There’s been a lot of voting going on around the Corner lately (see the 2011 Photograph of the Year contest), but not to be lost in the shuffle was the voting for the February Photograph of the Month. Last week we cast our votes, and with almost 20% of them, “Eye of a Fighter” by Cpt easily took top prize and will be featured on the homepage for the month of February.

The contest was sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories), Acme Made (best known for incorporating innovative textiles and materials with contemporary styling to produce attractive bags, cases and sleeves for laptops, eReaders, smart phones, and digital cameras) and Lowepro (inventors and designers of popular camera bags, photographers and lovers of the natural world who take our reputation as The Trusted Original™ to heart). Since Gabor was not a Premiere Member, he will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership!

To see a larger version of the winning photograph, head on over to the award thread in the forum and congratulate Gabor on his win. To see one of your photos in the running for the next Photograph of the Month contest, all you have to do is post it up in the galleries or the forums, and hope a Premiere Member nominates it (or you can also get a photograph in there by winning a Premiere Project - become a Premiere Member (for HALF PRICE this week only) and start participating in the Premiere Projects today!).

As if you didn't already have enough voting to do (*hint, hint* go cast your vote in the 2011 Photograph of the Year contest *hint, hint*), since it's the last week of the month, it's also time to vote on the Photograph of the Month for February 2012. Every month here at the Corner, we gather up the best photographs posted in the forums and galleries and vote on which one we think is the best (the Premiere Members nominate their favorites, and I whittle them down to 10-15 - then the community votes).

You can browse through the dozen photos up for PotM honors in the February 2012 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery, then make your way over to the poll posted in the forums here. Voting ends at approximately 6:00pm EST on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 (11:00pm GMT).

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories), Acme Made (best known for incorporating innovative textiles and materials with contemporary styling to produce attractive bags, cases and sleeves for laptops, eReaders, smart phones, and digital cameras) and Lowepro (inventors and designers of popular camera bags, photographers and lovers of the natural world who take our reputation as The Trusted Original™ to heart).

If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lowepro Terraclime 100 Camera Bag or an Acme Made Kindle Hardback Folio case. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

You have until the end of the month to cast your vote... but it's going to be a tough choice, so you may want to start narrowing down the choices sooner rather than later! ;)

It almost always makes it out on time, but usually at the last minute. Late last night, the February 2011 PhotographyCorner Newsletter made its way out to the masses. If you’re a registered member of the Corner, it should have arrived in your inbox already. If you’re not a member of the Corner, you can read the newsletter online here in the Corner Newsletter Archives.

The newsletter was sponsored by our friends at Red River Paper. Save 40% on Premium Satin Inkjet Paper from Red River Paper. Red River’s UltraPro Satin offers the same quality as the big retail brands and saves you up to 40%. Compare to Epson Premium Luster, Ilford Smooth Pearl, and Canon Photo Paper Plus SemiGloss. Available in sheets 4×6 up to 17×25 with same day shipping. Try a box today and save even more. Use promo code photocorner for 10% additional savings!

The Februray 2011 Corner Newsletter is due in the next day or two, and before we send out each newsletter we always make sure to hand out Commitment Awards to those that have reached milestones with regards to their post-count in the past month. Commitment Awards are handed out to those who have shown great community dedication & commitment, and have reached a specific post-count milestone (1k, 2k, 5k and 10k). This month we have 1 person receiving a Bronze Commitment Award: The_Animal. Now, if you’re somewhat active in the forums, you’ll know that The_Animal has been around the Corner pretty much since the beginning (almost 7 years ago), but just hit the 1,000 post milestone last night (and that’s including the use of his Gratuitous Post-Count Increasing Thread). 1,000 posts is 1,000 posts, though. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take another 7 years to reach 2,000.

When I think of sports, the first things that comes to mind are hockey, football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse… you know, stuff like that. On the list of sports, one would have to think that “Cow Racing” is pretty low on the list. Maybe that’s why fadhli’s photo of cow racing received so many votes this past month (plus it’s a great capture).

The contest was sponsored by LaserSoft Imaging, who is renowned worldwide as a pioneer in the field of scanner and imaging software - both in the area of private and professional usage. Since Fadhli is not a Premiere Member, he will receive a copy of the SilverFast DC VLT (software that will help you organize, manage and review images in an easy way - an $85 Value).

If you check out the voting results, you’ll see that “Cow Racing” by fadhli received almost 30% of the votes - and it was the first photograph he posted at PhotographyCorner. 1 for 1 - not bad! If you haven’t already, congratulate Fadhli on his win here in the award thread. Let’s see if he can do it again next month (I wonder what other interesting sports there are in West Sumatra?).

