I need to take a deep breath. This is different than any of my other Competition Season entries.
See, in the past, I’ve tried entering a big prestige art show. And during that time, I tried to hone my craft. I tried getting my photos in these shows. And each time, they’ve been bounced. Then, in 2014, my photo The Jumbuck got into the Capital District Photo Regionals. Four more photos joined that fraternity – Vivaldi’s Pond, Step and Pivot, After the Rain and Five Tickets to Ride Day and Night.
This is a big one, though. This is the Mohawk Hudson Regionals. This is my opportunity to determine if my creative view on photography deserves a chance among the big stars of the photography world.
Trust me, if any of the three pictures I chose made the cut, I’ll have a smile on my face that introduces one ear to the other. If I don’t make the cut, however … well, I’ll just have to keep trying.
These were the three images I went with.
FIVE TICKETS TO RIDE DAY AND NIGHT
STEP AND PIVOT
THE AGFA BRIDGE OVER ANSCO LAKE
I received an email from the organizers on Friday morning, at around 11:45. It took me 15 minutes to muster up the courage to open the email up.
And this is what I saw.
“Dear Chuck,
On behalf of the Albany Center Gallery, Opalka Gallery and Albany International Airport Gallery, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your submission to 2021 Mohawk Hudson Regional exhibition. However, we also regret to say that your work was not selected this year.
We were delighted to receive 561 entries by artists from across our region. From those, juror for Albany Center Gallery, Alisa Sikelianos-Carter; juror for Opalka Gallery, Pamela Salisbury; and juror for Albany International Airport Gallery, Tommy Gregory, selected 96 artists and 143 individual works.”
Ugh.
Well, I kinda figured this would happen. Not that I’m happy about it. But I have to understand. There was only so much room for entrants, and there were only so many artists and works accepted. It just means that I have to try harder next time.
And there’s still other events upcoming – in 2021 and beyond. I’ve come this far. Heck, I used to remember back in college, when classmates of mine would paper the front doors of their dorm rooms with the rejection letters they received, in an effort to keep them humble and hungry.
I’ll keep this letter, as well. Because it will be nice to pull it out when I actually DO get accepted by these regionals in the future.
No matter how long it takes.
Chuck The Writer 