Each month at the meeting of the Photographic Society of Vineland, we have a competition among our members. We've been able to use ZOOM during the pandemic. The talent our club members have is varied. Some of them are professional photographers, and some may be learning their camera settings and the difference between shutter speed and aperature.
I was a member for a full year before I would submit to the competition, I felt so intimidated by the quality of their work. One of the advantages of participating in the competition is receiving critiques from the judges and other members. I could learn from the judging of my fellow members' pictures, but when my work was on the screen, well, it felt like more was on the line.
Many of us are "attached" to our work and it can be difficult to have the needed corrections pointed out. If can feel more problematic to delete some. Why save blurry pictures?
Some of the judges do reflect on what is good about an image, even if it did not win. The bottom line is that, "If I like the picture, that is what is important."
Someone said that the only time we fail, is when we do not learn from our mistakes. Making errors can actually be good. If there is no room for improvement, what's the point?
We had been awarding ribbons for the wins, and earning points toward various awards. Not only are the ribbons included for points, but also things like attending our meetings, serving on the board, presenting a workshop to the membership, and participating in competitions held by other clubs or organizations.
It took a while, but I received the gold award in 2018. Rather than write more, I thought I would let some of my winning shots, speak for them selves. Enjoy! and don't forget, there really are no losers, when we learn.
