Fall Foto Contest!

Here I was, sitting on my couch looking a photos and missing home. I follow a photographer blogger who's based in NC. It got me to thinking. Then, I saw Mrs. Muffin's precious picture of her little girl walking and crunching on leaves.

I heart fall. 

I don't get to experience fall here in the great state of Hawaii. I get year-round summer. It sounds awesome, and really it's not bad, it's just....different. I honestly don't feel like it should be October. It feels like July here still. The temperature is in the 80s just about everyday and it's sunny 90% of the time. It's summer here.

But, I still miss fall. It's one of my favorite seasons. I fell head over heels with fall when we lived in NC. If you didn't know this, NC has more types of trees than any other state. {I think that's correct. Don't quote me on that. Even if they don't, they do have a HUGE variety.} All of these different trees mean a whole lot of color in the fall. It's glorious.


Just the other day, I pretty much begged asked my SIL to take pictures of the pretty leaves for me. Today she mentioned that they're going to the mountains this weekend and I'm anxiously awaiting photos. =D I lived there for 2 fall seasons and never once did I visit Blue Ridge Parkway. Sad face. I'm really kicking myself for it now.

{not my photo}

That's part of Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs through the Appalachian Mountains in VA and NC. Tell me again why I didn't take that drive?

That's when this oh-so fabulous idea hit me. 

Let's do a Fall Foto Contest!!!

Almost as soon as I had this idea, my brain went to work - rules, schedule, linking, a prize, etc. 

I know most of my readers - and people I follow - have taken up photography. Not only will this be a good way to get some practice, but it will also be a good way for you to share your photos, if you desire.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Every Friday of this fall season, we'll do a showcase of photos that YOU have taken. 

What are the rules?

Well, I think we should keep it simple and fair.

Rule #1: The photo must have been taken this year.

Rule #2: The photo must include something fall-ish: trees, leaves, pumpkins, apples, kids playing in leaves/outside... You get the general idea.

Rule #3: The photo MUST be YOURS. No stealing other people's photos.

How do we do this? 

1. Take your pictures. =)

2. Grab the Fall Foto Contest button.

<center><a href="http://gijoeswife.blogspot.com/2010/10/fall-foto-contest.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Fall Foto Contest" src="http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac218/MiraTucci/SarahButton-1.jpg" /></a></center>

{A big, huge thanks to Miranda for making this button for me!!! Be sure to stop and check our her design site, Little Sailor Designs, for a blog makeover or button!}

3. Blog about it (don't forget to add the button to your post)!

4. Email me ONE photo you'd like to be showcased on my blog on Thursday, along with the link to your blog post.

5. Your photo will appear on my blog on Friday.

6. Readers will comment and vote on their favorite photo.

7. That week's winner will be entered in a drawing at the end of the contest for something Hawaiian. Since you are sharing your fall with me, I'm going to share my endless summer with you!

8. The contest will run from this Friday, October 8 until Friday, November 26. Because this is super late notice, I'll accept photos until Friday at 5:00 Hawaii time, which will give you a little more time.
**EDIT: You can submit one photo PER WEEK, which means you can enter every week if you wish to do so.**

{For you east coasters, I'm 6 hours behind you. For the central time peeps, I'm 5 hours behind. And for my lovelies on the west coast, I'm a whopping 3 hours behind you. If you're overseas or in the mountains, you can do the math. =P}

So, get out your cameras and start shooting!!!