We do things a little differently here around PhotographyCorner. In retrospect, maybe it’s a little confusing, but it’s how we’ve done it for almost 7 years. I’m talking, of course, about how each Photograph of the Month contest seemingly happens a month too early. I mean, right now the community is voting on the February 2011 Photograph of the Month, and it’s not even February yet??! Here’s the rationale behind it: The winner of this vote (which will be announced on February 1st) will be displayed on the homepage of PhotographyCorner.com for the month of February, therefore it will be the “February 2011 Photograph of the Month,” not the best photograph taken in the month of February. The best photograph taken in the month of February, will be voted on at the end of February, but will be displayed as the March Photograph of the Month. See how that works? Hopefully that helps it make a little more sense.

Anyways, down to business. Voting started last night. You can check out the 15 photographs up for the February 2011 Photograph of the Month honors in the February 2011 PotM Photo Gallery here. Then, before voting ends at approximately 2:00am EST (7:00am GMT) on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011, head on over to the voting thread/poll and cast your vote (the photos are also posted in the voting thread). Double congrats to Putunetika and benas, who both have 2 photos up this month!

The contest is being sponsored by LaserSoft Imaging, who is renowned worldwide as a pioneer in the field of scanner and imaging software - both in the area of private and professional usage. If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive a copy of the SilverFast HDR Studio Hot Folder (48bit RAW data processing for high dynamic range imaging - a $556 Value!!! - Booyah!). If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a copy of the SilverFast DC VLT (software that will help you organize, manage and review images in an easy way - an $85 Value).

Pretty cool that you have the opportunity to win a $500+ prize just for posting up your photo for the world to see, eh? All you have to do to enter the Photograph of the Month contest is post a photo up in the forums or galleries, and then hope a Premiere Member nominates it (or become a Premiere Member and nominate it yourself!). So if you want in on this contest next month, show us your photos! But in the meantime, we need your vote - check out the entries and cast your vote today!

It’s hump day - the middle of the week. Take a break from work for a couple of minutes and read through the February 2010 Corner Newsletter. If you’re a member of the PhotographyCorner forums, it should be waiting for you in your inbox right now. If you’re not (register here), you can read the newsletter in it’s entirety in the Corner Newsletter Archive here.

The Corner Newsletter comes out monthly, usually around the middle of each month, and keeps you updated on everything going on around the Corner: from contests, to blog posts, to popular threads in the forums, to new photography videos, tutorials, articles and product reviews. The February 2010 Corner Newsletter has been sponsored by MOO.com who are giving away a ‘trial pack’ of 50 Business Cards for FREE (just pay $6 shipping) for every reader! Create your FREE pack today.

Usually a couple of days before each Corner Newsletter goes out, we take a couple of minutes to recognize and award members of the Corner who have hit posting milestones over the past month. Even though I keep telling everyone I’m not working for the next 2 weeks so I can watch the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, I do plan out writing and sending out the newsletter sometime this week. Commitment Awards are handed out to those who have shown great community dedication & commitment, and have reached a specific post-count milestone (1k, 2k, 5k and 10k). We have three members receiving awards this month: fatcatphotos, cup4tml and Photologic Images. Thanks for your dedication and commitment to making PhotographyCorner an awesome online destination for photographers!

As if winning the 2009 Photograph of the Year contest wasn’t enough, fa1sal picked up his 2nd contest win around the Corner in as many weeks by easily winning the February 2010 Photograph of the Month contest with almost 25% of the votes. In addition, Faisal was featured as the cover story in the February 2010 issue of emel magazine. Quite the way to kick off 2010!!

You can browse through the 15 nominated photographs in the February 2010 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery, and see the final voting results in the February 2010 Photograph of the Month voting thread.

The contest was sponsored by the New York Institute of Photography - the world’s largest and oldest photography school. Established in 1910, NYIP has grown to become the premier provider of photography training, educating more than 20,000 students in the US and around the world at any given time. NYIP offers 3 home-study courses designed to teach you everything you need to know about photography from the comfort of your own home. Because Faisal is a Premiere Member, he will receive the NYIP’s Fundamentals of Digital Photography Course (a $398 value!!) - the perfect course for anyone looking to take high-quality photographs. The Course is designed to teach you how to take photographs that truly capture the beauty of the people and places around you from the comfort of your own home. This home-study course includes beautifully illustrated lesson books, 8 hours of audio commentary, and DVD video training. In addition, you will have access to a personal student advisor who is there to guide you through the Course.

Make sure to drop by the award thread to congratulate Faisal on another deserving victory - we’re proud of you, Faisal!!

The last week of the first month of the year is upon us, and the last week of the month around the Corner always means one thing: time to vote on the best photograph from the past month and decide which photograph will be displayed on the homepage of PhotographyCorner for the upcoming month (that’s why the February Photograph of the Month takes place the last week of January, and the November Photograph of the Month takes places on the last week of October, etc). Nominations have been made by the Premiere Members (one of the perks of being a Premiere Member), and from that list we’ve narrowed down the field to 15 photographs (which you can browse through and thumbs up here in the February 2010 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery).

