Photo Contests
The value of entering your work into a competition
The value of entering your work into a competition
In the end, it is about validation.
Until recently I was a very active member of a local photography club. The club meets twice a month to display and critique member photos. I found the critiques to be very valuable until… Well, I found the critiques to be valuable all of the time. There was always some nugget of knowledge that would help me move my craft forward, whether it was a comment on one of my photos, or someone else’s.
I must admit that I miss those critiques and competitions. They provided immediate gratification and validation of my work, good or bad.
Posting stories with my photos here on Medium provides some of the recognition I am looking for, but it isn’t quite the same. It could be that I like to see my photos as prints, hanging on the wall.
A photo isn’t a photo unless it’s a print.
Three Different Contests
Entry into the Puyallup Spring Fair Photo Exhibition closes on March 26th of this year. The entry form and rules are linked here.
Another competition comes up in the fall. This is the Northwest International Exhibition of Photography and the Cascadia Photographers Exhibition. Both exhibitions are sponsored by the Washington State Fair. The entry forms are about midway down this page linked here.
If you take a moment to examine the competition rules, you will find each one quite different. The Spring Fair competition will display all prints entered while NWIEP and Cascadia limit the entries displayed.
I have brought home ribbons from all three of these competitions. Someday, perhaps I will snag a medal.
2023 Spring Fair Entries
Alone in the Mountains
Some of you may have seen Alone in the Mountains (above) from the Six Word Photo Challenge. I love this image for several reasons. First, it reminds me of the challenge of getting to the ridge where I took the shot. Second because it is a great image with a great scene. Mount Baker in the background with repeating ridges all obscured by the smoke in the air. Iceberg Lake in the midground and a tiny tent pitched by the tarn above the lake. I think it executes most of the elements of a scenic landscape very well.
Alone in the Mountains
January Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Hometown Pride”medium.com
Sunset over the streets of Rothenburg
This is another photo that I like because of the story behind it. It is also one I have featured here in my stories of travel to Germany in December.
I think this shot is a classic travel photo worthy of the PSA/FIAP Photo Travel Division. Bavarian street scene, Christmas lights, and a great sunset. Probably not a prize winner, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
A Fairy Tale City
Rothenburg ob der Tauberrover-dave.medium.com
Pacing Cheeta, There’s a tasty mouse.
Both of these photos were captured at the Saarbrucken Zoo and were featured in this article:
It’s All Happening At the Zoo
A recent visit to the Saarbruecken Zoomedium.com
I love the expression on the faces of these animals. Both shots are sharp, especially around the eyes. Aside from the usual tonal adjustments and spot removal, I have done nothing to enhance the images. I think the Cheeta is especially well done because I shot it through the enclosure fencing. I doubt most people would notice, but the fencing at the rear of the compound is distracting to me.
As they are in a zoo setting, they do not qualify for the Authentic wildlife subdivision of the PSA/FIAP Nature Division. I don’t think I will enter the Cheeta into the NWIEP contest because of the fence. The fox, however… I think it is a possible contender in the Nature division.
Kestrel at Van Lierop Park
Van Lierop Park is a small park in Puyallup, WA, near my home. Liddy and I go down here to walk at least once a week. This Kestrel and his mate hang out in the park during the spring and for the past couple of years, he has been teasing me. Never posing for me while I had my camera with an appropriate lens. Well, this year I got him.
The American Kestrel, as you can see, is a gorgeous bird. One of the smallest birds of prey, a member of the falcon family, it is quick. Blink and it’s gone.
Because it is free to move about the country, the image qualifies as Authentic Wildlife under PSA/FIAP rules. Perhaps I will enter it into that division in the NWIEP contest.
The value
There you have it. The five prints I will be entering into the Puyallup Spring Fair.
A common thread with all of these images is my emotional connection with them. We are all emotionally attached to our photographs at some level. If we can hook other viewers in and get them to appreciate the shot, to gain some attachment, then we succeed as photographers and artists.
By printing and entering our photographs into competitions such as the Spring and Fall Fair Exhibitions, we obtain a measure of our success. Acceptance into a competition is in itself recognition. The PSA-recognized competitions are permitted to only accept thirty percent of the entries in a division. If your print hangs, then you are a winner. If it collects a ribbon, so much the better.
So, what about you? Are you ready to push yourself?
About Rover Dave
Dave Scott is a travel and nature photographer who loves to explore. Or is that an explorer who loves to do travel and nature photography.
I squandered my youth providing for my family. Now, I have recused myself from the rat race and invest my time in finding those places that inspire me. The Pacific Northwest provides many opportunities that are close to home.
Follow my journeys. I hope to engage you and inspire you to get out and begin your own journey.
The world is a beautiful place. Share the beauty. Leave only footsteps.