This past weekend I participated in my first photography contest. Seven square miles of my town were divided into 49 quadrants of a few blocks each. Each photographer was randomly assigned a quadrant. We had from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon to photograph, edit, and submit 5 photos for a live judging.
I had the misfortune of drawing probably the least interesting or attractive part of town. It was purely residential (ageing and not in a pretty way) - no businesses except for a lone carwash, no landmarks, or notable geography. It wasn't what I had envisioned and I was initially quite disappointed. But, then I reminded myself of what the 365 project has taught me. There are photos everywhere if we can only see them.
In the end, I submitted 5 respectable images. The live judging was nerve-wracking, humbling, occasionally baffling (why do judges like what they like??) and finally THRILLING when my very last image to be judged was selected as the winner of the "Fine Art/Abstract" category! Wow!
Here it is. Another fence image to add to my collection. It will always be a special one to me! To add to the thrill, all twelve winning images from the different categories will be displayed publicly next month. I am still walking on air about the prospect.
So that's my long story. I just had to share. Thank you for reading this far, thank you always for your support!
Wow Lisa that is brilliant! Well done you! So exciting, I am really pleased for you. Super shot. When I first saw it and the title, I thought it was the wire top off a champagne bottle and hence the fun title. Champagne really is in order !
Wonderful shot and a great story Lisa, I'm not a bit surprised this is a fantastic and original shot and you are a talented photographer, as many of us here already know. Well done! I especially love the bokeh and comp, fav.
Fantastic!!! Well done you, this is a brilliant image but you don't need to win any competitions for us to know how good you are :) I'm so happy for you and a big fav too.
I love this shot! Glad to have something in common with the judges, what a great idea for a competition. The blur, colour, shapes and the highlights are superb. Congratulations.
This is a great story for us to read. Thanks for sharing it! I'm so glad you won, congratulations!! It's a fabulous image, I love the composition, bokeh, light and colors. Fav!
Congratulations - a very worthy win and winner! Fab. abstract shot, of course.
The contest sounds as if it was gruelling but I bet you got lots from it, including a real sense of achievement, especially as you were assigned a potentially unpromising area. It's lovely to share your excitement with you.
@moxy HI Shelley, thank you! You should definitely consider participating next year. It was a lot of fun. I haven't heard where the images are going to be displayed. I will be sure to let you know.
That's wonderful Lisa. Congratulations. I love your shot, too. Fav!
I have also learned from 365 project that there is a shot to be taken anywhere and I keep trying to make myself more aware of finding them.
Woo hoo congratulations, what great news, you must have been over the moon, I would have been especially as you really had to push yourself to find a subject. An excellent and worthy image.
Congratulations, Lisa. I am so not surprised to hear you were the winner. I think you are one of the best to see the beauty around us and to capture it perfectly. I loved this image even before I read about your triumph and it is a fav. for me.
I just now saw this on the Trending page, a small little jewel in the middle of many other jewels! I have no idea why it was the first one that I wanted to look at or why I thought...ohhhh this is magnificent, what talent! Your story makes it even better! Congratulations! Love it!
Wow, congrats Lisa, that´s fantastic! I knew you were going to do well in this contest, and with a great pic like that I´m not surprised at all! Here´s another fav for you Lisa and thank you for sharing this happy story with us!
I'm so proud of you! I looked at the web site for this contest a few days ago and wondered if you were participating. I'm not the least bit surprised that you created this winning image. Fav!
Congratulations Lisa! That's really awesome and exciting. Way to persevere and find the extraordinary amid the ordinary. This is really nice - love the bokeh and dof.
Congratulations! I'm so curious to see the rest of your submissions...I'm amazed at how you even saw a picture in this fence, let alone this winning picture!
super proud of you! You need to believe in yourself more often since your photos are wonderful!!! You have a keen eye and are great at composing things! :)
Huge congratulations and truly deserved, this is a stunning shot. You truly deserve the win, you are an amazing photographer and hope as many people as possible get to see your work. Big fav of course!
Congratulations Lisa on your winning photograph! It's positively an amazing one. Love the colors, the focus, the beauty you found among meager options. And thank you for your compliment on my Robin pic. Happily, he has flown off to what I hope is a safe place.
You know what, Lisa, I thought this was a winning photo BEFORE I read your story. It is totally beautiful. What a cool contest, that sounds awesome. You rocked it! Did you shoot the carwash?
Congratulations on your win, Lisa! It was well deserved. Gorgeous and fav! I agree with the idea that beauty is everywhere if you look hard enough. I have fallen in love with my little town since I was given a camera three years ago. Before that, I simply wasn't paying attention to the beauty that surrounded me, even in the tiniest ways,
Congratulations Lisa! I was reading your story and thinking- oh no, don't think that way about your quadrant! It's probably got so much more than the others BECAUSE it appears to not have anything!! But you made me proud as you really looked at your little plot and found the beauty in it! And look at the shot- it's got a lot of beauty in it! So well done and congratulations again!
I seem to keep missing your images Lisa. Wonderful shot, love the shallow Dof and selective focus. And huge congratulations on your win that's fabulous!!! It's so exciting to win a competition and then have your work displayed, Congrats on double TT too Lisa. Fav
Congrats, you've managed to capture some beautiful light in this abstract fence shot. Isn't really satisfying to get a photo like that out of nothing? Fav
@primitiveprobe Thank you, Andreas! You are so right. My favorite photos are always the one found where few others think to look. :) I appreciate your visit and comment.
The contest sounds as if it was gruelling but I bet you got lots from it, including a real sense of achievement, especially as you were assigned a potentially unpromising area. It's lovely to share your excitement with you.
I have also learned from 365 project that there is a shot to be taken anywhere and I keep trying to make myself more aware of finding them.
Dear 365 friends, I wish that I could reply to you all individually and tell you how much your sweet comments and congratulations meant to me. Alas, I have to resort to a group reply. Thank you all for taking the time to read my story and for celebrating with me. You have all touched my heart more than you will ever know. Thank you!
Love the lighting and bokeh...............great abstract.
fav