Competition #6 – The Troy Photo Center 5th Annual Members Show

I joined the PhotoCenter of the Capital District (also known as the Troy PhotoCenter) earlier this year.  If you want to learn more about photography, Nick Argryos and Jacqueline Lynch are definitely the people you should contact.  The Photo Center holds workshops and seminars, they have salon nights where you can bring in your work and have fellow members offer critiques, and every month they hold art exhibits as part of the Troy Night Out event.

And one of those art exhibits is the annual Members’ Show.  Each member is encouraged to submit four photographs, which will be judged – and at least one entry from each contributing member will be shown at the gallery event later this month.  Swank.

So I’m allowed four entries for the Troy PhotoCenter Members Show.  What am I going to enter?

Well, for those of you who have followed my blog these many years, you can pretty much figure out which ones would be considered. Granted, I could go with the “safe” entries, the ones that have won in the past, but I decided not to play it safe.  Whether or not that’s a positive or a negative, we shall see.

I’m sure you can figure out which ones I did enter.  Well, at least two of the four have appeared in other competitions this year; one has never been shown in prior competition; and one is still a personal favorite that I would love to see get SOME sort of recognition.

On Thursday, July 28th, I stopped by the PhotoCenter with a compact disc, packed with my four pictures.  Jacqueline was there to receive the entry.

“Do you have your form filled out?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, and your entry fee – cash or check?”

“Cash,” I said, reaching for my wallet.

“That’ll be $15.”

I reached for my wallet – and then thought for a second.  “Wait, $15?  That’s only for studio and supporting members, I’m just a basic member.  Shouldn’t my fee be $20?”

“Oh,” she smiled, “I thought you were a studio member.  You could have gotten in for $15.”

“Nah,” I said, handing her the $20 bill.  “I don’t operate that way.”

And just like that, my entries were submitted.

The four pictures I submitted for consideration in the Troy Photo Center 5th Annual Members Show are:

MIDNIGHT AT THE PALACE THEATER

With all the support this picture has  gotten – this would look great at a gallery show.

THE AGFA BRIDGE OVER ANSCO LAKE

Ah, my splitfilm composition.  This has got to be abstract enough to get in.  Right?

GENERAL ELECTRIC LIGHTS THE NIGHT

This was my HDR capture with my old Nikon D70.  Heck, if it was good enough for Scott and Mindy’s wedding, then it’s good enough to enter, right?

And finally…

DESTINATION VOYAGE ROUGE ET BLEU

I know, I know.  I’ve entered it in several photo competitions last year and it didn’t win a thing.  But I personally think it’s one of my best photographs to have NEVER won.  Maybe this competition will change things.

Now here’s how this works.  Nick and Jacqueline will look all of the images over – and the ones they both agree on will get entered in the members’ show.  Every member will have at least one image on display.  So one of these four WILL get on the walls of the Troy Photo Center.  And all four will be included in a limited edition members’ book, which will be published at the end of the year.

At 3:08 p.m. on Thursday, I received an e-mail from the PhotoCenter.  Which one of my four photos got in?  Which one will hang at the gallery?

I open the e-mail.

Thank you for submitting your work to the Photography Center’s 5 ^th Annual Member’s show. We are thrilled to announce that we received more entries this year than any other Member’s Show. We would like to include the following pieces in this year’s exhibition:

Midnight at the Palace Theater
The Agfa Bridge over Ansco Lake

All accepted work should be framed and ready to hang. Please be sure to deliver your work to the Photography Center no later than Sunday August 21 by 6pm. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thank you again and we look forward to exhibiting your work!
Jack and Nick

Wow! Two of my pictures – my long-exposure efke film shot of Albany’s iconic performance venue, and my splitfilm exposure of Washington Park – are getting into the gallery show!  This is great!

Much thanks to Nick Argyros and Jacqueline Lynch for all their efforts.  I definitely am looking forward to this gallery show – which, by the way, debuts as part of Troy Night Out on August 26, and runs until the beginning of October.

This feels good.  Really really good.

And maybe this will be the start of something special with regard to my other competitions this summer.

Because when I’ve got the Big E coming up – the NYS Fair coming up – and Altamont coming up – I can use all the positive mojo I can find.