Monthly Competition Results
Street Photography. That was the theme for the local club's monthly competition. A genre I am completely fascinated with, but have shied away from it because of a few issues. First is the risk of public confrontation, which I would hate, and secondly, I am on the fence about the ethics of taking someone's photo without asking. Sure, I know in public spaces, we have no expectation of privacy, but still, I struggle with that.
The 1st step I needed to do before selecting a single photo from my collection was to understand street photography. I read a few books, watched far too many videos, and visited many websites and message forums trying to gather as much information as I could. I distilled it all down to mean, it is a genre of photography that records everyday life and candid moments in public places. And that's what I ran with.
With all that being said, I figured I had no chance for any of my photos to place in the competition. I was wrong. Of the 4 photos I submitted, I received two honorable mentions, and one 1st place.
My 1st place entry was taken at Land's End in Cornwall, UK, back in the spring of 2014. And was the only photo of the scene. I remember wanting the people out of the way so I could photograph the coast line. Turns out, the photo worked for street photography, and the judge liked it. I was honestly blown away by the win. Stunned even.
My two honorable mention photos, one color and the other black and white, were taken in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. One was taken a few years back of Santa Claus walking down the street. It was what the judge called the decisive moment. How many times to do get to see Santa walking down the street? The other was all about shadows and another decisive moment. A jogger came out of the shadows and crossed the street into the sunlight revealing some amazing shadows. I captured that photo a few weeks ago with my new Lumix L10 and was pretty happy with it.
The wins put me at 25 points for the year, and 12 wins. I did not write down all of the winners, but I think this puts me at #5 in the group for the year. And is a great showing to hopefully finish in the top 10 for the 4th year in a row. With 3 more competitions coming, I want to finish strong. Now, on to next month’s theme, Still Life!