A few months ago, I tried my hand with the the San Francisco Bay Month of Photography competition. This is truly an opportunity for me to expand out from competing in local fairs and the like. And in 2014, my elongated photo of a baseball pitcher, The Three-Two Pitch, garnered a Silver Award in the competition.
That’s been fun. But that’s also six years ago.
I initially entered five images to the competition, and at the last minute, added a sixth image, High and Tight, to the mix. Here’s the six that I entered.
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Yesterday, I received word from the organizers of the San Francisco Bay Month of Photography competition. A gold or silver medal will get these images shown on the organization’s website. Anything higher than gold … means that a Chuck Miller artwork could hang in a San Francisco art gallery. For reals.
Okay … let’s open the e-mail.
And …
All the gold medalists were listed, alphabetically by last name.
Marconi … Mayer … Montano …
Ah, nertz. I didn’t make the cut.
But there’s still a chance for silver medalists… They’re listed as well, alphabetically by last name.
McGrath … McRae … Miller … Munaro …
Wait … Miller?
I scrolled up – and –
It was another person named Miller. Not me.
In other words … my photos didn’t make the cut this year.
Nuts.
It’s official. My photos need to get better. My photography needs to improve.
I need to try harder. Yeah, you could say that the judges liked what they liked and didn’t like what they didn’t like, and I totally get that.
But I need these photos to shine so that they win over any judge out there.
I must try harder.
And that I shall. That’s what 2021 is for, right?
Chuck The Writer 
Don’t let it bother you. Contest judging is always 100% subjective and should not be considered a critique of your work. When it comes to improving your art, think about what you would do differently/better. Like when you re-did the time slice image.
The opinions of judges amount to yes or no and not “this would be better if …” which also must carry the disclaimer of “I think”. Seek out input from other photographers, and indeed non-photographers.
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