My first significant failure
At the beginning of 2008 I had set two goals for my photography. The first was to have my work published in some notable manner. The second was a stretch goal. I would enter two photography contests with the goal of "winning" one.
I submitted four of my images to the International Conservation Photography Awards. The significance of this particular contest, to me, was the focus on conservation awareness and preservation of environment. The principles for which the contest stand stem from the vision of a photographer who's work I respect a great deal, Art Wolfe. ICP Awards seemed like the ideal photography contest for me.
On July 26th, I received an e-mail that detailed the names of the contest winners for 2008. My name was not on the list.
For just a moment, I was disappointed, but not shocked. I reminded myself that judging committees did not come "preloaded" with the memories I had of creating these images. It is very likely that they were not moved enough by my photos to place them at the top of the stack. No doubt, there were better photos submitted by other photographers. Will I learn anything by viewing the winning images? Perhaps. The important lesson here is to throw out any preconceptions regarding my images. I've always been self-critical when it comes to anything that I do. I can add to that by making no assumptions as to how my images will be received by others.
Learning from this failure in a low-risk environment ultimately was valuable. I look forward to receiving more rejection letters. This instance certainly will not be my last.
As it turns out, I did reach my first goal. By contributing a number of articles and images to the Singh-Ray Blog, I have increased visibility to my work. I am thrilled to have been presented with such an opportunity.
By the way, I have yet to receive a reponse from that second photography contest. 2008 isn't over yet...
Below are the four images I chose for submission to the 2008 ICP Awards.
Jamie, JFP
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