“Caption this!” is without a doubt the most successful competition in our G+ community to date. Imagine an entire month where the photographers ask the viewers to caption their images. An entire month of oneupmanship from some of the funniest and clever folks I know! Thanks to the brilliant mind of Julie Blair we all had a month full of much needed laughs.

The Premise

“Take a toy photo, any photo, and invite the community to caption it. Two winners will be chosen at the end of the month, one for the photographer and one for the author of the paired caption. I can’t wait to see all of the amazing collaboration that is sure to come from our community this month.” – Julie Blair

Who knew such simple instructions would create a judging nightmare! There were simply too many excellent photos and captions to choose from! But alas, now we must choose our winner. Yet, how do you judge one perfect pun against someone else’s ingenious witticism? What makes one artful pairing better than another?  The contest was so difficult to judge we passed the buck and asked the community to judge the top five photographic entires paired with the comment that had received the most +1’s.

The Winner

Our grand prize winner of the May Photo Challenge is this awesome photo by Dennis Taylor with an assist from Brett Wilson. Not only is this a simply awesome photo (I love the composition!), its also a great mashup of two movies and a clever use of these iconic figures. I have no idea what was in his head when he took the photo, but the photo lent itself to the quick whit of Brett Wilson. Fabulous work Dennis and Brett! Dennis we’re excited to have your image grace our community banner for the month of June.

“I’ve only got two shoulders. Not all you parrots are gonna fit!” ~ image by Dennis T; caption by Brett Wilson

The Runner-ups

“Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful brown eyes?” ~  image by Chris Rose; caption by Jason Nvrmore

“The last thing he remembers was telling Vader to ‘Rock on’.” ~  image by Luke J.; caption by Dennis T.

“What the hell!! I’ll never be able to un-see that. Sure teaches me to open the door without knocking.” ~ image by Arvin C.; caption by Shelly Corbett

“Lance hates it when he can’t remember where he parked his submarine.” – image by Leila Chieko; caption by Demarcation Media

Moderators

As moderators in the community we cant let the members have all the fun! Here is sample of our entries into the ‘Caption This!’ photo challenge. Dennis T provided the winning caption to an image I created of a T-Rex stalking the crew of the Enterprise. Dennis makes everything better!

“…you heard me tell him not to wear a red shirt today didn’t you? And what does he do? That’s just natural selection right there. Natural friggin’ selection.” ~  image by Shelly Corbett; caption by Dennis T.

Below you will find a few of the top images created by our team of moderators that was chosen by the community at large.

“Come closer. I’ll only take a small bite.” ~  image pay Tomasz Lasek; caption by Demarcation Media

“Today our intrepid reporter will shine the spotlight on LEDs” ~  image by Tony Tulloch; caption by Stuart Hamilton

“Ahh, Hector…I’m in a bit of a prickle!” ~  image by Joseph Cowlinshaw; caption by Tony Tulloch

“I’m the droid you’re looking for!” –  image by James Garcia; caption by James Ippoliti

So Much More

There are so many more images that were created for the super fun ‘Caption This!’ contest that we don’t have space to show them all here. Not only are there more images, but there are also so many other great captions awaiting you! Because I wanted to showcase the humor of the community I created temporary category in out G+ community for all the entries so they will be easier to look through. If you are interested in a few chuckles I suggest you take the time to check out all the entries and comments. If your like me, you will find yourself smiling in spite of yourself.s

A New Photo Challenge

As the smiles fade and the chuckles subside, its time to turn our attention to June and a new Photo Challenge. This months photo challenge is inspired by Jane Goodall:

“We should have respect for animals because it makes better human beings of us all.”

Animals teach us empathy, joy, heartache and of course love. Throughout the month of June we invite you to share three images that feature a loyal animal companion(s) in your toy photography. In the caption we ask you convey why or how animals make an impact on your life. As always the winner will receive bragging rights and their image will grace our community banner.

If all of this sounds like fun, then you should check out our Google+ Community. Consider it your local toy photographers club house or better yet, the pub down the street wherever one knows your name.

See you there!

~ Shelly

We often hear from new members of the G+ community that they have a difficult time navigating the more complex world of G+. Please don’t let that stop you, there are plenty of friendly folks who were just like you at one point. We are there to answer your questions and make it an easy and fun place to share toy photography of all kinds. See you there friends!