For the past two weeks, I’ve been running a competition on In Search of a Life Less Ordinary.
The No More Bad Photos contest required readers to pick a ‘bad’ travel or expat-related photo and write a post or email about that photo – and why they wished they could recapture it.
Entries were judged on the basis of great writing and creativity. The prize: a brand new Sony Cyber-shot HX20 camera.
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| Photo credit: No More Bad Photos Competition (Sony Australia) |
Contest entries
The response was fantastic.
Bloggers from across the globe – in France, Ireland, Australia, the UK, US and India – entered posts on their individual sites, and I got emails with entries about hippy surfers and medieval costumes, happy times and cherished moments.
I’ve discovered new travel, expat and lifestyle blogs, and learned more about old friends and acquaintances. I’ve taken a brief journey around this connected world of ours and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Thanks to all for taking the time to enter.
Honourable mentions
It was hard to pick just one winner out of so many interesting and often quite different stories.
My wife and I sat at our dining table last night running through the entries and a couple caught our attention. Unfortunately, there are no runners-up prizes but the following two entries deserve an honourable mention.
The first is A bad photo of a great friendship by Phoebe Holmes of Herding Cats. This post instantly made us both smile.
Phoebe shares a picture of herself and a good friend. She writes about her move from the US to Ireland and how it inevitably put pressure on their friendship. When her good friend comes to Ireland to visit her, they re-connect. Together, they are the same pair of friends they’ve always been – laughing, goofing around, and taking ‘bad’ photos as a result. And, for this reason, it’s a moment she wishes she could recapture. Thanks for making us smile, Phoebe.
In The Chance to Do It All Over Again, ExpatMomma from HJ Underway writes about her international move from the US to Paris. In the upheaval that accompanies the move and during those final few days in her homeland, she regrets not taking any decent pictures of the farewell – of packing up, saying goodbye to family and friends, embarking on the life-changing voyage.
Given our own international moves, we could intimately relate to the process and ExpatMomma’s writing ability and style was stand-out. Make sure you head over to her blog and check out the post.
And the winner is…
There could only be one winner in this competition and, although it was a hard decision for us both to make, our favourite was undoubtedly…
… Latvian-American expat Liene’s No More Bad Photos post on Femme au foyer!
Liene writes a raw and honest account of her life’s transition from a young university girl to an expat mother in Central France.
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| Liene’s ‘bad’ photo |
She starts by setting the scene for her current life. Her husband has been away for days and she’s surrounded by the chaos created by two very young children. She barely has time to wash her hair as the life of a mother consumes all.
She produces a picture from her younger years and reflects on the direction her life has taken since that memorable speed-chop competition as a student at the University of Illinois – and how the photo shows characteristics that would hold her in good stead as an expat mum later on in life.
We loved this well-written and heartfelt post.
Liene obviously adores her current life, but can’t help reflecting on her life’s journey. She shares a poor quality photo that represents an important part of her adult life where she developed the core qualities that make her who she is as a person today.
Liene wants to retake the picture to draw strength from it in her current, challenging environment as the mother of two tiny human beings in a foreign country far from home – and the reader immediately empathises with her story. How could you not?
It is for this reason we felt that this ‘bad’ photo post was a deserving winner.
Well done, Liene. We hope you enjoy the camera. Send over your details to here when you get a chance.
Why not congratulate Liene in the comments below and head over to her blog to see the winning entry and, of course, admire her proficient wood-chopping skills.
And thanks again to everyone who entered. We both had a lot of fun reading the entries and I hope you enjoyed reflecting on those ‘bad’ photos!
Let me know what you think of the winning entry? And what ‘bad’ photo would you have shared?
Thank you, to you and your wife for this honor. I wish you the best of luck as you await the arrival of your very own little noisemaker, and want to let you know there are good days and better days as a parent- the tricky part is to stay awake for it all!
Lovely writing Liene, congratulations. I think we’d all benefit from reflection on how far we’ve come from younger years. Hope Russell and Sara decide to do this again!
Congrats Liene!!! Great blog post …
Thank you, and I agree – I hope they decide to do it again!
Thank you Naomi, I enjoyed writing it.
Congrats, Liene. Well deserved. We both loved your post 🙂
The arrival of our own noisemaker gets closer and movement is now being felt! I look forward to the good days and the not-so-good days. Either way, life will be interesting and eventful!
Well done again and I hope you enjoy the camera on your adventures in France.
Thanks, Linda – there could be another one soon in fact. Watch this space 🙂
Thanks to you too, Naomi. I adored your ‘bad’ photos. They were bad and good at the same time. We both really enjoyed your India reflections.
So many good entries…
Congrat’s and great writing Liene!
Thanks Loulouloves 🙂