Is this exotic?

So I didn’t win, but not surprising in hindsight. At the Awards Night, held at Spectra’s Grafton Street shop, last Friday night, Dave McKane of Digital Beginners (now Institute of Photography) revealed the winners and the decision process behind their choice. I see that the winners haven’t been posted on his website yet, but read on for some reflections on losing…

I haven’t entered many photography competitions, but it is probably fair to say that it is one of the best ways to grow as a photographer and to improve your skills. The original criteria for the Spectra Photo / Digital Beginners competition was as follows:

…we’re looking for photos that show the exotic nature of travel.

A travel photography competition… right down my street. So with hopes high, I submitted my entries, as outlined below:

With nearly a thousand entries, I certainly didn’t envy Dave’s job, but felt in with a chance when looking at the technical merits of some of the entries. I was applying some of the usual measures:

• Is the image perfectly sharp?
• Is the horizon level?
• Is noise, or image artifacts distracting?
• Is it over or under exposed?

On to the awards night. Many thanks must be extended to Spectra and to Digital Beginners for a wonderful night. Drink and conversation flowed in equal measure. I got a few moments to speak with Dave, and he explained his sorting approach. When sorting a thousand photo’s, he relied solely on:

…whether the student answered the question! Whether the photo showed the exotic nature of travel.

You will note that I highlighted “exotic”. Were my entries suitably exotic? Short answer…

No.

Truth be told, shots of the sunset are two a penny, likewise of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Taj Mahal. I can’t fault Dave’s choices for the winners of the competition. Congratulations to all of them. I will come away having learnt a valuable lesson, and with a renewed drive to push myself as a photographer. The kicker… for each of the shots that won, I have similar or better (in my humble opinion ) in my library. They are not going to win any competitions sitting there!