This Week in Blipfoto - Christmas every day

Every day we at Blip Central pour over the photos and stories that you share on Blipfoto. Sometimes this makes it hard to get any work done. But it's a pleasant distraction.

It was just today though that we stumbled across an image that caught our eye. It was a beautiful shot, yet it was the words that really struck a chord, not just the photo.

Having camped out overnight to capture the sunrise for his 300th Blip, an alarm went off at 4.50am. Our Blipper unzipped the tent and was greeted with a glorious... wall of cloud. He could barely see the trig point, let alone a spectacular sunrise.

So, instead he reverted to Plan B and jumped in his car to his favourite spot. Where he took this shot of Haweswater.

But in celebrating his 300th Blip, this Blipper perhaps articulated the fun of Blip better than we could. He likened every day on Blipfoto to Christmas - the type of Christmas you have as a kid.

"Plugging that memory card into the PC is like unwrapping a shiny present," he wrote. "You don't want to get too excited in case the shots are the gift equivalent of a six-pack of socks, but you can't stop your heart beating slightly faster bacause you might have the gift equivalent of that lens you'd find difficult to justify but really want."

Now, not everyone would have the dedication (or inclination) to camp out on a wild and rainy night in the search of the perfect shot. And not everyone could capture it so perfectly. But the fun of Blip is something that resonates with everyone. The excitement of capturing that one shot that defines your day - however unique or ordinary it may be - is the fuel that puts the excitement into photography... it's your day, and that day will never be repeated again... So capture the moment.

Just a thought.

On the subject of capturing the extraordinary in the every day... Our competition with UK Athletics still has one more week to run. You can win track-side photography accreditation for the Aviva 2012 Trials - a money-can't-buy prize.

And you don't have to be a hotshot sports photographer to take part. Entries just need to capture a sense of movement; depict action; or show a sense of determination to succeed.

It's easy to enter too. Just join the UK Athletics Group and you can add existing Blips, or add the picture to the Athletics Group when you upload a new shot.

Check out some of the entries so far...

Remember, there's just one week to go.

Staff Picks

There's something iconic about this beautiful photo from Iran. The farmer is shepherding his cows up a desolate hillside track towards the sun in the minutes before it sets.

Malibu Bay, California. This golden silhouette could be a scene from Bay Watch. But far prettier. And without the gratuitous cleavage shots...

Moody sky? Check. Luscious green fields? Check. Giant helicopter blurring the horizon with its immense power? Check. It's almost as though its rotorblades are drawing the rain from the heavy clouds above.

This shot's just great. We don't know "granny" but we do think that this picture probably captures her personality perfectly.

Goggles in a Bubble Pool? A powerful snapshot of a fun day... It would seem that the pool wasn't actually warm enough yet, though...