Lenzr? I Don't Even Know R.

Disclosure: I'm being paid to write this, but it's cool anyway. Disclaimer: I don't endorse any illegal activities or cheating.

I know a lot of you who read this are photographers, and a lot (perhaps most) of you are from Toronto or go there a lot. If there is any overlap between those two groups, then you'll want to know about Lenzr. It's a Toronto photo contest where you win prizes that are actually pretty sweet, for uploading the most popular photos as judged by visitors to the site. Anyone can vote without even registering (i.e., spam your Facebook, Twitter, and blog to get people to vote for you).

There are currently three contests going on:


Summer in Toronto: This one is about summer. In Toronto. If I were a photographer type I'd go for this one, not only because you can win an iPhone (courtesy of the site that apparently has the best cell phone plans), but because you can actually put some thought into what summer in Toronto means to you, then go out and photograph some artsy fartsy depiction of it.



Emergency in Toronto: Okay, this is getting a little weirder. Take a photo of emergency personnel doing their jobs, and win a watch (because every second counts in an emergency...get it?) donated by a time management consultant. This contest, well, it's not really a photo shoot you can plan ahead of time. Unless of course you are a supervillain and are the one causing the disasters you photograph, Mr. Glass style. But who really wears watches any more? Every cell phone is a pocket watch. A wrist watch is kinda redundant, then, unless you're obsessed with time. Like, for example, if you need to precisely time your involvement with a complex plan to cause disaster. Just sayin'.

Best Toronto Skyline: The last photo contest is exactly what it sounds like. You can win a Pentax camera for this one, and it looks like a good one. It records 720p high definition video, and has "Pixel Track Shake Reduction," which sounds like a Japanese dancing/cooking video game, so I'm sure it's very useful. I can't see there being much variation in the candidates here; the skyline is the skyline, so every good picture should look like every other good picture. Unless, of course, you add your own little touches. Like, say, a giant monster that someone accidentally let loose on Toronto. Again, just sayin'.

To meet other people involved in the contest and/or learn how to game the system, check out the Lenzr blog and Lenzr forum. There's also more about it over on blogfriend Dead Robot's blog.

I know many of you are fantastic photographers (e.g., those who participated in the highly successful Worldwide Photo Walk), so get snapping and make it snappy. Because the site just launched, there's a very good chance of winning while it's still relatively small. Prizes and fame will be yours if you are willing to pay the ultimate price.