Premiere Projects, hosted in the Premiere Corner every couple of weeks, are group photography projects where Premiere Members challenge themselves to grow as photographers by participating in themed “assignments.” Each projects outlines a topic for the members to photograph. The photos are then submitted for discussion/critiquing/reactions. At the end of the project period, a vote is held to determine which photo best represents the theme while maintaining high photographic quality. If you follow along closely in the forums, you’ve probably seem some of the winner announcements in the Conversation Corner.

This week, we take a look at the Premiere Project winning photographs from the past year, and the community is voting on their favorites. Originally the vote was only going to be among Premiere Members in the Premiere Corner, but the Premiere Members wanted to open voting up to the community at large in attempts to encourage non Premiere Members to support the Corner and become Premiere Members themselves. So for the next week, Lifetime Premiere Memberships will again be on sale for HALF PRICE for the duration of the contest. Learn about Premiere Membership here, and sign up to become a Premiere Member for HALF PRICE here.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at Think Tank Photo - a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work, and developing inventive new carrying solutions to meet their needs. By focusing on “speed” and “accessibility,” they prepare photographers to Be Ready “Before The Moment,” allowing them to capture those historic moments that reflect their personal visions and artistic talents. For some companies, it is only about the product. For them, it is more: It is about supporting photographers doing their job. If Think Tank can design products that help photographers travel easier, take pictures faster, and organize their gear more efficiently, then they will have accomplished something beyond the bags themselves. As a special offer to members of PhotographyCorner, when you order $50 or more of Think Tank gear through this link, at checkout you will be able to select a product to receive for free!

The winner will receive a Think Tank Photo Retrospective® 5 camera bag (Valued at $137.50)! Voting ends at approximately 4:30pm EST on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 (9:30pm GMT), so head on over to the voting thread to check out the 26 Premiere Project winning photographs from 2011 and cast your vote 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’s down to the final stretch. Crunch time. We’ve narrowed down over 225 photos to 30 (congrats to the 30 photographs that have photos in the final voting round!). Now we have to whittle down those 30 to 10. 10 photographers will walk home (ok, we’ll technically mail the prizes out) with over $10,000 in prizes (and the 1st-overall winner with $3,250 in prizes!). But before we get to the prizes, we need you to vote on the photos.

Every year, I am blown away by the quality of entries we receive. Even if you’re not a member of the Corner, or don’t want to vote, take some time to browse through the 30 photographs in the 2011 Photograph of the Year Photo Gallery - the photos are outstanding. And don’t forget about our fantastic group of sponsors, including Depositphotos and SmugMug, so be sure to browse through all the sponsors in the sponsors list here and thank them for sponsoring the contest here.

The final voting round ends at approximately 4:00pm EST on Thursday, January 26th, 2011 (9:00pm GMT). So once you’ve browsed through the entries in the 2011 Photograph of the Year Photo Gallery, head on over to the voting thread in the forums to cast your vote.

Good luck to everyone in the final voting round - and congratulations to everyone that has participated so far this year - it’s been an amazing contest (now go vote already!).

We received almost 500 entries for the PhotographyCorner.com 2011 Photograph of the Year contest - the most to date I believe - and after all the photos were checked to make sure they stuck to the rules, 226 of them are up and ready to be voted on. Due to the number of entries, we’ll do voting in 2 rounds. For Round 1, which runs from January 11th, 2012 to January 18th, 2012, the entries have been split up into 10 different groups of 23/22. The top three photographs in each Group (the three photographs that receive the most votes) will be placed into the final round where they will be voted on to decide the 10 prize winners. In the event of a tie, both photographs will move to the final round.

This year we have over $10,000 in prizes to hand out, including a grand prize worth $3,250!! Check out the stunning list of prizes on the PhotographyCorner.com 2011 Photograph of the Year Prizes page. We’ve got a fantastic group of sponsors, including Depositphotos and SmugMug, so be sure to browse through all the sponsors in the sponsors list here and thank them for sponsoring the contest here.

Make sure you vote in each group during round 1 of the voting process so that all 226 photos get a fair chance. If you have any questions specifically about the voting process, please ask them here (If you have any other questions about the contest, please ask them in the designated discussion thread).

