Gainesville residents will have a chance to showcase their talent in the city's first photography contest, "The Gainesville Way of Life."
The contest is open to anyone 18 or older, and while the photographer does not have to live in Gainesville, the photo must be taken within Gainesville city limits.
Entries can be submitted through Oct. 18 to the city of Gainesville photo pool on Flickr.com, accessible through photos at cityofgainesville.org.
Doug Whitaker, president of the Exposure Photography Club at UF, said photos can be especially powerful when focused on a distinct location because they help reveal the identity of the town and its residents.
John Kaplan, UF professor of photojournalism and two-time Pulitzer judge, said the key is to immerse oneself in the topic to really empathize with the subject.
"As I tell my students, if it looks good in the viewfinder, take one step closer," he said. "It may look even better."
John Freeman, UF associate professor of journalism, said the best photos for this contest will be of residents at work and play but should not be of landscapes unless they use creative lighting.
He said judges will look for novel approaches to the subject: "A scene from an unusual vantage point. A different time of day. Unusual lighting. A special moment or emotion."
Both Freeman and Kaplan emphasized the importance of emotion in photographs, and Whitaker, who calls himself an experienced amateur, agreed.
"Photography is art, and art can be used to express whatever we want it to," he said.
Whitaker said photography can become very personal and may not make sense if explained in another medium.
As a fourth-year mathematics and statistics major, Whitaker said he understands how classes leave little free time for amateur photography but will be using this contest to get back into his hobby.
"Anything that motivates people to go and take more photos is good, both because you practice your technique and are usually challenged to take pictures of new things that you haven't considered before," Whitaker said.
