The Photo Regionals is the be-all and end-all of the local photography community. Photographers within a 100-mile radius of Albany can submit their best works for the show, but only a few winners get their completed artworks on the gallery wall.
Not every Capital District Photo Regionals show is the same; sometimes the Photo Regionals are already selected from a pool of artists; other times the Photo Regionals are set up as a salon first, then whittled down to the select few chosen.
In the past, I’ve had six of my images make the cut. It hasn’t been easy; but the images I’ve selected have always amazed me in their thoroughness and acceptance.
So this year, I submitted three entries for the Photo Regionals. The entries will appear as part of the initial salon, then the judges will choose which photo or photos merit inclusion in the select list.
Last Friday was the opening night gala. And I had to see how my artworks did.
First … I needed to find parking in downtown Albany.
Which was harder to find than a can of striped paint. Nearly every on-street parking spot was occupied; and the few public lots were either blocked off for some concert, or way out of my way. In the end, I finally found a spot – well, sort of a spot, I think I parked in front of an off-the-clock loading dock, shh don’t snitch on me – and entered Albany Center Gallery’s 48 North Pearl Street gallery.
Okay, let’s look for my photos. The curators will hang each artist’s work together in one area, so if I find one of my picture,s I’ll find all three.
And after much searching, I found some recognizable images.
Okay … now wait a minute … there’s 17 Jewel Movement on the left, and Herbie Jr :v) Was Here on the right. They’re in the salon.
But I entered three images, not two. Where’s the third one.
I looked above my two entries, and found this sign.
Wait … wait … do you mean that … do you mean that …
Where’s the select wall?
I looked across the way … and among the two dozen framed photos on display …
Was one image.
One recognizable image.
THIS recognizable image.
Yes, folks, A CO Railfan’s Dream – my mixture of digital and film into a layered train crossing shot – WAS ACCEPTED AS PART OF THE 47TH ANNUAL CAPITAL DISTRICT PHOTO REGIONALS!!!
This is tremendous. This little image has scored (checks notes) a first place at Saratoga, a second place at Altamont, a third place at the NYS Fair, and now it’s a PHOTO REGIONALS SELECT acceptee!!
And you know what that means, don’t you?
I gotta get a selfie with this. Because, yeah, I do.
There it is. A winning photograph. A Photo Regionals acceptee.
I later ran into one of the judges, and thanked him for accepting my piece. He told me that he and the other judge looked over every image in the salon, and only the ones that BOTH judges agreed were select-worthy made the final cut. So the decision on A CO Railfan’s Dream needed to be unanimous.
As you can see … it earned its laurels.
Now there’s one entrance left for 2026 for this image … this and Herbie Jr :v) Was Here are both in the Big E’s photography show, which opens next week.
And yeah … I’m stoked about this.
Totally, totally stoked.
Chuck The Writer 
what a great outcome!
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You need to start wearing a cap, suitable for holding feathers.
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