Voting will be secret (ie. no one will know who you voted for, and the results of the vote will not be displayed until after the voting period has ended). You can only vote once in each group, and you must have 5 posts on the forum (including gallery comments) in order for your vote to count. Also, all photographs are anonymous, so please do not identify if you are the photographer of a specific photograph, or if you know which photographer took a certain photograph. You can, of course, vote for your own photograph if you wish.

Here are the links to each of the photo galleries and the polls. You have until January 18th to vote in Round 1.

• Round 1, Group A Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group A Poll

• Round 1, Group B Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group B Poll

• Round 1, Group C Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group C Poll

• Round 1, Group D Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group D Poll

• Round 1, Group E Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group E Poll

• Round 1, Group F Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group F Poll

• Round 1, Group G Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group G Poll

• Round 1, Group H Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group H Poll

• Round 1, Group I Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group I Poll

• Round 1, Group J Photo Gallery
• Round 1, Group J Poll

You’ve got 226 photos to wade through, so what are you waiting for? Check out the entries and cast your vote here!

It’s running a little late this month due to the holidays, but once you check out the photographs that have been nominated for the January 2012 Photograph of the Month, I’m sure you’ll agree it was worth the wait.

Every month (usually during the last week of the month), once the community has had a change to browse through the best photographs that have been posted up to the forums and galleries, the Premiere Members nominate their favourites, and I whittle them down to 10-15. Then the community votes and decides which is the best one, and which is to be crowned the “Photograph of the Month” for the next month. The winner has his/her winning photograph displayed on the PhotographyCorner.com homepage, along with other prizes donated by a variety of sponsors.

The January 2012 Photograph of the Month (PotM) is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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. If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

So here’s what you have to do: First, head on over to the January 2012 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery and check out the nominated photographs. Then go to the voting thread to cast your vote. In a week (at approximately 9:30pm EST on Thursday, January 5th, 2012), voting will be complete, and the winner will be announced. It’s as simple as that.

After voting is complete for Contest Corner Challenge #94: Celebration (at approximately 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011), it’ll be the last Contest Corner Challenge we do for a little while (we always take a break during the Photograph of the Year contest). You only have a few days left to check out the entries and cast your vote, so take advantage of the holiday break and get your vote in now. You can browse through the entries in the CCC#94: Celebration Photo Gallery, then head on over to the forum to cast your vote.

The contest is again being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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) - (I promise some new sponsors and prizes in 2012!). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

So what are you waiting for??! Go vote right now!

It doesn’t happen very often, but every now and again voting for the Contest Corner Challenge and Photograph of the Month contests line right up. Double the voting, double the fun (double the work-load - ha!). Earlier today, voting for Contest Corner Challenge #93: Reproduction kicked off. Then, a couple of hours later, voting for the December 2011 Photograph of the Month got under way.

I realize the community is currently in the middle of voting for the November 2011 Photograph of the Month, but every once and a while, voting for the PotM and CCC’s overlap. This is one of those times. Check out the entries for Contest Corner Challenge #92: All in Good Time in the Corner Contest Photo Galleries. Then head on over to the voting thread to cast your vote - you have until approximately 4:45pm EST (8:45pm GMT) on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011.

The contest is again being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

Make sure you drop by the voting thread to cast your vote while you’ve still got time!

I can’t believe it’s the end of October already. The winter months always seem to creep up quickly, but this year it’s even more so with the due date for the birth of my first child on November 1st. Yikes - that’s a week away!! Around the Corner, however, the last week of each month means it’s time to cast our votes for the best photograph that has been posted up in the forums and galleries over the past month (and then the winning photo gets displayed on the homepage for an entire month!).

The Premiere Members nominate photographs throughout the month (special hat tip to chellezphoto who did the lions share of nominations this month), and I whittled them down to 10-15 photos for you to vote on. Check out the 13 that made the cut this month in the November 2011 Photograph of the Month Gallery.

The contest is again being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

Before the end of the month (and the baby’s due date - yikes!), make sure to head on over to the voting thread and cast your vote!

