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How do you make someone want something? How do you make it desirable? One way is to not let them have it. Exclusivity then, makes something desirable. I mean when we think about the things we want to shoot, in any field, it’s the exotic and rare. If wildlife, it’s less the local squirrel and more an endangered rhino; if aviation, it’s less a Cessna 172 and more an F-14 Tomcat, and so on. When you think of exotic locations and facilities to shoot at, you may think of palaces, the White House, inside the Vatican, or CERN.

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research and getting to go on a photowalk there is quite literally winning a lottery; it’s like a small city. What goes on inside is like a blend of complete chaos and meticulous organization, which makes sense when you consider borders France and Switzerland.

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Inside CERN is the frontline of particle physics, and hideously expensive. Somewhat interesting isn’t it, the inverse relationship between the minuteness of the things being sought and dealt with and the scale of money and size of the facilities needed. Inside are enough magnets to outweigh the Eiffel Tower, and an underground loop that’s a full 16 miles around. It’s the Large Hadron Collider, and getting a chance to get near it is generally reserved for those with IQs higher than Everest. Except now, even mere mortals like me can get a shot of getting a tour and photo-walk of this lab. Starting on September 25th, 20 photographers will get the chance,

For the occasion, CERN will be opening the doors to three of its facilities: the new Linac 4 accelerator, which will shortly start supplying beams to the Large Hadron Collider; CERN’s main workshop, where state-of-the-art technologies can be seen in use; and ISOLDE, which supplies beams to around fifty experiments each year. The photographers will also have the opportunity to take shots of everyday life on the CERN campus

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[REWIND: FALL CAMERA GIVEAWAY | WIN A CANON 5DS R, NIKON D810 OR SONY A7R II!]

You can apply via the CERN Photowalk site for this once in a lifetime opportunity and really all that’s required is to have a camera that shoots 10MP. You should be aware that the images you shoot, however, will belong to CERN in a sense, though I believe you have a certain amount of rights to them for your own use. The best of the bunch will be selected for an exhibition in 2016, and the final winners will be selected from those via a jury and a public vote. Get your application in now, as the deadline is going to be September 6. Apply here.

And you don’t want to go with just a 10MP camera, so you should enter our Fall Camera Giveaway to win your choice of a Canon 5dSR, Nikon D810, or Sony a7RII. Enter here.

Sources: CERN