EDIT: Just so you know, even though the competition has already started, you can still join in any time. If you don’t get 26 pictures uploaded, you can’t win the main prize, but you still might get something Special. Secret. Magic.
Mr Crumpet and I have decided to put together a little photography competition!
The Idea
The basic idea is to take 26 photos, each one based on a letter of the alphabet. All you need is a camera, a Flickr account and an imagination.
The details
You don’t need to know anything about photography to enter this competition — you just have to love it. We don’t care if you’re shooting with the cheapest, oldest camera on the block, or the slickest and most expensive that money can buy — what matters most is your interpretation and execution of the theme, and that you enjoy yourself.
The kick off will be Monday the 26th of February, when everyone will upload their first photo to the Flickr Alphabet Shoot group. Please see the schedule below for photo uploading and voting deadlines. Voting will be done privately, by email or the Flickr messaging system, as opposed to commenting or favouriting photos (not that you can’t do this — it just won’t be included as part of the official vote), as it will be easier to keep track of the votes, and it’s much more fun to keep these things secret. The first round of voting will close at 11:59pm on Tuesday the 27th of February, at which point you’ll all be able to upload your next picture, and so on, until we reach the end of the alphabet.
The prizes
Yes! Prizes!
The winner, being the person with the most votes, will receive a handbound photo album, made by me, containing every photo they took for the competition.
There will also be a number of Special Secret Magic Category prizes… Remember: Special. Secret. Magic.
The rules
1. Please sign up here in the blog comments with your Flickr username (if you don’t have a Flickr account, they’re free and easy to create) and also to the Flickr group by Saturday February 24.
2. One photo per letter per person for the per-ize! 
3. You are only allowed to vote once for each letter of the alphabet — 3 points for your favourite, 2 points for your second and 1 for your third. We’ll be following the Eurovision standard, meaning that you cannot vote for your own country photos.
4. All photos must be uploaded and voting completed in a timely manner. Please tag your image with Alphabet Shoot Competition and the matching letter.
5. If you miss a letter, you can’t win the main prize. But you still may get something Special. Secret. Magic.
6. You can edit your photographs, but please try to keep it simple (colour alteration, cropping, etc.). Remember, less is more. Or something.
7. All photos must be new — we don’t mind if you shoot all your photos in advance and upload them on the appropriate days, but please don’t include photos taken earlier than February 16, 2007. The idea is to go forth and create, not to sit on your arse searching through your catalogue of old pictures.
The Schedule
All timing falls under the UTC/GMT umbrella.
A Monday February 26 — upload by 11:59PM
A Tuesday February 27 — vote by 11:59PM
B Wednesday February 28 — upload by 11:59PM
B Thursday March 1 — vote by 11:59PM
C Friday March 2 — upload by 11:59PM
C Sunday March 4 — vote by 11:59PM
D Monday March 5 — upload by 11:59PM
D Tuesday March 6 — vote by 11:59PM
E Wednesday March 7 — upload by 11:59PM
E Thursday March 8 — vote by 11:59PM
F Friday March 9 — upload by 11:59PM
F Sunday March 11 — vote by 11:59PM
G Monday March 12 — upload by 11:59PM
G Tuesday March 13 — vote by 11:59PM
H Wednesday March 14 — upload by 11:59PM
H Thursday March 15 — vote by 11:59PM
I Friday March 16 — upload by 11:59PM
I Sunday March 18 — vote by 11:59PM
J Monday March 19 — upload by 11:59PM
J Tuesday March 20 — vote by 11:59PM
K Wednesday March 21 — upload by 11:59PM
K Thursday March 22 — vote by 11:59PM
L Friday March 23 — upload by 11:59PM
L Sunday March 25 — vote by 11:59PM
M Monday March 26 — upload by 11:59PM
M Tuesday March 27 — vote by 11:59PM
N Wednesday March 28 — upload by 11:59PM
N Thursday March 29 — vote by 11:59PM
O Friday March 30 — upload by 11:59PM
O Sunday April 1 — vote by 11:59PM
P Monday April 2 — upload by 11:59PM
P Tuesday April 3 — vote by 11:59PM
Q Wednesday April 4 — upload by 11:59PM
Q Thursday April 5 — vote by 11:59PM
R Friday April 6 — upload by 11:59PM
R Sunday April 8 — vote by 11:59PM
S Monday April 9 — upload by 11:59PM
S Tuesday April 10 — vote by 11:59PM
T Wednesday April 11 — upload by 11:59PM
T Thursday April 12 — vote by 11:59PM
U Friday April 13 — upload by 11:59PM
U Sunday April 15 — vote by 11:59PM
V Monday April 16 — upload by 11:59PM
V Tuesday April 17 — vote by 11:59PM
W Wednesday April 18 — upload by 11:59PM
W Thursday April 19 — vote by 11:59PM
X Friday April 20 — upload by 11:59PM
X Sunday April 22 — vote by 11:59PM
Y Monday April 23 — upload by 11:59PM
Y Tuesday April 24 — vote by 11:59PM
Z Wednesday April 25 — upload by 11:59PM
Z Thursday April 26 — vote by 11:59PM
All votes will be tallied from Friday April 27 – Monday April 30, and the winners will be announced on Tuesday May 1.
That’s about it! Sign up! Get busy!
PS — Breaking the rules will make Henry sad. And you don’t want to make Henry sad, do you…?