The contest is sponsored by the New York Institute of Photography - the world’s largest and oldest photography school - and, if the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive the NYIP’s Fundamentals of Digital Photography Course (a $398 value!!) - the perfect course for anyone looking to take high-quality photographs. The Course is designed to teach you how to take photographs that truly capture the beauty of the people and places around you from the comfort of your own home. This home-study course includes beautifully illustrated lesson books, 8 hours of audio commentary, and DVD video training. In addition, you will have access to a personal student advisor who is there to guide you through the Course. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

Once you’ve checked out the photographs in the February 2010 PotM Photo Gallery, you can cast your vote in the February 2010 PotM Voting Thread. Voting ends at 8pm EST on January 31st, 2010.

I realize it is March already. The February 2009 Corner Newsletter was supposed to be sent out almost 2 weeks ago, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I didn’t get it finished until today. For those of you that have your UserCP set to receive emails from the administrator, you should have the newsletter sitting in your inbox. For those of you that aren’t registered at the Corner yet (what’s up with that??! - register here), you can read it online here in the forums. This newsletter brought to you by Tafota.com - make sure to check out their designer websites at www.tafota.com.

The February 2009 edition of the Corner Newsletter is set to go out in a couple of days and, as always, that means it’s time to hand out Commitment Awards to those that have reached milestones with regards to their post-count in the past month. Commitment Awards are handed out to those who have shown great community dedication & commitment, and have reached a specific post-count milestone (1k, 2k, 5k and 10k). You may have noticed that there were no awards given out in December 2008 or January 2009 - that’s not because I forgot to do them, but because no one hit a post-count milestone in either of the past 2 months. This month, however, we have six members receiving awards. Thanks for your dedication and commitment to making PhotographyCorner an awesome online destination for photographers!

With all the commotion surrounding the 2008 Photograph of the Year contest, it’s easy to forget that we run monthly contests as well. The last week of every month, we vote on the top photographs uploaded to the forums and galleries (nominated by Premiere Members), and we crown the photograph of the month at the beginning of each month. Although most of the voting for the February 2009 Photograph of the Month occurred during the voting in the final round of the 2008 Photograph of the Year contest, we still managed to pick a winner.

There’s lots of voting going on this month: first, round 1 of the 2008 Photograph of the Year contest, then the final round of the 2008 Photograph of the Year contest, and finally, we have our monthly Photograph of the Month contest, which we vote on during the last week of every month.

Just a quick post (before I go to bed - it’s 2:30am here) to let you know that the February 2008 Corner Newsletter should be waiting for you in your inbox. If, for some reason it didn’t show up, or you’ve elected not to receive it via email, you can read it here: http://www.photographycorner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69920. The newsletter was sponsored by Snaptotes.com (see my review of the Snaptotes Custom Photo Handbags here) and they’ve offered PhotographyCorner Members an exclusive coupon code “snapcorner08” for 10% all their products through the end of March. Sweet!

Anyways, I’m off to bed - enjoy the newsletter!

Every three weeks we announce a new Contest Corner Challenge, and late last night, CCC#46 was announced. The subject is “Facial Expressions,” so this should be a popular one with all the people photographers we have floating around the Corner.

As I promised last month, I'm going to start handing out the Commitment Awards every month. But you guys gotta make it worth my while! We have a lone member who's reached a milestone in the past month, though there a bunch of you that are super close... maybe next month. ;) Congrats goes to sweetrosie_99 for reaching the 5,000 post mark!

After our closest PotM voting round ever, by 1 vote, jrgold has been awarded the February 2008 Photograph of the Month with his photograph “Wide.”

So not to have 2 voting periods running at the same time, I announced a couple of days ago that we would delay the voting for the February 2008 Photograph of the Month by a couple of days. So, while we’re still voting on the FINAL ROUND of the 2007 Photograph of the Year contest, it won’t completely overlap with the voting for the February 2008 Photograph of the Month. With that being said, voting for the February 2008 PotM has now begun.

So that the voting of the February 2008 Photograph of the Month and the FINAL VOTING ROUND of the 2007 PhotographyCorner.com Photograph of the Year contest don’t completely overlap (and honestly, because of time-restraints of running two contests at once), the voting for the February 2008 PotM, which was supposed to start yesterday, will run half-a-week late. Look for voting to start sometime on Sunday evening. Just thought I’d let you know, rather than keeping you waiting in the dark. Since it’s running late, I’ll give you a little something for waiting: The sponsor for the February 2008 PotM is FunWithPics, and the prize will be a $100 Gift Certificate… imagine the cool posters you could print?!