IPC 2013: The Journey of an Image – from Inspiration to Loan Collection

Last summer I shot a session that’s been 11 years in the planning.

Let me back up.

dwight
(scan of photograph from April 2001)

I took this photo in April 2001. Mr. Wootness and I were on the trip of a lifetime to Ireland. We were warmly ensconced within the tea room at Aillwee Caves in County Clare. This was our first full day in Ireland and our first official “tea.”

I do have to say, the Europeans are delightfully civilized in that they have created this little oasis of relaxation and dessert-eating smack dab in the middle of the day. Yet, I digress.

So, like the amateur-photographer-tourist I was, I documented the moment by having Mr. Wootness pose for a photo. In fact, I had Mr. Wootness pose for so many photos it looks like he toured Ireland alone. Yet, again, I digress.

Later, after returning home and reviewing the photographs, this became one of the highlight images of the trip. My mother christened it “The Old Man and the Tea” and the name stuck. (Perhaps I should begin consulting mom for competition image titles).

As my photography skills grew, this photo became the subject of self-criticism. Oh, how I wish I had digital back then, how I wish I’d have lit him better and posed him better and dang the aperture isn’t quite what I wanted. I cringed at the shadows and harsh, flat light from the flash I was using at the time and tucked the frame behind some others…

I began to say “I’d like to reshoot this” – as if it was anything but a snapshot to begin with.

And one day last summer, I did. Much to the chagrin of Mr Wootness, on a day reserved for things other than work, in the July 4th heat, he bundled himself into the same exact outfit he wore over 11 years prior and sat for me while I tried to re-create the image in a new way.

An aside: Did you note that after 11 years, the same exact outfit was still hanging around? It was a sign.

I have a deep affection for “character” portraits – not ones that are contrived, but ones that are enhanced with lighting and color tones, with some conversation or direction to pull the right expression from the subject, and always always with the most intense eye contact with the camera possible…

With over 30 years of experience in community theatre, my mind instantly goes into “director” mode and I think about the clothing, props and set that will be needed as well as what I could do visually to convey that mood. In the theatre, mood can also be conveyed with music and sound effects, but in photography, it can only be done visually, so visual propping needs to be strong. Since I loathe props to begin with, I use them very sparsely and rely on clothing and lighting the most.

With this in mind, I analyzed the scene & emotion I wanted. The Ailwee Cave shot was not just to be copied, but to be improved upon and tweaked until all was in harmony. I have a habit of shooting in low key, and with the coat and hat being dark, black seamless was the obvious choice.

I had puttered about, looking for the right tea-cup that wouldn’t make Mr. Wootness’ hands look too large in comparison and was unable to come up with something that wasn’t totally at odds with mood I was trying to convey. Plus most teacups are high key and that wasn’t working, either. I also had issues with the fact that his outfit didn’t exactly scream “tea-drinking outfit”. What’s so special about a man in an overcoat with a teacup?

What was the story? Story-telling is one of the 12 Elements of a Merit Print – and I certainly didn’t want my story to be about a dude in an overcoat holding a teacup…

I altered my plans, slightly and changed the scope of the image – out with the tea room and in with the pub. A man. Sitting alone at the bar. All dressed to pop right out into the weather. Perhaps he’s been sitting there all night. Perhaps he just put his coat and hat back on and this is his last nip of whisky before setting back out into the cold. Or back to his boat for the night… now THERE was a story…

Wootness! Now I was cooking…

To convey the perception that the man was sitting in a pub, I needed a bar. I had an older wooden table in the house that with the cropping out of trim around the edge, would pass as a bar. I might want to have a shot of whiskey in the image, so some Irish whiskey and glasses were procured. In the theatre, iced tea is used for dark hard alcohols, but since this was my studio, right next to my home, we used whiskey. I gathered a few small glasses and a shot glass because I wasn’t sure which way I wanted to go with the image. Eventually, the shot glass was chosen.

After getting down to business and setting up the lights, we went in and out of several different scenes, added a scarf, took it out, lit a cigarette, put it out, poured a drink, held the shot glass, a couple of more clicks and we were done. 34 minutes and 51 frames later, I think I had a nice solid assortment to choose from.

I narrowed it down to 8 overall choices:

final8b

Eventually I chose frame #37 to move forward with for the 2013 competition year.

