Archive for February, 2012
When we presented the #IWontGiveUp Contest with Jason Mraz, we knew his fans were hardcore. But they blew us all away and submitted 9,000+ entries, leaving Jason Mraz and his team to pour through the amazing photos and somehow choose only 25 winners. CanvasPop is excitedly printing these Instagram photos on canvas in time for their big unveiling in NYC next week at an exclusive event. Congratulations to these IGers!
| @alijardine @amandampb @cguggs @chowda @corey89 |
@daniellecoons @dannilyn @earthcaptured @elgwicole @emilywhite4031 |
@gooniegirl @hellokittykat11 @jag109 @krissy_lin @ldugdale |
@lisandypants @maggggggg @misvincent @nrandaz @paigee1185 |
@reallyruff @rycar @sarzola1 @taylortrgovac @weissbro |
Jason summed up the powerful imagery of the winning photos:
The word love spelled in cursive within the loop and curl of a child’s shoelaces; compelling, cinematic images of the natural world, our home planet; gripping family portraits; honor and glory; and a few that are just plain adorable are descriptions of some of the winning images of the #IWONTGIVEUP Photo Contest presented by @CanvasPop that will soon be enlarged, canvased and stretched and on display in a NYC art gallery.
For me, the most difficult part in choosing only a few images of many thousands submitted, is that I could not select my own, and neither did my voting committee select my submissions either. DANG! Anyway, congratulations to the winners. I love going to art galleries and I look forward to your opening.
—YOU DID IT! xo Jason
We’re stoked for next week’s art gallery opening—check back for photos of the event!
UPDATE: Congratulations to the Grand Prize Winner: Myla from Kansas City, Missouri!
It’s easy to let hundreds (or thousands!) of digital photos sit idly on your computer or phone. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Blurb to get your photos out of the digital world to create something you can share.
Enter the give-away for your chance to win a $75 gift voucher from Blurb and a 16×20″ CanvasPop canvas. All entrants will receive a special discount from both companies after the contest closes!
How to Enter:
Simply visit our Facebook Page to enter.
The winner will be announced on March 5!
Rules:
Winner must be a resident of the contiguous USA or Canada.
Entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on March 4, 2012.
New to Blurb? They’re photographers, designers, and book-lovers too —obsessed with quality and sticklers about top-notch binding, gorgeous paper, and professional printing. Together, we’ll help you turn your photos into something you can admire—whether it’s a gorgeous book or custom canvas art.
Want to get your hands on some canvas prints now? Save 15% at CanvasPop with code: ADMIRE15 (Expires March 4 and cannot be combined with any other offers, promotions or discounts).
Good luck!
Love,
CanvasPop
UPDATE: Check out the contest winners!
iPhoneography is hot, hot, hot! If you haven’t already, join the army of photographers who are capturing amazing photos with their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
We print iPhone photos like rockstars, and we’ve partnered with the amazing iPhoneography Central to host a photo contest so you can show off your iPhone artistry!
The theme is “POP”! Submit a photo to our contest page and our judges will choose their favorite entries. We’ll print the winning photos on canvas, plus two runners up will also get canvas goodies. Enter today!
Criteria & Rules
- The theme is “POP”. Be creative!
- Entrants must live in the contiguous USA or Canada and be age 13+.
- Your submission must be a square image.
- Your submission must have been created on any of or a combination of the following devices ONLY: iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
- You must have permission to reprint the image.
- One entry per person. ENTER HERE.
- Contest closes March 4 at 11:59pm EST.
Prizes
First Place: The winner will receive their submission on a 20×20″ canvas from CanvasPop!
Runners Up: Two finalists will receive their photo printed on a 12×12″ canvas.
Winners will also be featured on iPhoneography Central and CanvasPop.
Meet the Judges
MissPixels
Born in Quebec, Canada, MissPixels has flourished in the Visual Arts community for over 20 years. Being an illustrator for iStockPhoto and Getty Images, plus a graphic designer and freelance art director, she turned to the iPhone in 2009 as her main medium for artistic expression.
In 2010, Wired Magazine named two of her pieces “Best SmartPhone Photos”. Meanwhile, the MoMA tweeted about her famous piece “4th of July” to its followers. Two years later, she became the first iPhoneography artist worldwide to give a TEDx talk.
Max Berkowitz
Max is an iPhoneographer based in Sacramento, CA. His work often explores the ways in which people and their environments work together to create something greater than simply a portrait, or an image. When we see a group of swimmers we feel the water, the energy and the emotion of the athlete.
Max’s work as been featured in the following exhibits and websites: P1XELS Apple1 San Francisco, EYE’EM NYC, The MMS Gallery in Philadelphia and the OCCCA-P1XELS show in Orange County, plus iPhoneography art sites iPhoneogenic, P1XELS, Life In Lofi, fotogriPHONE Italy, EYE’EM, and BiCKR.
