Photo Roulette Round 23 – “Inspiration”

This weeks Photo of the Week is being replaced by something slightly different – Round 23 of Photo Roulette.

Incase you’re unaware Photo Roulette is an ongoing competition started by Living the Dream – where to blogger host choices a topic and people submit entries. The winner then hosts the next round, picks a topic and ultimately a winner…and so on an so forth, all followed on twitter using the hashtag #PhotoRoulette

Here’s the list of previous hosts and topics;

• 1. Nov 4–10, 2010 Living the Dream – “Animals”
• Nov 17–24, 2010 Skinny Backpacker – “Road Signs”
• Nov 29–Dec 6, 2010 Dream a Little Dream – “Street Art”
• Dec 8–15, 2010 Flashpacker HQ – “Festival”
• Dec 17–24, 2010 Over Yonderlust – “Landmarks”
• Dec 26–Jan 2, 2011 Don’t Ever Look Back – “Beaches”
• Jan 5–12, 2011 ThePlanetD – “Portraits”
• Jan 15–22, 2011 Travel with a Mate – “Motion”
• Jan 26–Feb 3, 2011 Johnny Vagabond – “Water”
• Feb 8–15, 2011 Ken Kaminesky – “Urban”
• Feb 21–27, 2011 Travels of Adam – “Friday Night”
• Mar 7–13, 2011 Itchy Feet Chronicles – “The Journey”
• Mar 19– 25, 2011 Brendan’s Adventures – “Changing Seasons”
• Apr 4–10, 2011 Shutterfeet – “Storytelling”
• Apr 13–21, 2011 10timesOne – “Piousness”
• Apr 26–May 4, 2011 Beached Eskimo – “Learning”
• May 21–27, 2011 Travel Junkies – “Architecture”
• Jun 1–7, 2011 Destination World – “Transportation”
• Jun 8–15, 2011 Living the Dream – “Paradise”
• Jun 21-28, 2011 Vagabond Quest – “Clothes”
• Jul 4-11, 2011 The Unframed World – “Symmetry”
• Jul 16-25, 2011 Beached Eskimo – “Home”

It’s been something I’ve been following and entering for a while now so I was stoked to win round 22 “Home” hosted by Beached Eskimo with a shot from my evening walk around the Devonshire countryside.

So this week I get to run the show and pick the subject! I was going to go with the obvious ‘Surf’ theme but it’s quite a niche photography subject and I didn’t want to limit the entries that much. So then I thought how about simply ‘water’ or ‘oceans’ – nah too cliche. It got me thinking about my travels and my photography on the road. It also got me delving into my photo archives. Trawling through my pics from around the world really got me excited about traveling again and then it hit me

“Inspiration”

This week I want you to pick the photo that most inspires you to get back out and explore the world, the photo that your friends and family are always jealous of and that bring back all the memories of your adventures. You know the ones – the beachy ones, the party ones, the unusual ones…anything and everything that makes you and the viewer go “I want to be there so bad”. Something like this little treat from a fishing trip on the Great Barrier Reef. Warm, crystal clear waters and a glorious day – a little slice of paradise.

The Rules

• One submission per Blog (so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry).
• There has been much debate in the previous rounds as to “photoshopping.” As each round host can choose the level of edits they will allow, I will say that I want all submissions to look natural, and interpret that as you see fit. Remember – if it doesn’t look natural (i.e. what the eye may see) I won’t pick it.
• Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase. Remember,I choose the winner, so if I cannot understand the submission, you might not win!
• Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments.” For variety, it is ok to say focused things such as “monuments at night” in which most of us have pictures of.
• Abstract thoughts are appreciated, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque”, but “Overlooking Creation” is able to be interpreted by all.
• No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.
• After a sufficient period of time, phrases can be reused, however new photos must be submitted.
• Keep the ideas and photos fresh!
• Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.
• Most importantly, ALL PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN.
• You need you to have a blog to be declared a winner so you can host next weeks contest.