PROJECT: Just A Second

“That should be engraved on your tombstone!” says my wife with a smile. “Just a second” is my reflex response to any favour she asks of me it seems, but hey I’m a busy guy! :)

The August project is about photos with a one second shutter speed! That’s the only restriction, and the only guide.

Photo: Scott Coulter – CC

One Second Exposure

Our previous projects have been about content and viewpoint. This month we’re doing something a little more challenging. This time you’re going to be challenged with a particular setting of the camera, the shutter speed. You are to submit a photo with an exposure time of exactly one second.

There’s lots of creative potential with a one second exposure. You could capture movement and motion, photograph a dimly lit scene, turn a waterfall or waves into fluffy cotton, make streetlights streak as you drive at night. How creatively you interpret the project is up to you.

Naturally, to participate in this project, you need to be able to control your camera’s shutter speed, but only point-and-shoot and other simple cameras don’t allow this.

Photo: © Neil Creek

Flickr Required

In the past, I have received submissions via a form and displayed them on a submissions page by resizing the images and generating the code manually. This is an extremely time-consuming task, and I’ve decided that I will be automating the process this time. As such, to participate in the August project, you will need to have a Flickr account. These are completely free, and very easy to sign up for. Just visit this page and follow the instructions to sign up.

In order to submit your photo to the project, you simply need to tag your one chosen image with the following tag:

As people tag their entries, you will be able to see the photos here on this page, below. If you don’t know how to do this, or have any other questions, please leave a comment on this post below.

Project rules

Photo: Dom Dada – CC

• The photo must be exactly one second exposure.
• Any subject is fine, but preference will be given to photos which creatively exploit the one second exposure.
• The subject of the photo must be appropriate for a general audience. Implied artistic nudity is acceptable, but not more than that. The final decision about entry appropriateness is mine.
• Use any camera that you like.
• A tripod isn’t a requirement, but for certain types of photos can be helpful.
• The photo must be taken within the period of the project.
• I will be accepting ONE and only one entry per person, so pick your best shot.
• The photo must be uploaded to Flickr, and tagged lpncprojectaug.
• As all photos are on Flickr, the account of the submitter will be visible. There are no anonymous submissions to this project.
• The vote will determine the winner of the Public Choice.
• The Judge’s choice and honorable mentions will be chosen by an as-yet undetermined judge or judges.
• You agree to the Terms of Entry
• These rules may change at any stage during the project if I feel that it is necessary.

Whether a photograph is appropriate is finally up to my discretion. If I reject an entry, I’ll give a full explanation why. You may take another photo and submit that in its place. It pays to submit your entry early!

Judging

Photo: © Neil Creek

Once the due date has passed, I’ll collate the entries and make a voting page where the photos can be seen by everyone. Readers will choose their favourite entry and place a vote for it. Voting will close on AUGUST 30th (midnight AEST) and the results will be posted to the blog the next day.

Terms: Any photo that you submit remains your sole property. I (Neil Creek) make no claims of ownership or copyright. By submitting a link to your photo, you grant me the right to include a copy of the photo, or a thumbnail of the photo in future posts on the blog (Neil Creek – Photographer) for the purposes of conducting the project, or to be used as an illustrative example in other future blog posts, or for the promotion of this project elsewhere on the blog or on other sites not controlled by me. In all cases all photos displayed for any purpose will be properly attributed and links will be provided to the creator where possible. You also agree to allow me to place advertising on pages on this blog where your photo appears for the purposes of promoting a prize sponsor, or general advertising on the site, without any compensation. Judges’ decisions are final. Any information collected as part of this project (possibly including name, email, postal address etc) will be used only for the purposes of running the competition, or for the promotion of future projects. Your information will never be sold or given to third parties. By adding the project tag to your image on Flickr, you acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to these terms.

Project Submissions

Submissions so far will be displayed here when entrants have tagged their photos.