A Long Pour {The Photo Contest!}

We always envisioned A Long Pour as a space where we can support people, not just objects. I am proud of the work we have done in creating a project that speaks to the passions of people rather than trivial criticisms.

For us, the visual image is just as important to our stories as the words. Sometimes, the best way to tell a story is to attempt to do so in pictures.

These days, there are many amazing tools to help us do that. One of those amazing tools is Hipstamatic, an app for the iPhone. What we love about Hipstamatic is the analog approach to a digital medium. Like traditional film, there is some thought that goes into it. Unlike other apps that let you edit an image after taking it, Hipstamatic requires some creative thought. What lens will I use? What film? What combinations work best for this situation? The results are often unexpected and incredibly beautiful.

It is as close to the real thing as digital iPhone photography gets.

We love Hipstamatic and what they are up to (partially because they are a bunch of young people like we are), but even better, Hipstamatic prints all of their images for the entire World at Color Services, a Santa Barbara photo lab owned by our good friends Glen Hodges and Gabe Cano!

Color Services is a staple of Santa Barbara’s absolutely stellar photography scene and they are champions of the craft and advocates of the importance of a creative community. They are trend setters and innovators and more importantly, super nice guys! On top of all these great things, they just launched their refreshed and beautiful website (check it out!).

So…with all of this in mind, we are announcing our first ever contest… a Hipstamatic Photo Contest! It will run from today, March 29^th through April 17^th. We will announce the winners on April 20^th.

So, what’s the deal?

The Deal

What’s up for grabs?

One grand prize winner will receive a 10″x10″ mounted print of their image PLUS a Holga 120N camera and two rolls of 120mm film! We love Holga, the famous plastic camera known for its unpredictable images, it’s a toy after all!

Two runners up will receive a 7″x7″ mounted print of their image printed by Color Services and mailed to them. You will want to make sure you use a higher resolution setting to ensure your prints are as beautiful as possible.

How do you play?

First, download the Hipstamatic app for you iPhone (do it here yo!), if you don’t have it already. Spend some time learning about the different lens and film combos. Next, upload your shots to Twitter and use the hashtag #ALPHipsta or email them to me at alongpour@gmail{dot}com My Twitter account is @wkelterer (you should also follow @Hipstamatic)

What should you shoot?

Any and all things wine! Vineyard and cellar shots? Sure! Bottle shots? Why not?! You passed out after slamming a box of Franzia? Uhhh, let’s leave those out.

How many pictures can I submit?

Go nuts, I don’t care, although you can only win once, so make them good!

Are we (ALP) receiving anything for promoting Color Services or Hipstamatic?

No. I have no ties with Hipstamatic nor do I receive any form of compensation from them, I just love their product. Color Services are good friends of ours and donated the Holga. I will cover the printing and shipping costs for all prizes.

Who chooses the winners?

ALP will sort through all of the submitted shots (which we will post to A Long Pour) and choose our favorite three submissions (from three different people).

Legal Stuff

I think there should be some legal stuff here like, no cash value of prizes, um, you allow me the right to post your images to alongpour.com. Winners will be required to provide me with their email and a shipping address.

So that’s it. We want this to be a fun creative project to encourage people (wineries included) to get out there and capture what they love about wine. It’s a great time of year to do it. Have fun shooting!

-W a y n e & D a m a r i s

Below are some of our wine related Hipstamatic shots, oh and one of Martin Scorsese and Sir Ben Kingsley we took at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this year, because…well because that’s awesome!

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