Gloomy Nature competition:

A while ago I organized a pre-competition in which all of you had to think about a theme for the big competition. I got a lot of nice theme suggestions, but the one I liked the most (as autumn is turning to winter, and it's getting darker) was the suggestion by =kukko, who suggested "Gloomy Nature". So congrats to you, you will receive the prize of the pre-competition as promised!

So what does "Gloomy" mean? As can be seen here, it means the following things:

1. dark or dim; deeply shaded: gloomy skies.
2. causing gloom; dismal or depressing: a gloomy prospect.
3. filled with or showing gloom; sad, dejected, or melancholy.
4. hopeless or despairing; pessimistic: a gloomy view of the future.

So, simply put: Your task is to incorporate gloominess to a nature photo. Here are some examples:



Rules:
* The competition deadline is 31st December 2006 at 24:00 hours Finnish time (GMT +2).
* Submissions after the deadline will be disqualified.
* The photo must be a nature photo!
* The photo must be yours! (And must be available on deviantART).
* You are allowed to submit older artwork which are still online.
* You are not allowed to submit photos you have entered with in my two previous competitions
* You can submit only one photo to the competition.
* You may not manipulate the photo further than what could be done in a darkroom. (Temperature, Tint, Exposure, Brightness, Contrast and Saturation). However, a frame and text on the actual photo is accepted.
* Black & White photos are accepted as they often portray gloominess.
* After the competition's deadline the jury will decide on the top three.
* Jury members may not participate in the competition.
* Disallowed photo types: Photo manipulations
* The organizer of the competition (*Solkku) is allowed to change the rules at any time if needed.

Hint: The jury looks for gloominess, originality and details.

How to Enter:
Send a note to *Solkku with the subject "Gloomy Nature submission" between 26th November - 31st December 2006 24:00 Finnish time (GMT +2) with a link to your submission.

Prizes:
1st Place: 1 Year subscription + Premium Print Account + Secret Special Prize
2nd Place: 6 Months subscription
3rd Place: 3 Month subscription

Also, some of the jury's favorites will be given honourable mentions.

Jury:


Advertising this competition:
If you want, you can help spread the word about this competition. To do this, the only thing you have to do is include a link to this journal and tell what the link is about, or include the stamp as a link (for subscribers). All helpers will be rewarded when the results are announced (your avatar will be included in the journal). Just send *Solkku a note with the subject "Competition Help" and a link to your journal in the note.


Over and out,

Solkku