Professional Photographers of Canada judged their annual Image Salon Competition this past weekend at Langara College in Vancouver and broadcast it live for members to listen and learn.
From the PPOC Website: "One of the cornerstones of the Professional Photographers of Canada is the PPOC Annual Image Salon. This salon showcases, literally, the best of the best. The most creative, the newest and most cutting edge, the finest technically executed, and the list goes on. This group of images is always inspiring to view and displays the level of excellence Canadian photographers have achieved. Some of the best photographic talent in the world live and work in Canada, and enter this image competition. In order to qualify to submit images, you must be an Active/Accredited member of PPOC."
I've been an Active member of PPOC since 2010, gaining my first Accreditations in 2011, and every year I strive to enter my best work to be judged. This year, the following four images were submitted, and my official scores are in. I received two Merits, one Accepted, and one Not Accepted. I am pleased with three of my results (not so pleased with the Not Accepted one. LOL!) which are listed below each image. If you would like to comment, please feel free at the end of this post.
Evening on the Lake - Merit Image
This Pictoral/Scenic image was taken at Pyramid Lake in Jasper, AB at sunset. What caught my attention was the reflection of the mountain and trees in the water, and the contrast of the hard rocks in the foreground against the slow rising mist along the shoreline. Sunsets are fleeting with only so many minutes to capture it before it vanishes. This time of day is a favourite of mine because of the peace and tranquility I see when I take the time to just breathe it all in.
Judges scores and comments: 1E 1M 2A 1U Discussion - E-Maker doing everything right..Sharp all the way through, comp., leading lines, right place, right time of day, maker handled correctly.
A-Beautiful tonality, time of day, but doesn't see the sharpness M-Doesn't see it as tack sharp front to back, but still got lost in image. Crop maybe a little tight, a little heavy on the black in the corner, but still thinks it is a strong merit. Rebuttal: Softness lends to strengthen the image, adds mood, probably artifacting from high ISO Re score 1E 3M 1A Merit
Nature's Earrings - Merit Image
I created this Fine Art image as part of my Nature Accreditation. Although the original SOOC image was interesting, I found that playing around in Photoshop I was able to create a more harmonious background to go with the texture of the maple seeds. Mother Nature flaunts her jewelry all the time, but we don't always notice it right away. This was good practice for me to slow down and look for interesting subjects to shoot on a lazy fall day. I think Mother Nature would be pleased that I captured her, don't you?
Minesweeper at Rest - Accepted
Another Fine Art image captured on a very cold morning in Sooke. Dragging my sister out for a drive at seven in the morning to capture a sunrise on the water wasn't exactly what she had in mind for me on my visit, but I knew what I wanted. Old boats fascinate me with their rust and history. I waited and waited for the sun to reflect just right along it's body and then we were done! An hour of cold hands was worth it to me. Then the fun of working the image into something that looked old like the vessel itself was the next step in the creative process. Another trip and I will venture closer if I can to get a different angle, or maybe I'll find something totally different than what I expected. That happens a lot!
It's Mine - Not Accepted
I was disappointed by the score on this image. Maybe it was just that it was not on a black matte. Only one of the five judges accepted it, and there were no comments given on the live feed, so I don't know what they didn't like about it. Perhaps they had judged too many cats this year! HA! I know I had that thought when I browsed through the PDF of the submitted images before judging. I will save this one for my Feline Portrait Accreditation I am currently working on.
So now it's time to think about next year's Salon entry. Am I brave enough to up my game and try something different now that I have a few Pictoral/Scenic, Animal, and Fine Art Merits and an Excellence under my belt? Time will tell, and I have time to think about it. And there is still my goal of getting four images accepted into National Salon! Maybe next year!
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