According to Wikipedia, “pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light energy.” Most photographs we take are of “beautiful” or “pretty” things - generally speaking, we don’t enjoy photographing “ugly” things - however, it is sometimes the most disturbing of subjects that make for the most powerful photographs. Your challenge for Contest Corner Challenge #57: Pollution is to photograph some form of pollution, or the negative effects of pollution on an environment.

For those of you new to the Corner, you can find out all the details on how to submit a photograph for a Contest Corner Challenge here. All the details for the current CCC are listed in the contest thread. This contest is sponsored by our awesome sponsors at SmugMug.com who are offering up the following prizes: If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive a SmugMug Pro Account (1-year free subscription) or a $50 Gift Certificate towards prints at SmugMug.com. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a SmugMug Power Account (1-year free subscription).

A minor change to when entries are due: instead of entries being due at 11:59pm GMT, I’ve changed it so entries are just due by 11:59pm whatever timezone you’re in. A lot of people, every contest, seemed to struggle with the concept of GMT, so as long as your entries is in my midnight in your own timezone, you’re good to go. Speaking of which, entries for this contest are due in by 11:59pm on Monday, October 13th, 2008, and voting will begin on October 14th.

Regardless of where on the planet you live, I’m pretty sure you won’t have much trouble finding pollution or the effects of pollution all around you. You have no excuse not to enter this one.