single in February 2015 challenges entrants with the same six themes seen in January. What lens will you choose for February?