DanSandy.Me | (OLD) Photo Contest Blog

Hey There,

After two decades of self-taught photography, a friend had convinced me to join the Cleveland Photographic Society. Since then I have been partaking in their photo competitions, which has proven to be a great learning experience. Although I haven't been with the club very long, I have learned far more than I ever could have taught myself. The number of resources of talented photographers from every imaginable discipline, has proven to be a bevy of information. From taking to editing photos, there is someone who knows how you could do things better. Not only that, they are always happy to help teach!

The idea behind this blog is to give a more in depth look into my photos, and to share what I've learned along the way. The intent is to cover the techniques I used to take the photos, and the software used to post-process. Take in to account that I rarely take notes, so I'm going from memory... that being the case, I won't always have all the information.

I wouldn't say I'm a strong writer, so this will undoubtedly be littered with improper grammar and punctuations. That said, I'm hoping you're willing to look past the egregious errors and focus more on the photography. Further than that, I'd like to find the best way to share my knowledge and entertain along the way, so comments ,suggestions and questions are ultimately encouraged! Please don't make me beg :)

Keep in mind that if you intend on competing in contests, you must learn to have a thick skin. The judges are not going to be like your family and friends who just say that all your art is great. They will dissect your pictures and point out any little problem. Even if you think a photo is awesome, you may have an emotional attachment to the photo that viewers won't. This attachment has the potential to change the perception of you sees the photo. There have been several occasions where I thought I had a winner, only to find that it was weak. After taking an unbiased look at my photos and listening to the judges, I have found areas where I could improve. Another thing to take in to account is that art/photography is subjective, and everyone has their own opinion. The judges aren't always right, and you don't have to agree with what they say. Just try to take something from the critiques, as it will only help you progress! I have had photos that didn't do well during normal competitions, but ended up becoming a "Photograph of the Year" at the end of the season competition... so you just never know what you have! Learn from the comments, but don't let them discourage you!!!

CPS has a scoring system that is based on a maximum of 27 points (which is a total of 9 points max per judge). The 9 points available to judges are based on 3 categories: Composition, Impact and Photographic technique (with the ability to assign 1-3 points per category). Here's a link to the complete 2011-2015 contest rules at the Cleveland Photographic Society http://www.dansandy.me/img/g815082257-o89573895.dat?dl=2&tk=ek6vVFVneekqGhGuzhZ0K0YyLfvFPH0VpEPj8PWTF00=)

With that said, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy!

2012-02-10 - Pictorial Competition:

http://www.dansandy.me/blog/2015/7/2012-02-10-pictoral-photo-competition

2012-02-10 - Pictorial