I entered my baby in the contest, but then it asked for my phone number and said something about $9.99 a month, so i passed. Well evidently it entered him anyways & i just received an email saying judges loved his picture and they think hes got a shot at a $25,000 modeling contract, then it took me to enter him in that contest & it costs $19.99. Is this real?
Happy Customer Just Back From Homegrown Hydroponics
I am an old school guy. I usually have been. I was raised in rural Georgia by my grandmother after my parents died. I was raised outside in the garden. My granny was an enthusiastic gardener and so was her Mother before her. When it came to the once a year largest tomato contest we came close to winning, but never quite pulled it off. Third Place in 2008 wasn't bad, but we're not about to settle for second best. Tomatoes first grew as wild, cherry-size berries in the South American Andes, but the fruit, as we know it today, was developed in Mexico where it was known as tomatil and traveled to Europe by boat with the returning conquistadors.
The problem with growing tomatoes outdoors is the weather. Drastic changes up or down can stunt or kill your crop. Plants like to be warm like humans, and avoid extremes of weather patterns. Naturally proper watering and fertilizing is super significant as well . Particularly when going for the gold. I believed we had it for sure last year till a rabbit came out of the blue and ate half of our prize winning 9 pound tomato! I had it with nature, lack of rain and furry rodents with cute ears and evil appetites!
Oddly enough a buddy of mine brought over a High Times magazine on the way back from the store with a pack of smokes and a case of beer. After some cold ones, and some bad reruns on TV, I started flipping through the best of High Times mag and they'd some write up on some company called local Hydroponics out in Weston Florida. Hell, these guys are practically my neighbors I thought! I called the 800 number and spoke to some guy named Howard. I told him I was tired of growing the way I usually did and wanted to try something new. Turns out that they pioneered the modern day grow box. Sounds like a chunk of furniture to me.
Whatever is a grow box you ask? Hell, I would not have been able to tell you that six months back. Turns out these suckers are boxes that look like normal cupboards, but inside they got all the lights on times, fans to bring in unpolluted air, and even a tub to hold the water and plants. Looked pretty nifty on the web site, but I do not believe in purchasing anything till I lay my hands on it! So, the old woman and I hopped in our '57 Ford and took a ride down to their manufacturing facility in Weston Florida. Boy, let me tell you these guys run a powerful show out there!
I been in manufacturing shops before, but I have never seen anything as professional and high end as this. Turns out they got an engineer employed full time planning these machines in some program called Solid Works, and they get to design them and work out all the flaws on the PC before they even build them! Allegedly the machine I purchased from them called the Cultivator Pro was the product of 5 years of analysis and development into plant mechanics and from what I saw they pushed things to the limits on this one.
Long story short I decided to take the plunge on changing my out dated old fashioned and took a gamble with Howard of local Hydroponics. I paid for my machine by cashiers check and Howard told me it might be prepared to pick up in 4-6 weeks. Looked a bit long, but hell - I got time to wait for something done right . Not more than 3 weeks later some guy named Shannon calls me and tells me my unit is complete, and prepared to pick up! Wow, finished in 1/2 the time! So we drove down there again and when we got there our Cultivator Pro was set up on show for us running so bright, and looking good! The store foreman Wayne was nice enough to give me a first hand demonstration of how the product worked, and showed me all the bits and bobs before proceeding to pack it up for me and load it In my truck. I could not wait to get it home and plant my tomato clones!
After chatting with Howard again on the telephone, he walked me through getting it all setup. It was straightforward and took less than an hour from unpacking it to filling it with water and turning it on. My God, when those 800 watts of light blast on your plants you want some sunglasses and sun tan lotion! Talk about perfect conditions for the tomatoes and any plant actually. They are living in plant heaven in this grow box built to keep them happy as a kitty on the settee.
It's been two months now, and I'll honestly say I have not seen a better looking, prize winning tomatoes than the one I got going on right now. It's looking good for the fare this year and I hardly lifted a finger apart from filling it with water. To point out my eyes have been opened to a recently discovered way of growing plants in an understatement. Those people at Homegrown Hydroponics opened up a door to me that I can never close!
I don't miss the dirt, the cold, the furry rodents of the lack of water in nature! I got this baby purring in my spare guest room, and my plants grow like wild fire. I am in the process of starting a blog, and will post some photos soon as my plants ripen up. This year is looking good to take my rightful first place victory at the state fair!
The world offers a lot of gorgeous things to everyone's eyes. As for photographers, they are obliged to capture this magnificent scenery and share it to the whole world without expecting anything in return. But like everything else, in the growing number of photographers competition is inevitable. What will you do, as a photographer to shine among the multitude of shutters and lighting? The internet offers hundreds of photocontest sites that allow users to post their work and let people vote which they think stands out from the rest. Photography is unlikely thing to many, but to some whose passion is in the art, joining online photo contest is the fastest way to get noticed.
There are several types of picture contests: babyphoto contests, amateur photo contests, and wildlife photo contests. Picture contest is free to all as long as you let live the artist in you. Whether amateurs, professionals or just sharing your shots with other photography lovers, entering a photography contest might be a wonderful way to express devotion with your hobby. I have seen alot of very good photos when I searched the internet for photography contest. Some are just good memories caught on camera, some are of grief, friendship and some are tear jerkers. Though at first glance, some pictures are not quite of an eye catcher but if you look closely, the pictures taken are very difficult. Pictures like lightning, a clear photo underwater, or even birds at close up. You will spend at least an hour to shoot a clear view, but photographers are killing their time just to take a good photo of their interest and that is something worth of a recognition. Very rewarding indeed!
Entering a photo competition is fast and easy compared to other online contests. Have your name, your website and of course your photo and you are in. The best thing for in photo competition is having your work posted in the site along with other entries, whether you win or lose you will get the opportunity to share your photos with others for feedbacks and comments to further improve your skills for future contests. For starters, it will be better to join photo contests with free registration. There are more enough contests that does not require entry fees and since your are just starting, its better to gain enough exposure first and learn more experience before getting down to expensive picture contests. Some free entry photo competition give small cash prizes, but win or lose you can get experience and exposure at the same time.
Here are some quick tips to help you win photography competitions (by Photo Critic):
1 - Stick to the topic
2 - Know the rules
3 - Keep it simple
4 - Tell a powerful story
5 - Technical perfection in pair with strong vision
6 - The X factor
And the final tip... Develop your own style
Whether photography or something else, the most important thing is you are having fun on what you do. If you enjoy your work, success will come in lightly.
About the Author
James D. Humphrey is one of the developers and sales executive of Photo laureates. The site's photo contest provide a platform of artistic expression for amateur and professional photographers to gain exposure and recognition. We promote photographers through technical workshops, improvisation sessions as well as photography contests. Its renowned Photography Society identifies, awards and promotes new Photography Talent.
wtf. stupid facebook had this thumbnail you could click on to enter your baby in "the great american photo contest" and ever since i did it i've been getting tons of spam e-mails and my computer keeps telling me it has viruses. is there anything i can do to get rid of the viruses for free? any free downloads or anything like that that will clean it up? i've already un-subscribed to the contest. ugh. last time i do anything like that again!
Scan your comp. with both of these using the free version on both.
http://superantispyware.com
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
It will clean up that fake anti virus.
Win $2500 if your baby looks cute! Join the Great American Photo Contest.
