It's that time of year again! The third annual DCist Exposed Photography Show is now officially open for entries. After two successful years, at Warehouse in 2007 and Civilian Art Projects in 2008, we're proud to announce the 2009 show will be held at The Gallery at Flashpoint, located at 916 G Street NW. Flashpoint, a project of the Cultural Development Corporation, is a nonprofit art gallery dedicated to new and emerging artists — a perfect partner for our show.

For those of you new to DCist, here's a little background on Exposed's history. Way back in the dark ages of 2005, DCist started soliciting photographs from our readership to illustrate our daily posts. As time went on, it became clear that we had a lot of very talented amateur shutterbugs in our midst, and Photo of the Day was born. And it was hard to miss that the photographers who stuck with us, contributing weekly and sometimes even daily, were becoming amazing photographers while we watched. We found a gallery and celebrated our first Exposed contest in 2007 with a building-shaking opening reception at Warehouse, and were amazed to find visitors trailing down three flights of stairs and around the block in the rain to get into Civilian in 2008. DCist considers Exposed our big "thank you" to all the photographers who contribute their work to our site, and we are thrilled to provide this opportunity for the many photography lovers in this city to get together with them in person, under one roof.

Today the DCist Flickr pool has 1641 members and over 37,000 photos, and we cannot wait to see how it all shakes out this year. We're excited to have the exhibit up in the gallery for a full two weeks this year, and after the success of last year's panel on "emerging" art collectors, we asked the Pink Line Project to come back and do it again.

DCist asks for a $5 application fee to help cover our costs for the show. You may submit up to three photos, and the pool will close for entries on midnight, January 7. Please click below the fold for the official rules and more information about Flashpoint. Good luck, everyone!

Logo design by Lynne Venart; photo by Angela Kleis

About the Gallery at Flashpoint Program

The Gallery at Flashpoint is dedicated to nurturing artists, expanding their visibility and encouraging dialogue between artists and arts patrons. As a nonprofit gallery, Flashpoint provides a special opportunity for artists and curators to present new media, site-specific installations, performance pieces and other experimental forms free from the constraints of commercial expectations. An advisory panel of noted artists and arts professionals oversees the programming for the gallery and provides mentorship and support to exhibiting artists. The Gallery at Flashpoint, a Cultural Development Corporation project, is sponsored by Michael Abrams, the Abrams Family Foundation, the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and Tim Hyde. Additional support is provided by the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, the MARPAT Foundation, the Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Prince Charitable Trusts, the Summit Fund and many other sponsors. Hotel Helix is Flashpoint’s 2008-2009 Hotel Partner. Barefoot Wine is Flashpoint’s 2008-2009 Wine Partner.

DCist Exposed Photography Show Rules

1. Please fill out our quick application form and then follow the prompt to PayPal to submit your $5 application fee. We need your info so we can match your Flickr user name to your entry fee, and so we can contact you if you win. We won't distribute your information, but we may send you email pertaining to the show.

2. Join the DCist Exposed 2009 Flickr group. Your submissions are limited to three photos. The pool will close for entries at midnight on Wednesday, January 7, 2009.

3. Remember that this is DCist, so we do ask that you live and take your photos in the general geographical area (and spare us the cliche touristy shots; if you upload a photo of the Washington Monument, it better be a really sweet one). Almost anything you've seen in Photo of the Day would be appropriate. You can see last year's winners here.

4. If your photo is chosen for the show, we'll require standarization from everyone. You will have to get it printed as an 8x10 (or a similar size if it's irregular -- 10x10, etc.) and matted and framed according to our set standards:

— Black metal moulding 16x20 frame with regular glass
— White acid free mat
— White acid free foam core backing

We know some of you have never had your work professionally framed before, but we want your work to look its best, so no homemade jobs unless you've got some experience doing this.

Most framing stores can charge a significant amount and take quite a bit of time to frame your work. We're working with a couple frame shops to get our winners significant discounts; more details on that to come.

5. We know that some of you have never sold your work before. Our experience is that the DCist community can assist each other with this process when it comes to pricing and other issues, both here and on the Flickr discussion board. We're always here to answer questions or give advice, as well, so feel free to email us.

6. We will contact the selected photographers no later than January 14. Some photographers may have more than one image selected. If you haven't responded to us by January 18, we will select another image. (If you know you'll be out of town that week, just let us know beforehand.)

7. You'll have just over five weeks to mat and frame your photograph. During the week before the opening reception, you'll deliver your photograph for hanging in the show.

8. Flashpoint receives 30 percent of all sales from the exhibit.

9. Bring your family and friends to the opening reception at the Gallery at Flashpoint on February 20, 2009 to celebrate our awesome contributors, spy on gallery-goers as they gush over your work, and maybe buy a photo yourself! The show will run until March 7, 2009, so you'll have two weeks to encourage everyone you know to come check it out.