Canon is set to promote greater levels of creativity as the company launches its Long Live Imagination campaign.

The program, developed in conjunction with Hollywood director Ron Howard, offers photographers of all abilities the chance to submit some of their works based on a series of movie themes.

Results from the contest will ultimately lead to the development of a new short film, inspired by the photographs.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ron Howard said: "I was moved by the opportunity to collaborate with the masses, tapping into consumers' creativity and using their photos as building blocks to produce a film."

He added that he hopes the project offers a stimulant to people's imaginations.

A total of eight movie themes have been created: Relationship, Setting, Character, Mood, Obstacle, Goal, Time and the Unknown.

At the end, one photo from each category will be selected and used as the basis for the film.

While many individuals take their own photos, not all will want to create films from their snaps. Using ink cartridges and printing the pictures may be all that some people want to do in order to preserve their memories of events.

When printing images, consumers should be careful to properly store the pictures, so ink does not fade over time as a result of damage caused by external factors, such as continued exposure to sunlight.