Results from the Vermont State Fair, 2014

So here’s the update from the Vermont State Fair and the photography competition therein.  I picked up three ribbons, two of my pictures sold, and I seriously doubt if I’ll enter the competition again.

And you’re thinking… wait… Chuck… you got three ribbons, AND two of your pictures sold, AND this somehow displeases you?  Hashtag first world problems?

Hey, ribbons and money are good things.  And I appreciate the money and the ribbons and the victories.  But some other stuff happened at Rutland that … well …

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped off my entries at the Vermont State Fairgrounds in beautiful downtown Rutland.  Each of my ten entries was carefully cataloged and entered, and with the new judges and the new format and the new rule changes, I went over everything to make sure my entries wouldn’t get bounced on technicalities.  You know… like last year.

Here’s the paragraph from the 2014 Premium Book regarding the size and format of the entries.

Looks pretty clear to me.  I also double-checked the available categories.

I had a category of “B&W,” so I entered my award-winning sheep photo The Jumbuck in that discipline.  I saved another B&W picture, The Star-Barn of Harmony Corners, for the “Barns” category.  Eight other pictures were spread among eight other categories.  All ten were printed at 11×14 size, non-matted, framed, ready to hang, done.

As I handed each picture to the receiving person, she asked me to write down the categories for each entry on the attached slips, so that none of the entries would get switched around and judged in the wrong category.  No probs.  I did so.

The Fair opened last week.  Every day the Fair was open, I looked online for any information on the photography competition results; maybe there was a tweet with the results, maybe there was something on the organizer’s Facebook page or on the state fair’s website.  Nothing.  Part of me wanted to call the Fairgrounds and ask if someone could just walk over to the building and see if any of my stuff snagged a ribbon.  Yeah, I know that was a stretch.  But it’s been bugging me.   Bugging, bugging, bugging me.

Right now, “competition season 2014” for me has been a mix of good and bad.  The “good” came from two ribbons at Altamont, plus appearances in new shows like the San Francisco International and the Northwest International.  But going zero-for-six at the New York State Fair this year is sticking in my craw like a broken popcorn kernel.  That leaves the Vermont State Fair and the Big E as the only photo-fair competitions in which I’ve picked up at least one ribbon with every year of entry.

Sunday afternoon… road trip to Rutland.

I arrived at about 4:30 p.m.  Usually with the Vermont State Fair, I’ll take some time to photograph parts of the Fairgrounds for future use – seeing as there’s always been a “Vermont State Fair Images” category.  I took a few pictures here and there, maybe there’s something worth saving for competition season 2015…

Then it was time to enter the art building.  Okay.  Let’s do this.

First category I saw – landscapes.  And right off the bat…

Sweet!  My shot of the frozen Edinburg, N.Y. waterfall snagged its first competitive ribbon!

Okay, are there more pictures with silks?  Hmm… no silk for Cork Center, my macro photo… my NBL Canada action photo received no ribbon… apparently nobody bowed before the Yellow King, so that picture didn’t receive any love…

Hey wait a minute… is that my five-year-old picture of the Altamont Fair ride?

How do you like that?  Two third-place silks!  Things are looking up for your man.

Hmm… there’s a few pictures that are missing.  I looked in the “Barns” category, but The Star-Barn of Harmony Corners wasn’t there. The Jumbuck wasn’t in the B&W category, and my photo of Ella the llama was missing from the Animals section.  Hmm…

Three pictures unaccounted for – oh wait, here’s my Jesus Saves picture… and…

Finally!! Look at that silky blue ribbon on my picture!  First place in the category of “film photo.”

But I’m still looking.  Seven pictures accounted for – three with ribbons, four just “holding wall space.”

“Can I help you?”

A young lady from the other side of the building, where paintings and quilts were on display, asked me.

“I seem to be missing a few pictures here.  I had a black-and-white picture of a sheep…”

“Oh yes,” she interrupted.  “Someone bought that picture.”

Let it now be said that I have sold an artwork at the Vermont State Fair.  Aces.

“I also had a picture of a llama – ”

“Was that the llama that had some grass leaves in its mouth?”

I nodded in affirmation.

“Oh yeah, I think that one sold too.  And I think your sheep picture might have had a ribbon on it.”

“Do you know what color?”

“I think it was a first place ribbon,” the girl said.  Her name was Lauren, and she then proceeded to tell me chapter and verse about everything that was wrong with this year’s photography competition and how the new judges / organizers were fielding tons of complaints from angry participants.  She told me that dozens of competitors had complained to the treasurer’s office, she told me that her grandfather started the photo competition years ago and that she hoped to run it next year…

“Well, it can’t be all bad,” I thought.  Two pictures sold, three ribbons, and –

Hey, wait a minute.  I just found my Star-Barn of Harmony Corners picture.  The one I entered in the “Barns” category.

Look carefully at the picture.  This is the wall for the “black and white” photos.  The upper part of the wall is for the professional photographers, the lower part of the wall is for amateurs.  I entered this competition as an amateur photographer.  Hobbyist.  And I entered The Star-Barn of Harmony Corners in the “barns” category.

