Teams
Teams will be assigned by the hosts, unless you have a team organized already (e.g. a returning team wanting to play together again). Each team will have a vehicle and at least one camera.

Cameras and Photo Processing
You may use any type of camera you wish, as long as your team delivers physical prints by 5 p.m. to home base. Directions will be provided to nearby one-hour photo processing establishments for your convenience.

Reference Materials
You may use any reference materials you wish during the hunt. Many will be available at home base for you to review prior to departing. You are encouraged to bring your own reference materials (phone books, maps, city guidebooks, etc.) along with you.

Judging
Note that the judging system has been overhauled since last year, which involved an elaborate scoring system with points that took too long to tabulate.

This year, the judges will select a winning photograph for each item on the list. Second and third place photographs may also be selected for each item.

The following prizes will be awarded:

- First Place Team: the team with the most winning photographs
- Best of Show Creative: to the most creative photograph across all categories
- Best of Show Aesthetic: to the photograph deemed most artistic across all categories
- Speed Bonus: the team that arrives back at the house first, with a photograph for all items on the list

Photos will be judged using the following subjective criteria:

Technical: Does the photo match the description of the item (or, for puzzle clues, does it solve the puzzle)? Does the photo include as many team members as possible (when comparing two similar photos from two different teams, the one with the most team members in the photo will win)

Creative/Conceptual What is the content of the photo? Teams will score high in this category for their choice of location, cleverness, or unique interpretation of the item.

Aesthetic Based on the quality of the photograph as art object. Composition, exposure, beauty both accidental and designed.

Deadline
Photos submitted after the deadline of 5 pm will not be eligible for prizes.

TIPS FOR PLAYING

The following are suggestions for maximizing your enjoyment as well as your score during your day of madcap fun.

1. Consider Your Options.

Sometimes your first instinct will be your best. At other times, you will benefit by a bit of team brainstorming. Consider the following example, a basic item: a clock. Following are 4 photographs one could submit featuring their team member(s) and a clock.



Photo #1 is an excellent choice. The Ferry Building tower at the foot of Market Street features clocks on each face. That the Ferry Building survived the 1906 earthquake and fire gives this choice an added level of historical significance, and a touch of class.

Photo#2, the Sansome Dental clock, found at Sansome and Commercial Streets, is a more idiosyncratic choice, and as such would earn extra points in the Creative/Conceptual category. Jog your memory when considering an item: where have you seen an interesting (blank) before? Perhaps you've walked by it a hundred times on your way to work and never thought much about it before. Now's your chance to show that you pay attention to your life's surroundings.

An open mind and some obscure SF knowledge (even a little research) can get you to Photo #3, the Entrada sundial in the neighborhood of Ingleside. Unknown to many people, and not what you would first think of when thinking of a clock, this choice definitely meets the technical definition of a clock, and scores top marks in the Creative/Conceptual category. Here's where you and your team can really show its stuff--even if you haven't been before, perhaps you've heard of an unusual spot in the City. Now's your chance to check it out. Remember, you can use any reference materials you'd like to look up a place before you try looking for it at random. And there's always the phone--calling ahead can save you lots of time.

Photo #4 reeks of desperation. While it meets the technical requirements of the challenge, it's not going to score very highly in the Creative/Conceptual category. Although it redeems itself slightly by having the chutzpah to include the photo processing store in the background. At least the photo is honest about its last ditch nature.

Brainstorming with your team will help you come up with a variety of choices. For most items (except Puzzle Items), you should be able to come up with more than one option for a photograph you could take. You can then pick the best option based on concept, location, or time commitment. Your "best" idea might take more time than you want to spend on a single item, so you might settle for a quicker "2nd best."

2. Plan Your Driving Route

Your day will be more enjoyable if you work to avoid unnecessary backtracking. Determine where you'll be heading before you leave home base. Or, if you'd like a more private place to discuss your ideas, head out as a team to a park or restaurant and plan out your route, taking into consideration the puzzle items, which refer to specific locations. Factor in lunch or snacks, and possible bathroom breaks.

The most important thing to plan is the timing of dropping off your photos for developing. At what time will you cut your losses and head to the processor? You might want to make an agreement with your team about being able to bail on a particular location (if the parking is bad for instance). Or opting to bail on an item or items on the list.

3. Keep Your Eyes and Minds Open

Don't assume that because you've already got an item, that you can't find something better. Be open to driveby accidents, or late-day epiphanies. We don't decide which photo you'll submit for an item--your team does.
You might also have a photo that would work for 2 different items. You decide which to submit it for. Or go for broke and submit the same photo in two (or more!) categories.

4. Have Fun

You don't have to submit a photo in every category to win, and you certainly don't need to get a photo of every item on the list in order to have fun. Enjoy the thrill of discovery, of seeing the city with new eyes. If you find yourself feeling frustrating because you can't think of a "good" photo to take of a particular item, or because you can't solve a puzzle clue, it's time to skip that item and move on to the next one.

It's also possible that a team with no winning photos winds up having the best time, taking a few key pictures and relaxing over a long lunch.

FAQs

Can I use my Polaroid or digital camera?

You bet. If you have a Polaroid, you'll be an hour ahead of the other teams. You'll spend more--two (or more) rolls of film. Still, it's a great way to save the headache of processing at the end. And with Polaroid cameras available for just $30, it might be time to get one. (Especially the nifty "JoyCam" or the sticker models.)

As for you digital people, remember that you must submit physical prints. So that means you need to get home to your computer, upload your photos, apply whatever retouching or crazy effects you want, and then print them out. Still consider it a timesaver?

There's no reason, either, why you couldn't do a mix of photos--some Polaroids, some 35mm, some digital.

Does our entire team have to be in the photo?

No. But remember that you increase your chances of a winning photo by having most (or all) of your teammates in the shot. Adventurous teams will find a stranger at the picture location to snap the photo for them. But sometimes you might need to leave someone in the car doubleparked outside while the rest of the team takes a picture.

And come on, we need at least *one* of your team members in the photo.

What happened to the elaborate point system?

Last year we said it might not last. It didn't.

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