The Light Without

Well, by now the secret is out: Eli Reinholdtsen is an up and coming talent in the photographic world. She’s just published her first book, “Folk,” and snagged an introduction to it by David duChemin. Also, David will soon be publishing her first eBook, “Chasing Reflections,” at his Craft & Vision web site.

If that’s not enough, a little while ago Jeffrey Chapman gave away a signed copy of “Folk” and a signed print from Eli, and unless your name is “Maria T Michelangeli,” you didn’t win it. Ah, well. You could go to Blurb and order yourself a copy, because it really is a great book. I own a copy myself, in fact. In fact, I own three copies. Why? Because I’m giving two of them away right here and right now.

So what’s the usual procedure? Leave a comment on this post and on some random date I’ll generate a couple of random numbers and a couple of random commenters will win. Randomly. Hmmm… that doesn’t sound like much fun does it?

Let’s spice this up a little bit. Yes, you can leave a comment on this post, but in order to win one of the books, you’ll have to do a little work for it. (Yeah, that’s more like it.)

Here’s what you’re gonna do: make your own “reflective” photograph. Take inspiration from Eli, or do something in your own style, but make an image that includes some kind of reflection at its heart. I’ve set up a Flickr group for you to post the images to HERE. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it’s really easy to set up and it’s free, so that’s no excuse. Post your best reflective shot in the Flickr group—one only, so choose wisely!—and we’ll pick three winners.

“We?” you say. Yes, it won’t be only me you have to impress. The author herself, Eli Reinholdtsen, will be judging, too!

“Three winners?” you say. “But you’ve only got two books to give away, right?” Well, here’s the deal: we’ll award three prizes, one each to a first, second, and third place winner. First place will get Eli’s book “Folk” along with any print they choose from my recent Hip Sips Jazz Fest showing. Second place will get a copy of “Folk”, and third place will get to choose a print from the Hip Sips set.

Sound good? Alrighty. Get out there and find your “reflections” photographs and get them up on Flickr. The contest will end two weeks from today, at 11:59 p.m. on June 27, 2010. Any images submitted afterward will not be considered for judging. And remember, only one image per person posted on the Flickr group, so make sure it’s really the one you want to enter. UPDATE: Also, please try to upload images with a minimum of 800 pixels on the shortest side, so we can see your image clearly.

We’ll announce the winners here on the blog on July 4. It’s my birthday, but you get all the presents!

Good luck to everyone!