I love the thrill and challenge of competition. I love playing Scrabble and card games are right up my alley but I am not competitive in any sports. (I tried golfing for quite a few years and was terrible at it; certainly not competitive!)

Over the years I’ve entered a lot of competitions at The Manitoba Camera Club and have  learned a lot from listening to judges critique the entries; my own and other people’s.   Even though it has been often painful to hear someone tear my image apart, it also has helped me to grow as a photographer. When you put your work out there for someone else to judge, it really is like putting your heart and soul on the line. It takes courage. It takes patience and it takes a lot of hard work. You listen, you learn and you keep on trying until you get it (unless it’s golf!). I’m not where I want to be in photography but I’m on my way. And life is really about the journey and not the destination. Getting the affirmations that I got at the PPOC convention this past month have been huge.

As a member of PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada) you are eligible to enter competitions both nationally and provincially. I entered a few images in both the Saskatchewan and Manitoba competitions.

The images are rated by a panel of 6 judges in the following categories: Not Accepted, Accepted, Merit and Excellence.

I received a Merit for The Face in the Tatters (seen below),  which I entered in the Saskatchewan salon.

I can’t remember where I found this image, but when I looked at it, I saw a face. I didn’t add anything to it. I just highlighted the eyes, nose, mouth and hair, did some dodging and burning and saturated the colours. And here is that mysterious face peeking out of the tatters!

I entered  Autumn Palette au Metal  (seen below) in the Manitoba competition and it did very well.  It won Most Creative Photograph for Manitoba, plus being the image that 3 judges choose for their favorite image! I feel very honoured that it was chosen by not one, or two, but three judges!

Autumn Palette au Metal is a composite. The original image was of a metal wall that I saw when I was in Barbados. As soon as I saw the wall, I imagined some fall trees in it. Once I got home, I looked through my files of fall trees and choose a couple to place on top of the image of the metal wall in Photoshop. I also added the leaves and the screws that are along the bottom. It was a process that I worked on over a period of time, always trying to step back and reassess the image.  I love the lines, the colours and the painterly look of it! What do you think?

 

I want to send out a huge “Thank you” to Colleen Serban (http://colleenserban.com/) for taking pictures at our convention. She took the following photographs at the Awards Banquet on Oct. 29th.

 

 

 

Congratulations to the other awards winners:

Best Commercial Award:
Total Focus – J. Carey Lauder, CPA, F.Ph.  (https://www.facebook.com/jamescarey.lauder)
Sponsored by: Princess Auto