Nicki Fitz-Gerald
Nicki (aka FlickrFitzy) began her career as an illustrator in London in the 1990s and is now a full-time Graphic Designer in the UK. Since getting her an iPhone 3 in 2010, Nicki has become a “hopelessly addicted iPhoneographer”. Her work was exhibited at the first eyephoneography exhibition in Madrid in 2010 and one of her images was the only iPhone photo shortlisted for the Areas of Outstanding Urban Beauty UK photo competition. More of Nicki’s work has been featured in FORMAT, a UK photography festival exploring Street photography. Her image “Flamin’ Amy“ won 4th place in Life in Lofi’s Faved of the Year 2011, among other features.
In April 2011, after finding no central resource for learning the art of iPhoneography online, Nicki created iPhoneographyCentral. She now shares her time between her day job, family and the website.
Need to know how to get started with iPhoneography or want new inspiration? Check out iPhoneography Central for for step-by-step tutorials, tips, tricks and lots of inspiration from the world’s leading iPhoneographers.
And if you can’t wait to get your hands on an iPhone photo on canvas, save 20% off at CanvasPop with code: iPC20.
Our friend, Ottawa photographer Blair Gable, is a member of CanvasPop’s Pro Community and shares his insights and behind-the-scenes thoughts right here on our blog. Here are some of Blair’s favourite photography books.
I have a modest library of photographic books that I have collected over my career and I wanted to share a few that were instrumental in inspiring me to become a great photographer. Everything from pure photojournalism to some of the greatest images ever made in a studio—enjoy!
The Republicans by Steve Simon
Steve Simon is a friend and colleague of mine who’s work never fails to inspire me. He is a Canadian living and working in New York City and The Republicans is one of his four books that I own. His most recent publication, The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great, will soon be in my collection as well. Even though the visuals of Canadian politics are not nearly as exciting as the ones south of the border, The Republicans is always the book I go to when I need to get my creative juices flowing before a big political event.
Water Light Time by David Doubilet
Even though I have never taken a photo underwater, I knew I had to have this book the moment I saw it. It is the most compelling collection of underwater photography I have ever seen from one of the best photographers in the world. Doubilet has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine since 1971 and you can bet that I will be reading this book over and over before my trip to Belize this spring.
In The American West by Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon is one of my favorite photographers of all-time and this book speaks to me like no other I have seen before. The body of work is deceptively simple in it’s approach, but the lives and stories of the people Avedon photographed are clearly written on their faces. This is the ultimate example of minimalistic work done right. One camera, one lens, natural light and a piece of white paper attached to various walls around the western-United States. For me, In The American West is the perfect portrait series.
Platinum Collection by LIFE
I think I found this book at Costco a few years ago and it has easily become one of my favourites. It is packed with stunning portraits and amazing moments from around the world, collected by LIFE magazine over the last 70 years. I give this book some serious time whenever I want to be overwhelmed with excellence and the endless possibilities of editorial photography.
Magnum Stories by Chris Boot
This book took me about a year to finish—it’s size and scope is so overwhelming that it is impossible to read it quickly and do it any justice. It contains amazing stories and images from 61 of the best photojournalists the world has ever seen.
Regarding Heros by Yousuf Karsh
It is impossible to live in Ottawa, Ontario and not see Karsh’s imagery everywhere you go and this book contains the best collection of his work that I have found. Karsh was a master of portraits and a genius in the darkroom. He knew exactly what he wanted from his subjects and was not afraid to do what he needed to in order to capture the essence of his subjects. You may be tired of hearing the story of him pulling the cigar from Sir Winston Churchill’s mouth to make him snarl, but there are so many fantastic images that Karsh created over the course of his career that his body of work is impossible to ignore.
Street Photographer by Vivan Maier via John Maldof
I stumbled across the work of Vivian Maier by accident and was instantly captivated by the images and the story around their emergence. An art collector won a collection of film at an auction from an anonymous photographer and was so taken with the work that he spent the next years of his life discovering every aspect of Vivian Maier’s life story that he could. It turns out that Maier was a nanny and amateur photographer who spent her life shooting mostly street photographs in the Bronx, more than 10,000 images on film. The unassuming body of work is like nothing that will ever be seen again because the social environment in which they were made has been throughly destroyed by time.
What are your favourite photography books?
Follow Blair on Twitter (@gablehead) and let him know what you’d like to see here next. Check out his previous posts.
Thanks, Blair!
Did you catch our contest launch on Apartment Therapy this morning? We’re giving away a record $50,000+ in prizes! Enter here for your chance to win this amazing art makeover.
Prizes
Grand Prize: One lucky winner will snag a $500 gift voucher for CanvasPop
Secondary Prizes: 1,000 winners will get a free 8×10″ photo on canvas
Rules
Winners must be residents of the contiguous USA or Canada.
