Still Life is a very pleasant photographic topic. The subject does not move and you have plenty of time to press the shutter. No rush at all! That should be nice but don't forget to devote some extra time to arrange the light (perhaps try out a different source -- what could be better than a natural source?), have a second or third look at the composition. And then you have it all in one shot. Maybe hours to set things up, maybe mere minutes, it's up to you, but in the end it all gets captured within a fraction of a second... or maybe fractions of a minute! Go for it, you are free to choose your main subject -- anything goes, no limits... except it's gotta be STILL! :)

THE GALLERIES ARE CLOSED

Please proceed to the voting http://www.warrensarle.com/vote/ .

Voting ends at 10pm (CET) on Thursday, October 9th.

For instructions, please refer to the Sony Talk Forum by clicking here.

CHALLENGE STARTING & CLOSING TIMES

* STARTING DATE: September 21, 2008
* CLOSING DATE & TIME: October 7, 2008 at 10pm (CET)

To find the actual closing day/time for your own time zone, a time chart will (if it hasn't been already) be provided below.

LINK TO CHALLENGE INFO THREAD

Discussion over this Challenge can be found by clicking here. Please do drop by if you have any problems accessing and posting to this Challenge, or if you have any suggestions for improving the format, or if you just want to join the forum and say hello to everyone!

GUIDELINES

The following guidelines are just meant to help things run relatively smoothly for all and to serve as a handy reference for common questions. Please read this section through, especially if you're new to these challenges. Additionally, illustrated upload instructions can be viewed directly in the How to Upload to STF Challenges gallery.

WHO CAN ENTER?
Our Challenges are open to EVERYONE. No matter your experience level with photography or forums, we welcome you to submit your photos, comment on others' work, add your votes, or better still do all three! If you ever need assistance, holler and we'll be only too happy to share with you the help we needed when we ourselves were new to the Challenges.

HOW MANY PHOTOS CAN I ENTER?
Up to 4 images are allowed in the ELIGIBLE gallery, and up to 4 photos are allowed in the EXHIBITION gallery, for a total of 8 images per person. For details on the differences between ELIGIBLE and EXHIBITION galleries, please read further on below.

WHAT IF I WANT TO ENTER MORE THAN FOUR?
This means you are an attention hog :)
If you'd like to display a 5th, 6th, or 20th image related to the theme, check out the "Demos" section available from the Main Gallery link embedded in this thread's initial post. There you can post variations of one or more of the four photos you've entered in either of the challenge categories and ask for people's feedback on which variation works better. You can also submit extra photos just for display purposes (in other words, they will not be eligible for voting) and give others some possible composition/subject ideas.

HOW DO I UPLOAD OR EDIT MY PHOTOS?
Your first step is to choose either the ELIGIBLE or EXHIBITION gallery below. Once you've clicked on the gallery appropriate for your photo, you'll be directed to the next page which contains a guide section dealing with uploading and editing photos. It's a lot easier to follow the procedure from within the gallery pages than to describe it all here in the root gallery.

CAN I COLLABORATE WITH A FRIEND ON AN ENTRY?
Sure can! Collaborating on entries is welcome. An artist can be involved in up to 4 collaborative efforts IN ADDITION TO the usual individual total images allowed.

MAY I POST-PROCESS MY ENTRIES?
Yes, you certainly may! There are no restrictions on post processing your photos before submitting them. If you want to turn your mother-in-law's smile into a menacing growl, you now have an opportunity to do so and show the entire planet how mean she really is!

OK, IS THERE A METHOD I MUST USE FOR TITLING MY ENTRIES?
Yeah, we request for a standard STF format because it really aids in minimizing voting problems. Just put a unique title and your name ( real or nick) on each of your image thumbnails (ex. 'Seeing Stars by HAL9000').

MAY I SUBMIT AN IMAGE ANONYMOUSLY?
Why... you on the run from the law? :)
You may submit any of your images anonymously. If you think the image isn't your very best work, you can even sign it with your mean mother-in-law's name. That'll show her!

WHAT ABOUT IMAGE DIMENSIONS?
Please resize your images to no more than 800 pixels on the longest side before uploading to PBase. In case it's a panoramic image, it can of course be larger.

WHAT IF I RUN INTO ANY PROBLEMS?
Your best course of action is to post about any problems in the current STF Forum's Current Challenge Info thread, where you'll most likely get the quickest response. The thread is directly accessible if you click the link provided in the "Current Challenge Info Thread" section up above.

WHEN DOES THIS CHALLENGE START AND END?
This Challenge is open during the timeframe noted in this thread's initial post. Timetables will be posted in the galleries so that you'll know the ending time in your own time zone.

HOW DO I VOTE?
A voting thread will be posted in STF Forum shortly after the end of this Challenge. You'll find simple voting instructions in that thread. Keep an eye out for it once this challenge closes on the date specified up above.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELIGIBLE AND EXHIBITION GALLERIES?
ELIGIBLE images must be taken with a Sony OR Konica-Minolta digital camera within the challenge time period stated above. All ELIGIBLE entries should include at least the camera model used and the date indicating when the photo was taken. Embedded EXIF data, if available, is ideal. EXHIBITION images can be taken with any camera at any time, with or without make/model or date info included.

WHAT IS "EXIF" DATA AND HOW DO I INCLUDE IT?
EXIF data is, among other things, exposure and camera make/model info that's embedded in virtually all images taken with a digital camera. If your image contains this embedded information, you don't have to do anything, PBase will automatically read it and record it along with the rest of your image info.

WHO BECOMES THE NEXT CHALLENGE HOST?
The winner of the ELIGIBLE gallery hosts the next Challenge. Don't be shy in case you're uncomfortable with the idea of setting up a challenge. It's really not as difficult as it may appear and there are always many helping hands around. If you were to encounter an obstacle, you could simply contact the host of the previous challenge or ask someone experienced to co-host. If you're still not keen on hosting the next Challenge, just confine your images to the EXHIBITION gallery, since no hosting duties are expected from the winner there.

HEY! YOU'RE HOSTING & ENTERING IMAGES TO YOUR OWN CHALLENGE! WASSUP WITH THAT?
Why not? The Challenges are more about participating than winning. Hosts are people too, with human needs and egos. Let us be! :)

NONE OF THE ABOVE RESOLVES MY QUESTION(S)
The answer to your all your questions is in fact 47.

COME ON, SERIOUSLY!
Don't hesitate to post your question(s) in the Current Challenge Info thread provided as a link above. You'll find that everyone is more than willing to help out. Don't be shy :)