We’re asking the community across Australia to pick up their cameras to reflect on the built environment and be in the running to win $2,000 cash or $1,500 worth of photographic equipment from leading camera specialists Georges.

The National Trust (NSW) photo competition “I love this place…” invites you to enter a digital image of a built, man-made environment anywhere in Australia that resonates for you. It could be a tumbledown beach shack, the broken majesty of a disused industrial landscape, an old-time Greek café, a gallery, or your brand new home. It might be a room which is your sanctuary, a street full of memories, a historic site with a compelling story, a tiny suburban rest park or spectacular botanic garden, a back lane rich with the underbelly of life, a sea green ocean pool, a mall, or a skate park...

It just has to be a space with an element of architecture or design. Include people if you wish, to add a human dimension.

For your entry to be valid, you’ll need to submit 100 words or less with the image, completing the sentence “I love this place because …”, telling us what makes your place special (including the name of the place, town and state in the title); and complete a simple, brief online questionnaire - we want to know why people love certain built environments, and how this relates to sustainability. Entrants will upload their digital image to a special group on Flickr, the world’s premier photosharing website (it’s easy and free). NOTE: We have noticed that not all the images that have been entered to the competition are visible to those who are browsing casually and who have not signed up as members to the “I love this place because” group on flickr.com. We are in the process of clarifying and trying to rectify this. In the meantime, if you sign up to flickr.com and sign in as a group member, you will be able to see all the entries.

Finalists and shortlisted entries will be exhibited at Customs House, Circular Quay, Sydney, on World Architecture Day, 6 October 2008.

Entries close midnight, Sunday 31 August 2008. Maximum of four photos per entrant.
Competition winners will be announced October 2008.

So grab your camera, take a fresh look at your world and tell us why you love the places you do.

Click here for Terms and Conditions. Your entry to the competition will be deemed acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.

Follow these steps to enter:

Step 1. Take Some Photos
Take your photos in the theme of "I love this place"

Step 2. Sign up to Flickr by joining “Yahoo!”
a. Go to the website http://flickr.com/signup/ and click “Sign Up”
b. Fill in the information on the sign up form and click “Create My Account”
c. At the confirmation screen, click “Continue"

Step 3. Create a Flickr Account
a. Sign into Yahoo! by entering in your username and password
b. Make a new Flickr Account by clicking “Create a new account”

Step 4. Join the “I love this place because….” Flickr group
NOTE: We have noticed that not all the images that have been entered to the competition are visible to those who are browsing casually and who have not signed up as members to the “I love this place because” group on flickr.com. We are in the process of clarifying and trying to rectify this. In the meantime, if you sign up to flickr.com and sign in as a group member, you will be able to see all the entries.

a. At the confirmation page, at the bottom of the screen click “In Your Groups” in the “Activity” section
b. Type in the search box “I love this place”, including the quotation marks
c. In the search results, choose the “I love this place because…” flickr group
d. Click “Join this group?” situated at the top right of the group’s page

Step 5. Upload your photos to the group
a. On the top right of the page, click the down arrow next to “YOU” in the menu bar. Then choose “Upload photos and videos”
b. Click “Choose photos” and pick your photo/s from your hard drive in the dialogue box
c. Make sure the privacy setting is set to "Public"
d. Click Upload photos

Step 6. Tag your photos and add a description - IMPORTANT!
a. Click “add a description” for each photo after they are uploaded.
b. Enter a title for each photo including the name of the place, state and town.
c. Enter a 100 word or less description of each photo completing the sentence “I love this place because…”. If you are entering multiple photos which are part of a series, the description may be the same for each.
d. Add a tag that says “I love this place”, including the quotation marks
e. Click SAVE THIS BATCH

Step 7. Add your photos to the "I love this place because..." Flickr Group
a. Choose the photos you wish to upload from your photostream by clicking on it
b. On the top left above the photo, click “Send to group” and choose “I love this place because …”
c. To check if your photos have been uploaded and/or go back to the group, Click the downward arrow next to “Groups” and select “Your Groups”
d. Choose “I love this place”

Step 8. Come back to our website to fill in the entry form and questionnaire so we know who you are and how to contact you. Please note you are required to fill out the entry form and questionnaire for your entry to be valid.

Winner of the 2007 Photography competition Rush Hour by Wacharachat Vaiyaboon