The shortlist of the thirty-six top entries is now open to an online public vote here. The top six vote-getters will be flown to London for the opening night of an exhibition of their work at the Saatchi Gallery, and the ultimate winner will be decided by a panel of respected art critics and artists, including Idris Khan, Martin Parr, Michael Hoppen, Susanna Brown, Tim Marlow and Mariella Frostrup.
Shortlisted candidate Fleur Audet, a student at the University of New South Wales, submitted six winning images that reflect her everyday experiences.
"I approached developing my entry for the iGoogle Photography Competition much like I approach a lot of my work: without too much thought and with gut instinct. Within 10 minutes of reading the guidelines for the competition I’d chosen 5 photos that I liked the most, which I’d decided would be my simple selection criteria. My thought process was something along the line of ‘If I like them, hopefully other people will too." Fleur explains.
"The inherent theme in my photographs is of the everyday and the commonplace. It’s hard to describe the incredible allure of the everyday photograph. They are passing moments often disregarded in their mediocrity and familiarity, I find myself drawn to them. It’s looking over your fence into your neighbour’s backyard on an autumn afternoon and seeing leaves in their pool and thinking - I must record it."
The six winning submissions will be available for millions of Google users around the world to display on their personalised iGoogle homepages, and given a special exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. The overall winner will also receive £5,000 and an invitation to spend a day with renowned photographer Martin Parr.
Another project we're announcing today is an opportunity to get really creative with the Chrome logo ... we're inviting people to film themselves building the logo any way they want. We've created some inspirational ideas which you can check out below... and you can find more info here. Have fun!
