Competitions

Lens Culture Guide

Our research task this week was to research different photography competitions. i downloaded Lens culture's guide on how to get the most out of photography competitions and read through this first. The guide was is really helpful as it gets you to think about many different factors of competitions you wouldn't nessisarily consider especially if your a begginer in photography or entreating your first competitions. these factors include; Exposure Opportunites: Online/Exhibitions, Who the competition judges are, and whether the organizations are well-known and well-respected in the international photography world.

The guide also offers tips and advice from industry professionals. 

“First of all, I look for clarity...Show me what you are doing in that first image.”
– W.M. Hunt 

Following reading this guide I've chosen to look at numerous competitions and take into consideration what Lens Cultures guide advices you to, such as, whether the prizes are cash or gifts such as camera equipment, who the judges are and whether they are student or just general competitions open to all. I really like how there are student competitions available as this makes me feel more at ease with entering them. 

Before reading Lens Cultures guide i would probably never bother entering a competition as i wouldn't feel good enough or like id have a chance of winning. However i now understand how much of a great opportunity entering competitions provides as it gets your work out there, seen by others in the industry and seen by the judges. I feel like entreating competitions is a brilliant way of getting yourself and your work known. 

The Competitions i looked at were;

Lens Culture Awards
AOP Student/Open Awards
Fujifilm Student Awards
New York Photo Awards
National Portrait Gallery Photographic Portrait Prize RPS Awards 
Exhibtr Student Photography Competition


URL

I chose to enter the Exhibtr Student Photography Competition with a photograph I've just taken for me recent project of editorial photography. Its a documentary photograph of a street in Blackhall Colliery. There are most likely inmates I've taken over the past year of studying this degree that i am probably more proud of and show more photographic and technical skill however i wanted to enter something recent and something which has meaning to me. This style of photography, documenting the north east, is something which i am so incredibly instrerested in, so as my first competition entry i wanted to show this. 

I mainly chose this competition because of two factors, 

1. It was free
2. There was no set theme
URL

Proffesional Studies, Digital Archive

Student Influence;

CCAD Student:
Jessica Holloway 



During our most recent professional studies lesson we were shown examples of work by a third year student who has now graduated. We were shown the students work simply to show us what a photo archive was and how we could create one ourselves. When looking at the students example of a digital archive i find one students work very inspiring. 

Jessica Holloway had captured images around a North east town on a film camera using coloured film. This is exactly what i was hoping to do for my Editorial project but is also something i find interesting to look at in relation to my professional studies work as documentary photography is what i am most interested in. 

https://www.facebook.com/jessholloway.photography/photos_stream

I think these night time shots look amazing on the coloured film, however i can imagine capturing the image perfecting in terms of not over or under exposing it is easier said than done. This style however is definitely something i feel inspired to try myself.

When i first got our assignment brief my immediate thought was street photography, by that I mean photography of people on the streets not just the streets themselves. Although i think the streets and buildings in the North East look interesting and tell a story of their own, I just felt that actually stopping people in the street and capturing images like what Jessica has done here would mean you may have a bit of a chat with the individual and end up finding out something 'extraordinary' about them. My only concern or set back for this idea however is whether ill have the confidence to stop people in the street. 

Jess' Digital Archive.

http://ox-anonymous.tumblr.com/archive/2014/2

Jess used tumblr for her digital archive and blog. This is mainly because tumblr was the most commonly used site used by students to create their blogs where as now its blogger. I like the idea of using tumblr as my digital archive separate to my blogger blog. I am familiar with the layout and how to use tumblr and feel for me personally this would be the most suitable and successful way to present my work in a digital archive.