Here is the image I chose SOOC (Straight Out of the Camera):

SOOC shot chosen for competition 2013
SOOC shot chosen for competition 2013

After fussing around with some cropping (wound up cutting out all of that special “bar” I had obtained), I ended up with this competition image:

"Weathered"
“Weathered”

With the crop, the story was altered. But still, a wrinkled coat; a disheveled, tired look; a boat worker, in from the cold, face chapped…. weathered by time, by circumstance, by hard work, by loss…

Weathered.

Since this was created very early in the 2012/2013 competition year, I was able to enter it at every level of competition I participate in throughout the year.

In November 2012, it scored a 90 at the Professional Photographers of Ohio (PPO) Fall Conference and was the highest scoring image in the Portrait category.

It was entered again at the PPO’s state convention in February 2013, where it received an 82 and after a few tweaks to toning and eye highlights, was sent to the Northeast District Competition where it scored an 84.

Weathered
“Weathered” – Final Version

A nice solid merit image. *whew*

On June 18, I said “goodbye” and forwarded it to the International Photographic Competition to be judged at the end of July.

For the first time, I followed my case to Atlanta. I signed up for the Judges’ Workshop, which was held during IPC. I knew that our workshop schedule would allow some time to observe some of the judging, so I crossed my fingers and hoped that I would be able to sit in on the Loan judging since all four images in my case were sealed at districts and went straight to the loan judging rooms.

Four times a day, the judges gathered in the main meeting room at Gwinnett Tech and received their judging room assignments. I recorded the information on which rooms were holding what type of images and any time Portraits were being judged for Loan, I tried to make sure my observation time was spent there. Even though I only got to sit in on portrait judging twice, I did see two of my images get judged. Quite a coincidence, as there were over 5000 images being judged throughout 4 days and there were 3-5 rooms being used for judging at a time.

After seeing a couple of my images get judged and not receiving any text notifications about it, I knew I probably wouldn’t hear on the other two, so I waited for a few days and asked a a nice young lady in the computer lab if she could look it up for me.

By this time, all four images had been judged. I searched for the title “Weathered” – ran my finger across the line to the status…

… and it went Loan. *gasp* *smiles* *tears*

One other image went Loan that I had been hoping would do so, but this image going Loan was a bit of a surprise, and the one I was most pleased about.

Why?

Because it’s Mr. Wootness.

I’ve made it a practice of not entering family members into competition and this year I broke that rule in a major way. I felt I could do it objectively, now. I really couldn’t, as I discovered,  but the extra-special joy that came with learning this was chosen for the Loan Collection was just that much sweeter because it was of someone I love.

And after all these years of patiently smiling and looking at the camera whenever I asked him to – it paid off. In spades.

So, is this the end of the road? Is it all over?

Heck no!

Sometime in the next few months, Marathon Press will send me a proof to approve for the Loan Book that will probably be put out some time in the Christmas/Pre-IUSA time frame. Then the image will be shown at IUSA as part of the ASP Master’s Loan Collection. It will be considered “The Best of The Best”, quite the honor for this small-town Ohio photographer and her husband.

It will also travel to other photographic events across the world as part of the traveling Loan Collection, and will be considered for the Grand Imaging Awards, the results of which, will be announced at IUSA in January 2014.

In the meantime – I’m gonna blow that sucker up BIG on canvas and hang it on the wall. I may even chat with it since it’s going to be pretty close to life-size 😉

IPC 2013: “Be Somebody’s Hero”

2013 Judges' Worskhop Students & IPC Medalists: Silver Medalist Tammy Blevins (NC), Gold Medalist Christine Walsh-Newton (OH), Silver Medalist Ted Linczak (OH/NC) and Brinze Medalist Patty Hallman (NC)
2013 Judges’ Workshop Students & IPC Medalists: Silver Medalist Tammy Bevins (SC), Gold Medalist Christine Walsh-Newton (OH), Silver Medalist Ted Linczak (OH/SC) and Bronze Medalist Patty Hallman (SC)

While a lot of you are still on pins and needles, awaiting your International Photographic Competition (IPC) results, I am tucked firmly in a blanket of post-IPC glow. I’m sure the spark will be revved up again later today when the official results are posted, but for now I am happy to float in warm fuzziness.

Yet, my glow is only partially because of the results.

