For those of you new to the safari, the event is scheduled once a year sometime in the spring. For 2009, we are looking at the first or second Saturday in May. We’ll post more info as the event develops. Feel free to drop us a line in the comments if you have any questions or, browse through the site to get an idea of what the event is all about.

Coming across a lot of great camera techniques the past few months that I thought I would start sharing. First one up is a technique called “Tilt Shift”. I don’t know a ton about it but, am starting to research it a little more. My first exposure to it was a video on Vimeo that caught my eye from Keith Loutit.

Bathtub III from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Yes, this one is video, not photo but, it did get me interested in the process. There are a few shots on Flickr you can look at as well. Here’s a rather trippy one from “Dingo2494” on Flickr.

Kevin Sisemore

Alistair Tutton

For the first time in Urban Photo Safari history, 2008 ended with a tie! Congratulations to both Kevin Sisemore and Alistair Tutton. Both images are stunning and worthy of the Urban prize. Speaking of which, do they have to split the massive bounty of $25 at Amazon.com? After much thought, I’ve decided to award two gift certificates in the full amount. I mean, they did break history after all.

As I’ve said before, there were alot of great images this year. Some clear winners and some just plain interesting. The main point as always is to have fun and learn a little more about taking photos. I hope you’ve had as much fun as I did and hope you’ll return next year.

I’ll post the full contest vote tally sometime tomorrow. The image names will change as well from “Contestant 01″ to the real contestant names. Until then, post some comments about your Urban experience. I’ve already heard one or two interesting stories. I’d love to hear more. Remember, next year’s newbies will be reading this. We want to get them inspired to get out and have as much fun as you did.

The voting round is complete. I’ll tally the votes and post them later this evening. Check back after 8 p.m. tonight. Until then…

Yikes. Okay, took me waaaay longer than I thought. There’s a story why but, I’ll explain later. For now, head over to http://urbanphotosafari.com/2008 to see all contestant images. All 61 of them! I’ve been at this for a while so, I’m taking the night off. To get you started here is what you need to do between now and Tuesday morning.

Take a look at the images and pick your ten favorites. Yes, a little nuts I realize with 61 contestants. We are rethinking how we’ll approach this for next year. In the past it’s been around 30 people. When it ballooned I was a little dumbfounded as to how we were going to do this. But, it’s been in place this way since it’s inception so, we’ll tinker with it next year.

So, again, pick your 10 favorites. Write ‘em down and send them to me in an email to deanolufson (at) yahoo (dot) com. The contestant names are hidden until voting is over. Write down the cotestant # and the image # (contestant 22 - image 03 etc.). Have them to me by Tuesday morning before noon. I tacked on an extra day for you to look through them considering it took me an extra day to put ‘em up.

If you don’t have your votes in, you’ll forfeit any votes you get and cannot win. So, grab a pad of paper, a cold beverage of your choice and browse through some great images. Everyone shot some pretty stunning stuff. Any questions? Shoot me an email.

Until tomorrow…

This always takes longer than I think it will. That and a couple contestants needed to rearrange a couple things. Either way, I thought I’d give you a preview. Help pass the time the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend. Check the page at: http://urbanphotosafari.com/2008 and you can see the images as I build it. I’ve been adding images throughout the day. I’ll post again when it’s complete and give full details on voting instructions.

A lot of great stuff to look at. More later….

It’s coming. Apologize for the delay. I should have them up in the next couple of hours. The second the images are up I’ll post here.

Contestant images will be up around noon today (Friday 5/23). Keep an eye on the site later in the afternoon for voting instructions and a link to view the images.

I apparentely hid the email address in the last post. Get me your list of ten images + 1 self portrait by tonight at 8 p.m. The email address is deanolufson (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Remember, the self portrait doesn’t have to be a picture of you. It can be an image of anything that you feel represents you. Mug shot? Great. No mug shot? Pick an image of the tree if that “represents” you. Oooooo, how esoteric.

Good luck! Any questions, let me know.