Due to some technical problems around the Corner over the past couple of days, voting for Contest Corner Challenge #91: The Color and the Shape started a little later than normal, though we will still have a full 7-days to cast our votes (we’ll just announce the winner a little later, and CCC#92 a day or two late). The entries for this contest came in slowly at first, but we got a decent amount in the last couple of days of the entry period. Check out all 27 entries in the CCC#91 Photo Gallery, and make sure to cast your vote in the voting thread by 3:15pm EST (7:15pm GMT) on Saturday, October 8th, 2011.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

This was a challenging contest, but we received a lot of creative entries - check ‘em out here, and cast your vote here!

For the past 7+ years, the last week of every month has always been “voting week” here around the Corner. We take the time to browse through the best photographs that have been posted up to the forums and the galleries (although you actually have to be a Premiere Member to nominate photographs), and vote on which one will be displayed as the Photograph of the Month on the homepage of the site. It’s the last week of September (yikes!) which means we’re voting on the October Photograph of the Month (the photograph that was posted up in September, but will be displayed on the homepage in October).

Take a couple of minutes to browse through the nominated photographs in the October 2011 PotM Photo Gallery, then head on over to the voting thread in the forums before the end of the month to cast your vote.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

We’ve got 12 fantastic entries up for the October 2011 PotM, so make sure you check ‘em out and cast your vote today!

I’ve gotta say, we’ve got some fantastically creative entries for Contest Corner Challenge #90: Show Me the Money! - and it’s great to see some currency from around the world. When you have a chance over the next couple of days, make sure to browse through all the entries in the CCC#90: Show Me the Money! Photo Gallery. Then, before 3:00pm EST (7:00pm GMT) on Friday, September 9th, 2011, be sure to mozy on over to the voting thread to cast your vote.

The contest is again being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

There are 22 entries to browse through - take a couple of minutes to enjoy the creative entries and see a variety of currencies from around the world (but don’t forget to cast your vote once you’re done).

Can you believe we’re coming up on the end of August already? There’s a psychological boundary, for me at least, that the close of August and the beginning of September signals. As a child it meant summer was over and it was time to go back to school. I guess that feeling still stuck with me decades later.

For us around the Corner, though, the last week of every month means it’s time to vote on the best photographs posted up in the Corner forums and galleries that have been posted up over the past month. One of the main benefits of Premiere Membership is the ability to nominate photographs for the Photograph of the Month contests - and this month they did a bang up job. Check out the 15 photographs that made the final cut this month in the September 2011 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery. You have until the end of the month (around 5pm EST on August 31st) to cast your vote.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) and 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). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive an Acme Made Laptop Sleeve 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.

So you’ve got just under a week to browse through the entries and cast your vote - before September is here! Get on it!

The entry period is over… and now it’s time to check out the entries and cast our votes for the best photograph submitted for Contest Corner Challenge #89: Leading Lines. We received 27 entries for this contest (although not every approved entry completely fits the “leading lines” theme all that well) - check them out in the CCC#89: Leading Lines Photo Gallery. Once you’ve had a chance to browse through the entries (and feel free to leave comments on them in the gallery!), drop by the voting thread in the forums to cast your vote.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

Voting ends at approximately 4:00pm EST (8:00pm GMT) on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 - so make sure to cast your vote before then!

I can’t believe it’s already time to be voting for the August 2011 Photograph of the Month - summer (for those of us in the northern hemisphere, at least) is flying by. The photographs for every Photograph of the Month contest (PotM for short) are nominated throughout the month by the Premiere Members of the site. With a week to go in the month, I wade through all the nominations (special shout-out to chellezfotoz for a bunch of the nominations each month!), and then post up 10-15 of the best ones in a photo gallery. The community has the opportunity to browse through the photos, then cast their vote in the voting thread in the forum. After a week of voting, we tally all the votes and declare a winner!

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

1. Head over to the August 2011 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery and browse through the photographs.
2. Go to the voting thread to cast your vote.
3. Continue enjoying the articles, tutorials, product reviews, projects, galleries, forums and contests on PhotographyCorner.