While  numerous judges were tucked in dark classrooms down the hallways of Gwinnett Technical College, judging the fate of more than 5,000 images, I was in a classroom with 37 other students, learning how to become one of those judges.

Attending the PPA Judges’ Workshop has been a goal for quite awhile. I had high expectations for the class. I was sure I was going to learn all of the “secrets” and “unwritten rules” about print competition.

And instead, I learned a lesson in humanity. And then another. And another.

Along with over 40 judges, multiple PPA staff and the Gwinnett Tech student volunteers, over 100 people filled the classroom on the first day. We gathered on Sunday afternoon, the day before judging, to do a variety of welcome/orientation-type activities. Within the first five minutes I was taking notes. Unusual for me for a “welcome” meeting, but this one was a bit different. And it set the tone for the week.

Repeatedly throughout the week, the constant message was one of professionalism and kindness. One of  our instructors, Dave Huntsman, constantly cautioned us not to “crush someone’s spirit”  and advised us to formulate the words that came out of our mouths as if the image in front of us was the best image that maker had ever created and that they were seated behind us in the judging room and could hear what we said.

The focus of our training was not about flaunting our knowledge and expertise, deciding absolutes and arguing amongst the panel, it was a cohesive group review and discussion of the image in front of us, with every attempt to be as fair to the maker as possible.

Time and time again during the week, we were stopped when a “not quite so nice” word or phrase came out of our mouths during a challenge. I remember my own face turning red in embarrassment a few times as I struggled with the right words to say. We were consistently and firmly directed towards more appropriate, kinder and gentler ways to give input on the images in front of us.

During the course of the week, judges were rotated through a variety of judging rooms as well as the critique room. As part of my training, I was required to spend some time in the critique room. As Nancy Emmerich, PEC Vice-Chair had instructed at the beginning of the week, the judges recorded critiques following the guidelines she had reviewed in “The 4 Elements of a Good Critique-er” . The first three were no-brainers:”Be Kind”, “Be Encouraging”, “Be Honest”. But the zinger was in #4:  “Be Somebody’s Hero.”  In the critique room was where I saw heroes in action. For hours each day, judges recorded critique after critique, leaving their own egos outside the door to concentrate on the works submitted from various parts of the world by makers of all skill levels.

One such hero was Richard Sturdevant. Now, that name probably rings a bell with a large number of you. You gotta be about half-living in a cave to not know who he is. I had not met him before, but had passed a few comments back and forth on Facebook with him as many of us do without actually knowing those we talk to. I did meet him, officially, on the first day we gathered; we shook hands, said a few nice words and parted ways.

Now, one would think that I’m at the point where I no longer have stars in my eyes when meeting certain people, but that just isn’t true. What a lot of people fail to realize is that I am a newbie. I opened my studio less than 4 years ago and am only in the 4th year of competing. I’m still at the point where I’m not quite sure what I’m doing and competition is out of my comfort zone. I’m about struck dumb in the presence of Warren Motts & Helen Yancy, and Gabriel Alonso seems to inspire total idiotic compliments to fall from my tongue. “I am not worthy” is my mantra during these times…

But Richard didn’t know that. And later in the week when he saw me and enveloped me in a bear hug as congratulations on an image that was chosen for the Loan Collection, and expanded on the critique he had just recorded for me, he became a hero. He put aside his own expertise and bias to constructively critique an image of mine and left me feeling as if it was the best work I had ever created. It brought tears to my eyes. It wasn’t about him, it was about me. And I began to understand my role as a future judge.

Wow. Just wow.

I just saw in action all the instruction I had been hearing in class all week. I began to look and listen in a whole new manner.

And then came the last day of class. By now, I was brain dead, trying to stuff additional pieces of information into my head and within the margins of my notebook. I was sitting in the mock digital judging while instructor Rick Avalos fine-tuned our skills, when he suddenly went into role-playing mode. He had warned us that he would do this, so at first I giggled, but then I began to feel the chill…

He asked a juror-in-training if she could give him any guidance on the image we just judged. He explained his thought process behind the image and pushed her to tell him what would increase his score to merit level. The wavering in his voice as he explained how well his work was received in his community revealed the fact that he was hurt by the score his image had received. His voice and eyes were begging for kindness.

Cue the time travel machine….