So why is it on the wall with the entries for the black-and-white category?  And why is it hanging with the professional photos?

Maybe I wasn’t totally clear on the entry slip.  Each picture has an entry slip taped to the front and to the back of the framed artwork.  Maybe I scribbled one thing and they thought it was another.

Yeah, I mean ANYBODY could mis-read the word “barns” as something else.  And they might mis-view that big [X] in the amateur photography category.

But here’s another problem.  If this got judged in the wrong category, that means it was judged in a category with another one of my pictures – in this case, The Jumbuck.  This means that two pictures of mine were in the same category, which violates the rules – and, by the letter of the law, both pictures could have been dismissed on a technicality.

I’ve got to talk to someone on this.

And then I looked at the other entries on the wall.  Many of the entries were framed and wired and matte-less.  But others were matted.  Others were not framed.  In fact, the “Best of Show” picture had a border matte.  Oh, and it also earned a “Judge’s Choice” silk.

Okay, so last year two of my pictures got bounced because they were a half-inch too narrow… and this year anything goes?  Wow, different judges DO operate things differently, don’t they?

And what about this possible second blue ribbon I might have received?  Was Lauren mistaken?  Or did I earn another blue for one of my pictures?

Only one way to find out.  I had to wait until 7:00 p.m., when everybody could pick up their artworks and receive their ribbons and prize money.

I patiently waited until the organizer pulled out the sheet that had my entries.  She handed me two envelopes – one for the pictures that sold, the other for the premiums I won for the three ribbon-garnering photos.

“Thank you,” I replied.  “But there’s a problem with one of my entries.  I believe it got judged in the wrong category, which might have cost it a ribbon.”

We walked over to the wall, where The Star-Barn of Harmony Corners hung with the rest of the B&W entries.

I explained what I saw regarding the photo and the entry.

At that point in time, they had three options.  They could have either told me:

(A) “Oh, your picture was graded in the right category, Mr. Miller, but there was some wall space issues and this was accidentally hung in the wrong section.”
(B) “Oh, I’m sorry, we made a mistake, let’s talk later to see what we can do to make this up to you.”
(c)  “No, we hung it properly – but it looks as if someone moved the photo as a joke. Take a look at these papers, our records show that your picture was graded in the right category.”

And in the end, however, they chose Option D.

Option D, in this case, was to tell me, “Hey, there’s nothing we can do about it now, mistakes were made, this was our first year running the photo contest, there’s a line of people behind you waiting to pick up their pictures, stuff happens.  The Fair’s over, we’ll just try to do better next time.”

Okay, so let me process this information.  I did everything by the book, based on what happened last year – and this year, one of my entries got judged in the wrong category, and all I get is a “mistakes were made” response?

And somebody’s reading this blog post right now and saying to themselves, “Geez, Miller, stop acting like a spoiled brat, you got three ribbons and two of your pictures sold.  So one of your entries was graded in the wrong category.  Man, how sour are those grapes you’re eating?  Get a towel and cry into it already.”

That isn’t the point.  Don’t use the “well, it was our first year doing this” excuse.  It’s about following the rules for everyone.

But now there’s the issue of whether or not one of my purchased pictures had a ribbon.  “Can we confirm that there was a ribbon for one of my sold pictures?” I asked.

One of the volunteers went through the deck of envelopes and pulled one out.  “Well, here’s another check for you,” she said, handing it to me.  So hey, maybe I did win a different ribbon and it got calculated separately.  Okay…

I opened the envelope and examined the amount on the check.  Hmm… this amount doesn’t match up with the prize money or the picture’s sale price.

It was only then that I saw that the check was made out to Charles Meeks.  Charles Meeks was another competitor in the Vermont State Fair.  Charles Meeks, Chuck Miller, yeah there seems to be a great amount of astigmatism in the Green Mountain State…

Sorry, Mr. Meeks – who was standing behind me – here’s your prize money.

Honestly, I don’t like the idea that this fair’s photo competition’s rules can swing from ultra-strict to ultra-lax.  I don’t like that one of my entries was judged in the wrong category, which could have cost it a ribbon; I’ll never know.   And I don’t like the back-stabbing from other Fair organizers regarding how someone else is running a competition.

Listen.  I’ve had a lot of fun with the Vermont State Fair over the years.  I’ve enjoyed visiting the Fair and bringing back maple treats for friends and for loved ones.  I really have.

But this year’s photo competition was so haphazardly operated… between the mis-judged photo, the sniping from other Fair organizers, the poor organization at pick-up time … all that and much more.  I was completely frustrated after leaving the Fairgrounds…

On the way home from Rutland, I thought to myself… This competition isn’t worth it any more.  Let other people compete in the Vermont Fair.  I have enough competitions, both local and nationwide, that I don’t need to compete in this one any more.

Heck, by writing this blog post, I’ve probably disqualified myself from entering in the Vermont State Fair from this point forward.

Trust me.  There’s better things for me to do with my life and with my time and with my photos.

And I’ll simply wish the Vermont State Fair photo competition organizers the best of luck and hope they have a successful 2015 show.

Just make sure you judge the pictures in the right categories in 2015… ‘k?