Living first in New York State and now in Massachusetts, I am very familiar with our neighboring state of New Hampshire. But I am familiar in a day trip/ drive through to somewhere else kind of way  or in my younger days as the place to buy alcohol on a Sunday and illegal fireworks (legal there but not in Mass.) for the 4th of July.

I made one memorable motorcycle trip with my brother. It was in the fall and we biked the Kancamagus Highway to see the fall colors. I have two thoughts on that…COLD! but Spectacular. Nothing like seeing those views without being limited by the car window.

So this year I had some points left over on my time share to spend but I didn’t want to do anything expensive. I’d just returned from my “big” vacation in Sedona in May and was still trying to replenish the coffers. As you know if you’ve been following for any time my car has been doing it’s best to prevent me from making any progress in that regard.  So I searched the time share list for some place close enough to drive so that I could avoid airfare and car rental costs. New Hampshire popped up. The time share had openings and was within the points budget. It also met the other criteria like driving distance and time off from work  so I booked it.

Once I had the dates, I happened to see a TV ad for New Hampshire Dream Vacation Photo Contest. It took a little searching online to find it but the idea meshed perfectly with my plans for this vacation. I know that New Hampshire is a beautiful, scenic state so my purpose was to visit interesting places like the Lost River Gorge and look for photos ops. I want to take my time setting up the shots and really try to push my photography skills to the next level. Adding in a photo contest would just give me a little more incentive.

The rules require that the person submitting the photos be in the picture or they can use others in their party but they want people having fun. Well I am a party of 1, so I guess I’m going to learn to use either my remote release or the timer on my camera. Works for me.

You also have to have an “Official Sign” to hold in the picture so I downloaded that.

As with most photo contests I’ve seen there are 3 phases. The first is to have your picture qualify. That’s usually pretty easy. I’ve never had one disqualified.

The 2nd step is a bit harder and it’s where I usually fall down. This is the popularity contest part. The photos are online and  the more people to vote for your photo the higher you rank in the standings. It’s like the popular vote on Dancing with the  Stars or American Idol. I don’t usually send anyone the link so I only pick up “accidental” votes. In other words someone happens to be browsing the pictures and happens to think one of mine is good or cute or something and votes for it.

The end result is that I have had a couple make “semi-finalist” but that’s as far as it goes.

The final decision is  made by a panel of judges but since I’ve never actually won a photo contest I don’t know if I’ve ever got to that level.

Well, this time I plan to do things differently. Photos were the reason for the trip so coming up with 5 photos that meet the contest criteria should be achievable.  I’ll upload them per contest directions and I’ll show them here with the link to vote. Maybe with your help I can move from the pack of semi-finalists into a finalist spot.  Watch for the update and photos at the end of the month!