He was me, the date was November-something 2009 and I was standing by someone critiquing an image from my very first competition. I believe the image received a 74 or so and I was asking for input. It is important to note that one arm held a trophy that I earned from a different image. By the end of the critique I was angry and hurt. And when I returned to my convention hotel room I was crying. My trophy image was long forgotten and the “failure” of the 74 settled in.

Suddenly the pain of that critique was forefront in my mind; Rick’s voice and words as he struggled to understand his score pulled a sadness from my heart that I never want to experience again  – or  be the cause of to someone else.

BAM!

For a few minutes I just sat in my seat and thought “wow!” It was one of those moments in life when things become clear, the light bulb pops on and confetti rains down from some invisible ticker-tape parade. I was stunned into silence (not an easy feat as those who know me will attest!).

A few minutes later, the class ended and we all headed out to various rental cars and airport shuttles. I sat in the Atlanta airport for several hours, just thinking. And four days later, I’m still thinking.

The PPA Judges’ Workshop was the best investment of education dollars, hands down. Even if I never become a judge, I have learned some of the most important lessons in my life.

I didn’t only learn how to judge, I learned how to be a hero.

Thank you, PPA.

 

Wootness: Pop-Tarts, K-Cups and Judging School

kcupspoptarts
Wootness Breakfast – copyright christine walsh-newton.

Oh, it’s about time for a little Wootness injection and update, isn’t it?

As I puttered around in my kitchen just now, making my *favorite* kind of Pop-Tart… what?…you don’t know what my favorite kind of Pop-Tart is?

Well, you know, people have often asked me what kind of Pop-Tart is my favorite and I always say “buttered un-frosted Strawberry!” Yes, I say the exclamation point, too.

If you have never had a buttered, un-frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart, you need to immediately stop what you’re doing and make them. Just so you know, there’s a Low-Fat version of the un-frosted Strawberry ones. Do not buy them.

If you’re trying to eat low-fat, you shouldn’t even be *IN* the Pop-Tart aisle… yet I digress…

Anyway, procure your Pop-Tarts and heat them in a toaster. I have one with a Pop-Tart setting on it. Of course. Then, spread some nicely un-chilled butter across the top of each one so that it gets all melty.

Yes, “melty” is a technical term.

Pop-Tarts go excellently with coffee and since I’m the queen of laziness, I have succumbed to the ease of living in a K-Cup world. My current favorite flavor is the Donut Shoppe coffee.

Anyway, what does any of this have anything to do with anything?

Nothing really, haven’t you gotten used to the occasional random post? 😉 We’re taking a Wootness break.

Anyway, as I was puttering around, enjoying my morning (and my breakfast), I was musing about my to-do list, which is exceptionally long. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do this week because very early Sunday morning I will be boarding a plane to Atlanta. Home of the PPA Headquarters, the IPC judging and ….

drumroll please…

PPA Judges’ School.

I am going to judging school, SQUEEE!

After three long years of competing (woah, watch it there, don’t choke on your Pop-Tart!) my dream of going to Judges’ School is finally coming true.

Yes, it was a dream. *IS* a dream. I haven’t mentioned it much, because it seems like such a high goal, an aspiration I’m not quite qualified to try and reach. “I’m not worthy” is the sentiment that runs through my head.

But now, it’s happening. I’ll learn the judging process and how to do it. I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it, I don’t know if I have what it takes to be a judge, but I know I love the process and want to learn more about it. At the very least, I hope to learn things that will help me as I talk to others about print competition and encourage them to give it a try.

In a way, I feel like a little kid in a candy store. The PPA Judging team will be in place to judge IPC while I’m in my classes. The students will get to observe judging as well as hang out with the judges at lunch time. I’m gonna keep my mouth shut and my ears open, because I have found that every time a judge talks, I learn something. And there are going to be LOTS of judges there. I couldn’t have hand-picked a better group of people to learn from.

Some judges have been photographers many years. Some have been judges many years. My pitiful “4 years in business” isn’t going to impress anyone. Although I’ve done the minimum qualifications to start the judge application process, my inner paranoid is sure they’re gonna call and say “sorry, there’s been a mistake!”

Deep breath…. it’s gonna be fine… right?

Like Christmas or that long-awaited dream vacation, I just realized it’s only a few short days away. And it’s really happening! I can’t wait!

…. I raise my coffee cup in toast … “May Wootness Reign!”

SQUEEEEE!

check back next week ~ Christine will  post daily judging school updates as well as IPC results!