A couple of days ago the community began voting for the best photograph entered into Contest Corner Challenge #88: Kids Stuff. My in-laws are in town visiting, so I’ve been a bit slow in letting you know about it, though, so you only have the weekend left to cast your vote (sorry!).

First, head on over to the CCC#88: Kids Stuff Photo Gallery and browse through the 19 photographs that were entered into the contest. Then drop by the voting thread to cast your vote. Voting ends at approximately 12:00pm EST (4:00pm GMT) on Monday, July 18th, 2011, and the winner will be announced on Tuesday.

The contest is being sponsored by our friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lowepro Cirrus 100 camera bag.

So what are you waiting for??! Go cast your vote ASAP!

It’s true. Voting for the Photograph of the Month contest is often very close. Sometimes a mere vote determines the winner. One of the neat things about the contests here on PhotographyCorner is that the community votes on each contest and the winners are declared by popular opinion. Some stuffy “judge” doesn’t decide which photograph is the best - you do! It could all come down to your vote. It’s a heavy responsibility, I know. But I think you’re up to the task.

We have 13 photographs to choose from this month - take a browse through them in the July 2011 Photograph of the Month Photo Gallery. You have until the end of June to cast your vote in the voting thread here.

The contest is being sponsored by out friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

You vote could decide which photographer gets the accolades and prizes - cast your vote today!

For Contest Corner Challenge #87, the community was challenged to take a photograph of “going green” (you know… something like recylcing, solar panals, or of people planting a tree, as long as it fits the theme of “going green”). Only 11 photographers were up for the challenge, but there are some great shots. Check them out in the CCC#87: Going Green Photo Gallery. Then, make sure to head on over to the voting thread to cast your vote for the photograph you think best fits the theme. Voting ends at 4:30pm EST (8:30am GMT) on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011.

The contest is being sponsored by out friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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 (green, of course). If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lowepro Cirrus 100 camera bag.

So now it’s time to do your part. Check out the entries, and cast your vote today!

Pretty much every month over the past 7+ years, when it’s the last week of the month rolls around, we know it’s time to vote for the best photos posted up over the past month. Sure we’re not the only site that posts up a photograph of the month, but there aren’t many that feature the quality of photos we display each month, and certainly not many that give away prizes to the winner each month - and then to let the community decide each month? I think that makes the PhotographyCorner Photograph of the Month pretty unique.

Here’s how it works: Over the course of the month, 20,000+ of you post up photos in the forums and galleries. Premiere Members can nominate the best photos they come across throughout the month. With a week to go, I narrow down the nominations to the top 15 or so, and post them up in the contest galleries. Then the community has a week to browse through the galleries and cast their vote in the voting threads. On the first of the month, we count the vote, declare a winner, and give them a prize!

You can check out the June 2011 Photograph of the Month contest gallery here, then head on over to the voting thread to cast your vote before June 1st. The contest this month is being sponsored by Acme Made (Founded in 2002, Acme Made specializes in designing protective accessories for today’s modern lifestyle. The company is 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. Acme Made is “Designed Protection.”). If the winner is a Premiere Member, they will receive their choice between several Acme Made camera bags/laptop sleeves/e-reader cases. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership.

So head on over to the June 2011 PotM Gallery to check out the 15 fantastic photos from the past month, then make sure to cast your vote before June 1st!

I’ve gotta admit, I’m a little disappointed with the number of entries into Contest Corner Challenge #86: Shopping (only 7!), but I guess that gives those that did enter a pretty decent chance to win! Maybe the theme was a difficult one, or maybe it’s just a busy time of year… either way, the entry period has come to a close, and it’s time to check out the entries in the CCC#86: Shopping Photo Gallery, then cast your vote in the voting thread before voting ends in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, May 27th.

The contest is sponsored by out friends at DayMen Photo Marketing (an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories) 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 Apex 110 AW (Blue) camera bag. If the winner is not a Premiere Member, they will receive a Lowepro Cirrus 100 camera bag.

So you may not have entered, but you’ve gotta at least head on over to the voting thread and make your vote count…