Getting Ready for a Gallery Competition
Before I launch into some of my thoughts on participating in gallery competitions, let me just preface it with an observation on writing blogs. This is the 180th blog that I have written. Let me assure you, the writing part is a piece of cake. The hard part is coming up with a topic that I can write on. This week was working up to a disaster. I simply could not think of anything to write about. I was beginning to think I would have to announce that I was taking a vacation and would return in two weeks. I am taking a vacation next week. I will not be doing any street photography during that time. New photos seem to inspire new blogs. If I am having a hard time this week, it is going to be impossible next week. But, let’s take one week at a time. During my morning walk I realized that what is consuming my thoughts right now are two gallery competitions that occur in early October. This week is covered. I make no promises about next week.
I like transportation photos.
The first observation about the upcoming competitions is that the opportunity to participate in both of them arises because I am in camera clubs. Although I am not much of a joiner, these clubs have been a really a positive experience. Getting to know photographers in the area is a real plus. Having the opportunity to display pictures in a gallery is amazingly gratifying.
The second observation about participating in gallery competitions is that it does get easier. In the first competition in 2020, I was so anxious trying to figure out how to do what needed to be done from the initial entry through the framing process. The blessing there was that I had no time to worry about whether one of my photos would be selected. I still haven’t gotten all of those procedures exactly settled out. Someone needs to invent a GPS for navigating competitions. Mid-year last year there was great angst in wanting to get at least one photo selected for a particular competition. I did, but a fellow photographer, who is spectacularly good, did not get one accepted. I will not worry about that so much in the future. It is literally a matter best described idiomatically, “Some days chickens, some days feathers.”
For the upcoming Gordon Jewish Community Center competition, I will have to figure out how to get the digital images to be displayed in 72 ppi with a long side of 2000 pixels. You would think that would be easy, but the app I use to size pictures seems to make its own decisions about whether it displays 72 dpi or 300 dpi. That is literally a pay now or pay later proposition. If it displays 72 ppi, I can use it to electronically submit, but I cannot use it for printing since that requires 300 dpi. Potentially, either way, it has to go into Lightroom for sizing. I have to relearn how to do that in Lightroom every single time.
I am super excited about the Wilson County Bank & Trust amateur photography contest. I am going to enter in three categories: candid people, architecture and transportation. It is kind of, as I might say, dumbo crambo to think I can complete in either architecture or transportation, but I have a couple of personal favorites in those categories. Tally Ho!