Dear Jon: a letter to my son as he inherits my first digital camera…

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dear Jon,

ah, screw that…

Dude,

You now possess the thing that unleashed the demon within me, my first digital camera.

Now that it’s yours, here’s some pointers:

Try not to drop it, it’ll probably break. Keeping a strap on it will help with that.

Keep the battery charged or at least don’t lose the charger, I don’t have any extras.

Keep the manual close to you and look things up when you are confused.

But, here’s my real advice:

Have fun with it. Take pictures of your friends, your dog, your girlfriend, the empty beer cans on the front porch (yes, I saw them).

Be silly, be stupid, be random. Discover the joy that photography can bring to your life.

You’re already an artist, you know how this all works.

Every once in awhile, take your memory card out and trot into Drug Mart and print out some of them. Show them off to your friends, stick them on your fridge (tuck them behind the pizza coupons) or get yourself some cheap frames from the dollar store. If all else fails, come by the studio and we’ll print out some large ones you can tack on the wall (get your own pushpins).

Email them to your friends, to me, to random people you meet. Plaster them on Facebook and text them when the inclination hits you. Make them into slideshows or Insta-something them.

Just. Have. Fun.

Good, clean, creative fun.

Just don’t be serious. Not yet, anyway.

If seen far too many people get swallowed in the passion and try to make a living at it before they’ve fully learned to appreciate it. And love it. And understand it.

So listen to your old mom and just go out and have fun with it.

Please.

Because I’m not quite sure how to ground a 28 year-old.

Love,

Mom

IPC 2014 – The Season is Off to a Rocky Start…

IPC2014I’m a dumb ass. There, it has been said. I am all about honesty.

Plus when the little excerpt shows a cuss word in the links, I always get a lot of hits. I’m all about marketing, too. 🙂

But back to me, and my total and complete idiocy.

I was so proud of myself the other day.

Not mentioning any names, but there are some competitor friends of mine that were hashing out their entries for IPC in the last days and hours before the final, drop dead, late-fee-required entry deadline of midnight EST last night. I saw a variety of Facebook posts regarding last minute shoots, re-shoots, retouching and even printing and mounting.

…and I felt so smug. For once I was not stressing myself out like that. I entered almost a month ago. My poor friends, I shook my head in sympathy…

Now, before I got all self-righteous and cocky, say, a few months ago, when it was the Northeast District deadline, I was in the same exact position, probably not telling everyone about it, because I hide my flaws like that, but yeah, that was me.

A week before districts and I didn’t have jack-diddly-squat for my case. Well, OK, I had two images. One was shot last summer, one was shot the week before my state competition just weeks prior, and the other two were shot within four days of the Northeast District deadline. In fact, one was shot less than 24 hours before the deadline. Not a stellar track-record of preparedness, eh?

Every single competition finds me putzing around until the last minute, and taking advantage of every last minute of it. Hah!

So, the other day I wrote about how I was going to start a new Print Competition Timeline (LINK). I was so full of the self-satisfaction of having submitted my IPC case by the early deadline, that I developed a new calendar of competition activities to keep me ahead of the game. That was the plan.

Well, I already have an update. And that update is that I’m a damn dumb ass. Somehow the IPC deadline of 7/12 and the PPN deadline of 7/11 melded together on every single calendar and appointment app I have. It doesn’t matter that I actually wrote an article about each of these and their deadlines…

I missed the PPN deadline.

*headdesk* AND *facepalm*

There is absolutely no excuse for it, not sure how it happened and didn’t realize it until I tried to upload my entries about about 8 PM last night.

So there you have it, dumbassery at its finest. Permission to laugh.

But we’re gonna try and find the Wootness here. There’s always a lesson to be learned. I’ve learned a couple:

1. I’m not as organized as I think.

2. Calendar apps have alerts to notify you of an event prior to the actual event date. Use them.

3. Just about the time you think you’ve got it all figured out, Karma’s gonna slap the smart outta ya.

 

IPC 2014: WHAT?! Defining Your Competition Timeline

IPC2014Seriously? Are you freaking kidding me? I haven’t even sent in my 2013 case and you’re already blathering on about next year’s competition? Let me put my feet up and have a margarita or three while I wait for IPC 2013 results. Freaking crazy woman.

