Contented places: photo contest, 2011

Many people told us they loved last year’s Contented places photo competition, so we are running it again this year.

Think of a place where you feel (or felt) utterly contented. It might be beautiful or not, at work or at play—surprise us! The contest is not about getting the perfect photograph (although that's a plus) but about capturing that feeling of contentment.

How to enter

1. Closing date 15 November 2011.
2. Post your photo to our Facebook wall, with a comment on why you chose it. (By the way, you need to Like us first.)
3. Three spot prizes will be awarded in October and November. Alice and Rachel choose these for their emotional impact. Spot prize winners receive the new Twitter course—coming soon!
4. Our independent judge will announce the winner and runners-up on 30 November. The winner gets three Contented courses of their choice.

Last time the contest produced some marvellous photos—including an underwater scene, family feet on the sand, a cluttered, comfy workspace, beaches and mountains, wrestling with a pet pig, swinging in a hammock, camping in the snow, and running with dogs through the forest.

Just as important as the photos are your comments. Last year's entries produced such frank and thoughtful explanations, we were blown away. Some examples:

• Donna Robertson: Your tweet has inspired me to share a place I occasionally feel content and often make content … my desk!
• Celia Wade-Brown: When I'm diving on the South Coast in good visibility and calm conditions, I feel very contented. With an air tank on my back, I can move in three dimensions effortlessly and roll on my side to look at all the strange animals and plants encrusting the reef walls. Diving in Island Bay is like visiting another planet - just at my back door!
• Hans Zindel: Enjoying a holiday in Fiji with friends who had come to visit from NZ
• Jo Bailey: Watching ethereal clouds go by in Taranaki.
Mike Carter: 'Oz', Boulder, Colorado: taken on a short, beautiful trip to Colorado years ago... The "Oz" reference is to the Yellow Brick Road in the story. This reminded me of it.
• Aimee Brock: At first there were two on holiday. Now there’s three. That’s REAL bliss. Dad, bubba and Mum doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company, watching the summer view and contemplating life for 10 days on holiday at the beachhouse in NZ.
• Joanne Dillon: This is me at my most contented… with the most beautiful piggy in the world, Eugene!
• Danica: (Winner) I took this immediately after surfacing from a beautiful dive in Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s south coast. It was a warm calm December night and my first dive at the site since the marine reserve was established three months earlier. I had first written a submission in support of the reserve ten years earlier so have such a beautiful dive and finally know it was protected was magical.

Send in your photos of contented places soon!
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