Entered my first contest this weekend, a few thoughts

I have had photography as a hobby for about a year and a half now. I love it and think I have taken some decent pictures. This past weekend I entered a local photo contest, not really expecting to win anything.

There were tons of great photos, but some confused me. Some were better described as "mixed media". They were heavily edited and didn't resemble anything a camera could take. And the fact that one of them got an honorable mention ribbon kind of infuriated me. Is that considered photography?

They had one "professional" judging the whole thing, which I thought was kind of lame. Just one man's opinion (one that I didn't like at all) decided the winners.

The first place for the non-professional category was pretty much a snapshot in an Asian marketplace. It was definitely a neat picture, but anyone who was there could have taken it. And here I am in Missouri, where I have to work to get a good shot.

Anyway, it was a good experience and I hope to enter in many more.

My entries:

sorry about your frustration, but I have to know what part of missouri you took number 2 in???

It looks like the great sand dunes of southern Missouri, j/k. I feel your pain, I enter photos at the local county fair each year and the judge is a non-photographer who took some classes to be certified to judge photography. Apparently none of those classes had anything to do with composition or the technical aspects of photography. Every year the best in show is a photo that leaves everyone wondering how that photo was picked as best in show. They also distinguish between pro and amateur but the pro doesn't appear to be judged any more stringently than the amateur. I've unfortunately taken the viewpoint to just enter and not expect too much. For what it's worth my collection of runner up ribbons is three of the last four years.

northlander wrote in post #4087524
It looks like the great sand dunes of southern Missouri, j/k. I feel your pain, I enter photos at the local county fair each year and the judge is a non-photographer who took some classes to be certified to judge photography. Apparently none of those classes had anything to do with composition or the technical aspects of photography. Every year the best in show is a photo that leaves everyone wondering how that photo was picked as best in show. They also distinguish between pro and amateur but the pro doesn't appear to be judged any more stringently than the amateur. I've unfortunately taken the viewpoint to just enter and not expect too much. For what it's worth my collection of runner up ribbons is three of the last four years.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!

On a side note, this judge is also responsible for cultural crafts and canning if that tells you anything.

Prime reason I don't enter contests...

For what it's worth - your pictures are beautiful. True winners!

xububba wrote in post #4039503
sorry about your frustration, but I have to know what part of missouri you took number 2 in???

LOL!!

So they peed on your carpet.
That won't stand, man, the argument won't stand!

(I like your alias)

I believe both of your photographs are great. Good luck with them. I was just at a "photography" exhibit today at a local gallery. Of the pieces on display I would say about 20% were what I would consider photographs. The rest were mostly what I like to call digital images. There is nothing wrong with it and all the pieces had a tag stating which category they were. Art is in the eye of the beholder, but there is a fine and ever changing line between a photograph and a digital image.

Erm... Old thread revival alert.

Six months old - lets let this one drift away again...

Pete wrote in post #5314521
Erm... Old thread revival alert.

Six months old - lets let this one drift away again...

No, let's keep it, really!!

On a side note, I entered a few shots into a community project with a prize for the best photo. My shots outshone most but the winning shot was a blurred photo of 2 women in a chemist shop taken with a p&s. The photographer was a member of the community project committee! Felt a bit cheated, but never mind, as it allowed me to meet a few people from the local area and one of them took my card and said he may want to use me in the future to take some shots for a "rural issues" magazine, so all was not lost!

Pete wrote in post #5314521
Erm... Old thread revival alert.

Six months old - lets let this one drift away again...

Oops...