One entry per person.
Contest closes on March 1 at 11:59am.
Good luck!
CanvasPop staff are some of the most creative people around. And it’s not just our designers who pack an artistic punch—our staff are also photographers, writers, artists and musicians. Framed is our blog segment where we showcase the amazing talents of CanvasPop staffers.
Meet David O’Sullivan—we affectionately call him Juice. He rocks it out in our Production Department by day, but can be found writing, sketching, painting and taking photos when he’s not at work. Sometime’s he’s even drawing at CanvasPop—check out his chalk drawings in our bathroom above.
“I’m inspired and influenced by comic books, street art—especially Banksy, and I really like the urban scene,” he says. “I try to do something creative every day.”
Juice is currently really passionate about photography and first got into the mobile photo space in March 2011, shortly after starting at CanvasPop. His keen eye for awesome urban sights has landed him his first show at Oh So Good (25 York Street in Ottawa, ON), where he’s featured until March 13. His work will also be included in the Basement Artists show on March 10.
Check out some of Juice’s work below and follow him on Instagram: IAmJuice
UPDATE: Congrats to Joanne W. from Marlboro, MA — she won the giveaway!
If you’re like us, you’ve been coveting an Epiphanie camera bag for ages. We just got our hands on a hot pink Stella and we love it so much that we needed to give one away! We’re also throwing in a 16×20″ CanvasPop canvas to the lucky winner.
How to Enter:
Simply visit our Facebook Page to enter.
The winner will be announced on February 21!
Rules:
Winner must be a resident of the contiguous USA or Canada.
Entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on February 20, 2012.
Check out this Design Tip from one of the CanvasPop Graphic Designers, Mallory Giles.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I’m sure many of you are scrambling to find unique and thoughtful ways to show your special someone just how much they mean to you. In this quick and easy tutorial, I’ll show you how to design a heart vignette in Photoshop. It takes just a few minutes to complete, and will surely take your Valentine’s breath away! It’s also a great photo effect for your next canvas print.
Step One: Open your favourite pic of you two in Photoshop, and using your ‘custom shape tool’, create a heart shape around the couple. You can make it big or small, it’s up to you. In this design, I’m doing it just around the couple’s heads.
Step Two: Right click on your heart shape layer and ‘rasterize’ it. This will make it completely editable. Go to ‘Select’ on your top menu, then ‘Inverse’. You’ll notice the area around the heart is now selected. Using your paint bucket tool, fill this new layer with any colour you like. Since this image is black and white, I’m going to keep it simple and use black. Once you’re happy with your heart background, you can hide or delete the original heart layer.
Step Three: At this point, if you like, you can leave it as a solid background, or you can amp it up a bit. In this case, I have brought my opacity down to 70% and created a slight motion blur to add some movement to the design.
And that’s it, you’re done! Valentine’s Day solved.
Love,
CanvasPop
Mallory Giles is one of CanvasPop’s Graphic Designers. Her heart lies in the world of print layout, mixed media, and advertising. Mallory frequently donates her time and talent creating artwork for various charities and causes. Her love of travel has given her new perspective, allowing her to shift freely between influences and techniques from all over the world.
On Wednesday, February 8, CanvasPop was at the Dr Martens SS12 Launch and Art Show on Queen Street in Toronto. With the event falling so close to Valentine’s Day, naturally the theme was “First Love”.
Dr Martens sent out a call to influential bloggers all over the country late last year for them to submit imagery inspired by their first love. The results were fantastic and CanvasPop was proud to help turn these digital pictures into a gawk-worthy art gallery by printing the photos on canvas.
The #firstandforever campaign was a big success with lots of media and Canadian celebs in attendance. Plus, we got a sneak peak of what’s to come this Spring/Summer for the iconic shoe brand. Kudos to the awesome ladies at Lotus Leaf Communications for organizing this amazing shindig.
Check out some of the pictures from the event…
UPDATE: Congratulations to Maureen C. from Pennsylvania—she’s the lucky winner of this sweepstakes!
It’s coming up to Valentine’s Day and we’re in the giving spirit! Today we’re launching our Share the Love Sweepstakes, featuring a grand prize worth more than $500!
Enter to win an 18×24″ DNA portrait from our sister company DNA 11, plus an 18×24″ canvas from CanvasPop! And just for entering, you’ll also have the chance to win one of 500 $30 gift vouchers for CanvasPop. Because we love you.
How to Enter:
Simply visit our Facebook Page to enter. The winners will be announced on February 14!
Rules:
Winners must be residents of the contiguous United States or Canada.
Entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on February 13, 2012.
And hey, if you’re still scrambling for a Valentine’s Day gift, grab a CanvasPop gift certificate. It’s easy and instant.
Good luck!
Love,
CanvasPop
