JCPL Teens

Your Mission
Find and photograph the following items and include them in a digital photo collage:

• New technology
• Old technology
• Something so last year
• Something beautiful
• Something sad
• Something green
• Something fuzzy
• Something dark
• A visual representation of your favorite book
• Your favorite library (please note, no pictures can be taken inside of any Jefferson County Public Libraries)
• What’s in your future

The Basics

• Contest Begins Feb. 1
• You must be  11-18  to enter
• You may work alone or in groups of up to four members
• Everything must be your original work, i.e. you take the pictures yourself
• No photographs of people may be included
• No photographs may be taken inside Jefferson County Public Library locations
• Photographs must be in digital format
• All photographs must be combined in the form of a collage
• You must submit a link to your collage to enter
• All entries will be reviewed by JCPL staff and will not be posted if they include content not appropriate for the Library web site and blog
• Contest ends Feb. 28
• Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Feb. 28 to qualify

Taking the Photos
We have posted the list of items to find and photograph (your mission) above. Locate the items on the list and be CREATIVE! You’ll need a digital camera to take photos of the items you find. If you don’t have a digital camera, consider getting permission to borrow one from a friend or relative. Please remember not to take pictures of people or inside any Jefferson County Public Library location. 

Creating the Collage 
Next, you’ll need to transfer your pictures to a computer. If you don’t have a computer or access to the Internet at home, consider coming in to a Jefferson County Public Library location to use our computers and Internet access for FREE. 

Once you have your pictures on a computer, use the photo collage program of your choice to combine your pictures into a work of art. Picasa is free photo editing software that can be used to create a photo collage allowing you complete control over the format and style. The site offers a helpful guide to using Picasa to create a photo collage.

Picasa is software that must be downloaded to a computer and installed to work. You may download and install Picasa on a Jefferson County Public Library computer, but you will need to download it each time you begin a new session on the computer. If you would prefer to work with a program that is available online with no download required, try Big Huge Labs’ Mosaic Maker or Picture 2 Life.

Entering the Contest
You will need to have a direct link to your photo collage to enter the contest. You can use any service or program you like to host your collage. Drop.io will allow you to upload a picture and create a link to share with others. The site offers a helpful video about how to use Drop.io to share your files. Many photo sharing sites also allow you to get direct URLs to your pictures. Try Flickr or Picasa’s Web Albums.

What Happens Next?
We will post all qualified entries on the blog during Teen Tech Week, March 7-13, and YOU CAN VOTE for your favorite. The top three entries that receive the most votes will be posted on the blog, the teen web page and in some Library locations.

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN! If you have any questions or you need any help along the way, stop by any Jefferson County Public Library location or call us at 303-235-5275 and ask to speak to a teen librarian.