bookoto and her stories: 'Tis the Season: A Photo Journal Challenge

Two great inspirations allow us to roll out yet another exciting challenge here at http://www.bookoto.com/.

First, the worldwide celebration of the holiday season that is literally at our door. What is the holiday season, and how do YOU celebrate it? According to wikipedia: "the words holiday or vacation have related meanings but will usually refer to one of the following activities or events:

A general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation.
A specific trip or journey for the purposes of recreation /tourism.
Official or unofficial observances of religious/national/cultural/other
significance, often accompanied by celebrations or festivities (public/religious
holiday)

A holiday or vacation trip/break will often be undertaken during specific holiday observances, or be made for specific festivals or celebrations. Certain religious holidays may be of a more somber nature. Vacation or holidays are often used as a time to spend with friends or family."

Second, who wouldn't be inspired by this fabulous quarterly publication of Stampington & Company's Life Images by Somerset? We could not help but be awed by the breathtaking photographs and the heartfelt journals. Appropriately so, we have excitedly chosen Life Images by Somerset as our feature publication on http://www.bookoto.com/.

"All the colors of the world emerge in this tapestry of original photographs, brought to you in Life Images, a new, 144-page quarterly special publication. Full-page images, accompanied by the photographers' journaling, invite you to share a moment in someone else's life." - from Stampington & Company's website.

THE CHALLENGE: "'Tis the Season": A Photo Journal Challenge

Get your cameras ready. Between now and December 28, 2008, however you celebrate the holiday season, take a photograph of an image that makes this season meaningful to you. Take a picture of people or a person, an object or a thing, an act or a gesture, a place, a tradition, or even a random thing that caught your eye and made you feel so good that it made you say to yourself, "Yes, the holidays are really here!" Capture the magic of the holidays. Capture the meaning of this season. Then share it by sending it to us.

Here's how:

Email your photograph to: Challenges@bookoto.com or sign up and upload them to our gallery on or before December 28, 2008.
Photo entry/entries should be a high-resolution file in .jpeg format; file size must be at least 1MB and no more than 5MB. And please leave the EXIF data attached.
You may send up to two (2) entries. Make sure it is original and taken for the purpose of joining this challenge. Photo entries should have been taken after November 20, 2008.
This challenge is open to all, where ever you may be in the world.
All property rights will be retained by the photographer. Entries will be posted in our gallery, while winning photos will be posted in our store site and blog . (No further compensation will be awarded to the winner over and above the prize pack.)
You may use photo editing on your entries to enhance the quality of your photos.

Don't forget to include the following details with your photograph entries.:

the title of your photograph
the story behind your photo, or your photo journal
what camera brand/model and lens/es did you use? Please include camera settings used to take the photos, as well as the processes/work flow utilized to achieve the end result of the photograph.

And yes, once you have submitted your entry, you may feature it on your personal blog, but don't forget to link us! :-)

The winning entry will be picked by no other than Staci Dumoski, Managing Editor of Life Images publications.

THE WINNER'S PRIZE

The winner will receive these: the whole year's publication of Life Images magazine courtesy of http://www.bookoto.com/ and Stampington & Company