Dang, you folks shot some amazing stuff. Gonna be hard to drop just 10 votes this year. All the picks are in. Now it’s up to me to put them together and get them out there for you to view. Hang tight, I should have it ready for viewing by late Wednesday night, early Thursday. I’ll post here with the link when it’s ready to go.

In preparation for 2009, I’m doing a little re-work on the site. All the content is still here, it’ll just look a little out of place for a few days. And yes, the date is still Saturday, June 13th. I’ll be sending out an email to all those non-tweet/non-facebook fans in the next couple of days as well. As usual, the best way to know what’s going on is to pay attention to the site.

Stories of Hope: Marcia Merrick from HEMI Zone on Vimeo.

Urban Photo Safari has been using the Kansas City Metro area as it’s playground for the past 7 years. I thought it was about time we tried to give something back. But, what to give back to? There are soup kitchens, homeless shelters, the environment, animal shelters. A lot to consider.

I learned about Reaching Out Incorporated through several friends who pitch in on occasion. The thing that intrigued me the most was how simple it is. She’s just there where they are handing out some much needed food and clothes. That’s it. You want some food? Great. No? Hey, that’s cool too. It isn’t a huge conglomerate throwing money at the problem. It’s just her and some friends meeting them where they live.

Check out the video to get a better understanding of what Reaching Out Incorporated is all about. If you’d care to give a few dollars while you are signing up, great. Urban Photo Safari is free so, shouldn’t be a huge deal for us to chip in and help a few people out. If it isn’t your thing and you are into giving somewhere else, that’s fine. All proceeds from the sale of this year’s shirts will go to Reaching Out Incorporated. It won’t be a huge amount but, it’s a start.

Do you have other ways we can help out the city? Any ideas? Post some comments and let’s get a discussion going. I’d also love to use this as a link back to other sites in our community. So, if you have links you’d like to share, put ‘em in the comments.

The official 2008 Urban Photo Safari t-shirts just arrived yesterday. Want one? Bring $10 with you to the event and you can have one… if there are any left by the time you get there. We have over 80 people signed up this year and printed only 40 shirts. We have S, M, L, XL and a couple 2XXL. We’ll also have a few shirts from past years on sale for $5 a piece. We aren’t set up for Debit/Credit cards so, bring some cash or your checkbook. Why so cheap? In the spirit of the Safari, I’m keeping everything as low cost as possible. The $10 will cover what it cost me.

For the past couple of years, Urban has had all it’s t-shirts printed by Creative Outfitters. Both Brad and Kyle have been great to work with. We even upped the anty a little this year and went for the more expensive t-shirts. Ooooo, soft. Ask about ‘em at sign up and you’ll see what I mean.

Where are you going to go on your safari? Have anything in mind? Care to share? Or, is it a deeply held secret location? I’d love to hear some comments on unique places to visit during our short 4-hour stint in the city. Places to eat, shops to visit, hidden landmarks. Here are a few to get things started:

Christopher Elbow
One word, Chocolate. Okay, maybe two words, Amazing Chocolate. Go, you’ll thank me later.

Kansas City = The City of Fountains
Thought you knew them all? Follow the link to find some new ones to see.

Liberty Memorial
Not sure if the elevator is still in action (should be) but, if it is, try going to the top. Amazing views.

Have any other good finds? Places you’d like to mention? Leave a comment and let us know.

If you are watching this website and haven’t received an evite, head on over and sign in. On a complete whim (or, time saving genius), I decided to use evite.com this year to handle the invites. I’ve always used huge excel spreadsheets with email lists, sending out each email one by one usng traditional email. I had a grandiose idea of using an email campaign manager this year. Track hits, customize the design, etc. etc. Evite was easier. Thought it was a tad on the cheesy side but, it was easier.

Now that I sent it, I feel like the guy in the commercial who shoots out his web store and gets a few hits. “Whoo Hooo”. Couple more and he starts thinking he better get busy. Then dozens start pouring in and he freaks out. Evite may be cheesy but, dang if it doesn’t work. As I write this we are up to 61 participants. If they all show up, it would have doubled last year’s event. The guy in the commercial and I have alot in common.

Before you get the wrong idea… yes, I’m freaking out about all the work that needs to be done with that many contestants but, I do have alot of great help each year. So, let’s say I’m freaking out in a good way.

Little behind but, the new site is well on it’s way. Check back over the next couple of days. I’ll be posting old content and designing the site for 2008. Apologies for any random wierdness that may happen.