Heartland

We’ve had overwhelming participation from the community for our previous contests.  People have walked away with postcards, glossy photos of the Heartland cast, and autographs!  This time, we’re going to offer you something different.

For our next one, we want you grab your still camera and take a snapshot of your Perfect View.  These are outside, landscape shots of stunning vistas that take your breath away.

Upload the photo(s) to your galleries.  There, BrianT, Tanya, and MorganJ will choose the Top 3.  Then, we’ll send them to Andrew Bako, the Still Photographer for Heartland, to choose the best photograph.

Everyone who enters will be rewarded.  Each entry will go into our Map – remember our first digital zine?  There, you’ll be able to see the views of Heartland fans all across the globe.

Now, here’s the important part.  When you upload the photo to your gallery, make sure you name the image, “Landscape” under Image Title.  You could name it “Landscape of home” or “landscape at my ranch” – just be sure it starts with “Landscape” if you want it to appear in the zine.

We're sure you have LOTS of photos.  But only one entry per person, please.

Be sure to reply to Perfect View thread once your picture is up.  That way we know you’ve officially entered.

1st Prize — A signed postcard of Amber Marshall and a few other cast members. As well as 5 Heartland postcards.
2nd Prize — An 8x10 glossy photo of Michelle Morgan and 5 Heartland postcards.
3rd Prize — 5 Heartland postcards.

Before you get started, here are some tips from Andrew to make your photos look as professional as possible:

1)    Early morning or late afternoon tend to provide a softer, warmer type of light and this makes for nice shooting conditions. At this time of the day you will find your colours can be crisp, saturated and rich. This type of light also has a wonderful soothing element to it.

2)    Equipment.  For lenses you can use anything from a wide angle zoom 16~35mm to more of a telephoto 70~200mm. You should try to shoot from a lower and higher angle to get a different perspective than the norm. You can use selective focus points to emphasize depth – throw the foreground slightly out of focus and you’ll find your image will draw you in with its background depth.  Or you can put your camera on a tripod, use a slower shutter speed and any waving grass/wheat will go soft in the foreground while the background will be tack sharp.

3)    Check out National Geographic issues for some wonderful landscapes from all over the planet.  Last, but not least, don’t be afraid to experiment – shoot lots.  Digital cameras now enable everyone to do just that. When we were using film we had to be mindful of the cost of rolls of films.

Be sure you have your photos uploaded no later then July 28th 9am PST.

Good luck!