Mountain Dog Photography

Late winter in northern Vermont is a relatively quiet time for portrait sessions but it’s an almost overwhelming time for education. Classes are great fun; not only do they help me hone my technical and business skills but they also keep my creativity flowing to create a great experience for my clients. My favorite way to bring it all together requires intense preparation and thick skin: print competition. Competition is a bit tricky to explain to anyone who’s never seen it. Basically, a panel of highly trained judges assesses each 16×20″ print on its own according to impact, creativity, style, composition, presentation, color balance, center of interest, lighting, subject matter, print quality, technique, and story telling. Although it’s rare, an image can score a perfect 100 points. It’s a tough balance to strike, even for the most experienced and awarded photographers. I firmly believe that the experience of entering prints and listening to the judges interpret roughly 115 images in one day is THE single best way for photographers to grow.

Last weekend I entered a full case, or 6 prints, at the Vermont Professional Photographers 82nd Annual Convention. My prints scored well and 4 prints are continuing on to the regional competition and, hopefully, nationals to receive merit-worthy scores of 80 points and above. Each image that merits gets me closer to earning my Master of Photography degree.

Here they are, in order of awesomeness (according to the judges anyway!):

"The Climber" - Red ribbon, 76 points

"The Optimistic Orphan" - Red ribbon, 77 points (This is going on to regionals with changes to composition, as recommended by the judges.)

"Mountains, Maples, and Moo" - Red ribbon, 78 points

"Ahead of the Curve" - Blue ribbon, 80 points (Going to regionals! One of the judges said that she was scared of snakes, but she really loved this image. I appreciate that comment because it means I achieved my goal of showing beauty where many don't see it.)

"Am I Ready For This?" - Blue ribbon, 81 points (Wait! This one has a person in it! Yep, I worked as a still photographer for a film trailer last fall. This was one of my favorite images from those shoots.)

"Stage Fright" - Blue ribbon, 82 points. Also won a Judge's Award and the Member's Choice Award. Seriously, that means more to me than anything. This image is also on its way to regionals.)

So now that the stress of preparing images for competition is off my shoulders I can look forward to spring flowers, green grass, blue skies, and a busy schedule photographing lots of dogs, cats, horses, and even some bunnies!

Peace and Furballs,

~Kelly