*Smile*

As I was perusing my Facebook Groups over the last week, I noticed something that gave me chuckle. There were comments here and there from folks still trying to pick out images on the day of the deadline. Comments about re-shooting an image the day before the deadline. Completely brain-dead of ideas three days prior to the deadline.

I chuckled because that is SO me. I’m constantly pushing competition stuff to the back burner. You would think for something that I am so passionate (hee hee, there’s that word) about, that I would have a better organizational system in place. Well, I don’t. Or didn’t. But now I do.

I have put together a sample timeline/schedule. This timeline is only going to work exactly for someone else who lives in Ohio. Adjust the dates to suit your own state and district and it should work out fairly well for you, too.

So, simply…. there are THREE  major competitions within the PPA system that most competitors work around; their state competition, their district competition and IPC.

For most folks, and for me (in the past) this is what my competition schedule looked like:

timelinebefore

Simple enough, until you add in two weeks of absolute frenzy just prior to each competition… digging through old files, calling up people who can “model” for a shoot, photoshopping until the wee hours of the morning, wondering if you can get a comp shot out of every single shoot you do for an entire week before the deadline… then add to that the fact that your state is hosting the districts and you are losing a step in your competition plan… yeah, it’s fun, isn’t it?

So, with all fervor due a wonderful new idea that I’m really excited about, hope will stick, but doubt it, I present to you, my 2014 IPC timeline goals…

1. Each month I will create, in full, one competition print in digital format, ready for printing. They will be held in digital format for entry into VIPs (see below) and after input and retouching, will be printed at my lab to competition specs. This builds up a nice portfolio of competition prints to pull from when deadlines come looming. My goal is to never be facing down a competition deadline with nothing prepared. Ever. Again.

2. I will explore VIPs and add them to my schedule. Very Important Preliminaries. These are image competitions conducted along PPA guidelines that may be sponsored by groups other than my state. These are generally digital in nature and a bit more affordable than the main three competitions. I will use these competitions to cull and refine my digital files and prep them for final printing.

I have already added two VIPs to my schedule:

  • July 2013: Pro Photo Network Summer Shoot Out Image Critique & Competition LINK
  • November 2013: Professional Photographers of Ohio Fall Image Competition LINK

VIPs are important competitions in that they offer the same style of judging/scoring as the larger competitions I enter. They are a good place to try out your images and cull down your preliminary competition images to a solid case. That’s the plan, anyway.

Here’s the schedule as it sits right now. I hope to add more VIPs as time passes, and when I do, I will make sure to announce them here, so that you may avail yourself of them, too.

Hopefully, by following the below schedule, I will constantly have a small assortment of finished competition prints to choose from whenever a deadline approaches.

*snort*

070913

IPC 2013: I Hate My Case (part 4)

IMG_3574[1]It started as a bit of a lark a few years ago when a photographer I know, Jeff, titled a forum post “I Hate My Case.” It’s the place where the horde of us who also competed and had love/hate relationships with our cases commiserated together while waiting for the IPC results. Since that time,  “I Hate Your Case” has become a good luck wish, in a way, much like actors bid “break a leg!” before going on stage.

A few days ago, I talked about how I fell in love with my case. I love the people in the images. I know that none of those images is the best it can be and there’s some question in my mind about whether I’m the appropriate person who can make them the best they can be. This case has taught me that I need to “up” my Photoshop skills. There were suggestions made for improvement that are outside of my skill set, should I want to attempt them. At this point in time, I’d re-shoot one of the images instead of trying to fix a particular issue through the use of Photoshop.

So, because this case is a reminder, proof if you will, of a lack in skill set, I hate it. Because I know the images within it could be better, I hate it. Because I feel a sense of personal failure in not having the guts to break a seal, I hate it. Because it needed work at the exact same time I had a major equipment failure that prevented me from working on it, I hate it. Because I am now thinking of three different ways I could have posed one of the images, I hate it. Because I will always wonder if the paper I used was the best choice, I hate it.

For a million little reasons I hate it and I will continue to hate it while my palms sweat as I await the results.

And then I’ll probably love it, again.

To be continued…

Get Caught Up:

Part 1: Goodbye Cruel Case!

Part 2: I Broke My #1 Rule

Part 3: District Critiques and Breaking Seals

IPC 2013: District Critiques & Breaking Seals (part 3)

IMG_3574[1]
Parting is such sweet sorrow…

Part #3 in a series of how many ever parts it takes.

