It’s Tuesday morning.

This is the day.

This is my chance to find out how my pictures did this year at the 2013 Altamont Fair Photography Competition.

And to say I’m nervous is to underestimate my feelings.  Trust me, this isn’t being played up for blog drama.  This is where I measure my work against everybody else, win or lose, sink or swim.

This will be my fifth consecutive year of competition in Altamont. I won ribbons two years ago, but the other three years were met with cold, abrasive rejection. I can’t look at it this as having earned three silks. I look at it as having whiffed on 13 pictures, and that I have to improve my craft this year.

So what did I enter?  What pictures of mine are now available at the Fair, for viewing and for judging?

You already know that I entered “The Jumbuck” as part of the Sheep and Wool division, but that’s in a different building and it’s not part of the Fair’s photo competition.  These are the photos that I schlepped over to the Fair last Sunday.  These are, in my humble opinion, my four best images.

I’m sure you have your favorites, the ones you think I should enter. And that’s perfectly normal. It’s perfectly understandable. And you know I can’t tell you WHICH pictures I entered for this event, until after the pictures have been judged.  It wouldn’t be fair to the other people in the Fine Arts category who DON’T have a blog of their own. Then I get people accusing me of trying to swing votes toward my blog.  I’ve seen bloggers do this in the past; they enter competitions and then beg their readers to click and vote and Facebook “like” the competition in order for them to win.  Talk about an unfair advantage.  Not every person has a blog where they can do a “vote for me” beg-a-thon.  I don’t play that game.

Okay, you’ve been patient.

The four photographs that I entered in this year’s 2013 Altamont Fair Photography Competition are:

THE LENTEN MEAL Camera used: AGFA Clipper Special f/6.3. Film used: Kodak Verichrome Pan 616 film, Kodak Ektar 100 film, Kodak Elite E100 slide film. Shot in Albany, New York, in March 2013. Size: 16×20. Prior pedigree: “A Dream in the Dash” art show. This year, Altamont has created a category for “Local Features 2013,” and I’m entering this triple-splitfilm picture in that category.

DREAM WINDOW 6: THE BEACON   Camera used: Nikon D700. Lens used: Nikkor 28mm f/2.8. Shot in Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, in April 2010. Framed in distressed Queen Anne window from Dorchester Heights, Mass. Glass courtesy Chapman Stained Glass. Flashing light in lighthouse tower courtesy Pink Floyd’s P*U*L*S*E* CD. Size: 33×34. Prior pedigree: “A Dream in the Dash” art show. This is only the third Dream Window I’ve ever entered in competition. “Dream Window 1: The Dream Window of Kenwood Avenue” was shown at Altamont last year, while “Dream Window 5: The Thirst Quencher” received some love at the Albany Center Gallery Home Show. Now can this flashing lighthouse get some love – as well as a ribbon – at Altamont?

THE FINAL SERMON Camera used: Nikon F100. Lens used: Nikkor 28mm f/2.8. Filter used: Bower Red #2. Film used: efke ISO 25. Photo taken May 2013. Framed with original tin from roof of St. Patrick’s Church rectory; inside former bedroom mirror frame; size 26×36. Prior pedigree: None. I’m sure this picture will stir up plenty of emotions.  I hope it stirs up at least a ribbon.  It’s the “other” Dream Window that I entered this year.

HELLO! Camera used: Nikon D700. Lens used: Nikkor 85mm f/1.8. Photo taken May 2013. Framed with Hobby Lobby “Prairie” frame. Size: 11×14. Prior pedigree: None. Yes, this is Mr. Tumnus from Wunsapana Farm. At some point in time, I am going to take an award-winning photo of a llama.  This may be the photo that achieves that success.

I really hope that the images I brought have a chance of winning.  Yeah, I could have brought some of the other pictures, like “The Three-Two Pitch,” “Ten Minutes Before They Broke Up,” or any of the other pictures.  But this is what I went with.  I can’t go back and swap anything out.

Later tonight, I’m driving over to the Altamont Fair to see how my works did.  If you get to the Fair before I do – and you see the results before I do – please don’t tell me. Don’t tweet it to me, don’t post it on Facebook, just don’t.  Please.

As much as you would love to share any good news, please don’t send me a blog comment saying, “Congratulations, you won.” And although I know there are some out there who would love to rub my face in the dirt if I lost, please  don’t send me a blog comment saying, “Nyah-nyah, you didn’t win, you’re a sucky photographer,” or anything regarding the decisions.

Don’t spoil the surprise, don’t soothe the disappointment.  Let me get there and find out; let my heart rise or fall with the results.

Okay… deep breath.  Inhale.  Exhale.

I’ll find out tonight.