Competition #1 – The Albany Center Gallery Photo Regional

It’s competition time, two thousand eleven.  No, I’m not talking about trivia.  I’m talking about photography competitions – essentially getting my photos and my artworks into various shows and galleries and competitive judging events.

Granted, there are competitions I will enter without question – the New York State Fair, for example, as well as the St. Agnes Cemetery Photo Competition.  And there will be some new competitions this year – for the first time, I’m going to submit my photos to the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass., otherwise known as the Big “E”.  And I’m also submitting some artworks to the Albany Institute of History and Art’s Mohawk-Hudson Regionals event, as well as the Albany Center Gallery’s 33rd annual Photo Regional.

And then there’s the big A.  The place that has shut me out for two years straight.  Altamont.  The Photo Competition at the Altamont Fair.  Yeah.  I’ve gone 0-for-8 there, and I have no plans on going 0-for-12.  Never give up.  Never.  Don’t rebuild.  Reload.

So the first competition to receive my materials is the upcoming Photo Regional at the Albany Center Gallery.  I am permitted a total of five entries, so long as each artwork was created after  January 2010.  Three of the submissions for the Gallery’s competition have won before at other locations; the other two are going into competition for the first time.

For me, this is an entirely new competition.  The Albany Center Gallery is hosting its 33rd annual Photo Regional, a juried competition complete with prizes and showings and whatnot.  From those five, a maximum of three can be selected by the judges for competition.

My submissions for the Albany Center Gallery’s 33rd Annual Photo Regional are:
PALACE THEATER April, 2011; Film: 35mm Efke 25, Camera: Nikon F100, Lens: MIR 20H fisheye.  Photo taken in Albany, N.Y. This is one of those pictures that, when I saw the developed shot, I knew I had to enter it in competition.
LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD April 2011; Film: Kodak Super-XX 120, expiration date 1959; Camera: Rolleiflex Automat MX; Photo taken in Rochester, N.Y. I was surprised not only by the successful development of this photograph, but also by the positive response it has received through the Internet community.
		STAR TRAILS OF ST. AGNES CEMETERY May 2010; Camera: Nikon D700; Lens: MIR-20H fisheye. Photo taken in Menands, N.Y. A personal and sentimental favorite of mine. Yes, it’s still a photo that means a lot to me. And it’s definitely got a shot.
L-KEN’S DRIVE-IN April 2011; Film: Fuji 200 35mm (upper), Kodak 200 35mm (lower).  Camera: Holga 120N; Photo taken in Albany, N.Y. I’m still experimenting with the split film trick, and I kinda like how this one turned out.
		DESTINATION VOYAGE ROUGE ET BLEU April 2010; Film: Kodachrome 40 35mm; Camera: Kiev-19; Lens: Helios 81-H; Photo taken in Quebec City, Que. At some point in my life this photo has to win something. It has to. I don’t care. I won’t give up on this photograph, even if everything else says it has given up on me.

And the breakdown – one digital shot, four film shots.  Of the four film shots, three were on negative film and one was on slide film.  I entered three color shots, two black and white shots.  Five different cameras were used – my Nikon D700, my Nikon F100, my Rolleiflex, my Holga and my Kiev-19.  Three landscape, two portrait.  Well, actually, one portrait and one square.  Two photos were entered in previous competitions; three are being entered into competition for the first time.

On May 4, I burned the five images onto a CD and shipped the disc, along with my $35 entry fee, to the Gallery.

Now I wait.

On May 9, 2011, I will receive an answer as to whether any of these images will make the next round.

And as soon as I hear… you will, too.

But out of mild curiosity… if you were a judge… are there any of these pics (up to three) that you think have a chance to get into this competition?