Instead of immediately entering my 4 district-sealed images directly to IPC after the Northeast District, I let my case sit for a few extra weeks until I received my district critiques. I felt that at least one image was going to need reworked a bit and wanted to hear my critique before making my final decision.

Yes, I was actually thinking of “breaking the seal.” Which basically means that you kill the bird in your hand and go chasing after the two in the bush. I was willing to risk the definite merit from IPC in order to rework the image and hope to improve it to the point where it would be a great Loan image contender.

I believed in the image, I knew in my heart that it would be a serious Loan contender if it was perfectly worked and presented. The image had won me a very large trophy at my state competition, so I knew it was good. But, there were some things about the image that I started to notice over time that I wasn’t quite happy with that I wanted to change. Yes, it was a merit image, but as it was, I was afraid it wouldn’t be considered a Loan image because of some issues I wasn’t quite happy with.

And then I received my critiques. (previously shared HERE)

 

After watching them, I was tempted to break THREE seals.

The judges brought some issues up in two additional images. Issues that I hadn’t noticed. Issues that made me believe I had a monitor issue (brightness control). For the first time ever, I was told I was losing detail in my blacks. WOAH! That’s not good, since the bulk of competition images I submit are low-key, this was going to be an issue across the board.

So, here I am considering breaking three seals. What the hell is wrong with me? No one in their right mind would break three seals! I didn’t dare tell anyone my thoughts, I knew this idea was extremely risky. I asked for some advice, and the overall advice I got was to evaluate the reason I wanted to break the seal and how it related to my overall goals. Was my goal to get a Master’s degree? If so, then don’t break the seal, take the guaranteed merit. If your goal is to create the best image possible, then break the seal and rework the image.

Well, I already have my Master’s and my actual goal is to work for the Imaging Excellence award, which is given after creating 13 Loan images. I have 3 Loan images to my name, so I need 10 more. So, my goal right now is to create Loan images. As for creating the best image possible, well D’oh, of course! I think. I started to freak out a little and wondered if this was a trick question. Of course I should always create the best image possible, who wouldn’t? And if I didn’t rework the image, and it didn’t “go loan,” how badly would I regret it?

I began to realize that sealing all four images at a district competition, an accomplishment I had thought would elicit great joy and reduce my stress load, had now increased it. A part of me was jealous that other competitors had the opportunity to work on their images more before IPC. I could not, without giving up a seal. A part of me wondered if taking that guaranteed 4/4 was a form of “selling out.” A part of me felt an incredible pressure to now achieve Diamond status by “loaning” all four.

This case was not the airtight wonder I had thought it was. It was presenting opportunities and challenges.

And perhaps traps.

Was I wavering on the edge of one by thinking about breaking three seals?

to be continued…

Get caught up:

Part #1  Part #2

 

IPC 2013: I Broke My #1 Rule (part 2)

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This is my case. It mocked me all the way to The UPS Store. I think I hate it.

Part #2 in a series of how many ever parts it takes.

I fell in love with my case.

There it is, no beating around the bush, it’s out there. I broke the most important lesson I teach my students.

Do not enter family members or images of people you are very close to. You will be unable to be objective about the image and critiques will stab you in the heart, no matter how professionally they’re delivered.

I advise for new competitors not to enter family members for at least a couple of years, until they’re able to get their objectivity under control.

In my last article IPC 2013: Goodbye Cruel Case I introduced you to my four competition image subjects. I will delve into their stories later in the series, but for now, suffice it to say, that I love all of my 2013 subjects in some manner. One is my husband, one is my son, and two are very dear friends.

I taught a few classes about print competition earlier this year and I’ve been telling students that this year I’ve decided I was ready to enter loved ones. I could now be objective. I dunno, maybe this was the Master’s degree talking. I thought I was ready. I bragged about being ready. I told other people to give it about three years before they tried it. Because that’s how long I waited. And I was ready.

Bwa. Freaking. Ha.

I was not ready. I wasn’t near the emotional wreck I was in my first competition, when I unwittingly entered an image I had fallen far too in love with. But, to some degree, I feel a sense of… apprehension and uncertainty about these images. And the “why” of that is a rather long story in itself. That I’ll save for later. You’re welcome.

Fortunately, they all sealed at my district competition, but waiting to hear how they did with the loan panel is probably going to be a little painful.

to be continued…