November Results
I was very nervous when I first start going to the local photography club's meetings. An introvert suddenly asked to be social was enough to set my anxiety level to 100, adding my art into that cauldron, my photos being judged, amplified things to a catastrophic level. In those initial meetings, there were moments when I could feel my heart racing and pounding in my chest, I could feel it in my ears. Waves of hot and cold flashes slammed into me. Pure misery.
To make matters worse. Anticipation. Having to sit through judging for 20+ prints for mono and color, then 50 or more mono and color digital images before seeing the results caused me to squirm with discomfort. Then, having to listen to the judging. The cauldron was roiling and overflowing. I almost quit going.
Yes, art is subjective. I understand that completely. And it's nothing personal, but why can't the judges just say, I like this photo best. Instead, I hear inconsistent rules. At last night's club meeting, the judge stated one photo was more about the surrounding parts of the subject than it was about the subject which meant it was excluded. Then, later in the competition, that same issue was in a photo that won an honorable mention. If it were not for the inconsistencies, I would enjoy the competition meetings so much more.
With all of that being said, last night was the local club's last competition meeting of the year. I was currently in 6th place, but not feeling great about the theme -- bottles. I just don't have many images of bottles. And most if not all of the contest photos were still life stuff, which hardly if ever interests me. Toss in a 2.5 week trip to England and I just didn't have much if any time to prepare for this competition, and it showed. None of my 4 entries placed.
I believe I dropped a place in the standings, but that's all good. Another successful year, I think, despite the inconsistent judging. Here are my 4 entries.
