It was with great trepidation that I actually entered the 2011 International Loupe Awards this year.  I say with trepidation for a couple of reasons;  1) I have never entered an international competition before; 2) Not only have I never entered an international competition before, it is my first time entering as a Professional; 3) There is always a fear that the photos will come back with negative feedback.

I’ll skip over points 1) and 2) for now.  Point 3) however, is a sticking point for a lot of photographers, no matter what level.  I remember attending a seminar with the amazing Tony Hewitt where he gave his version of the same story.  He relayed that in his earlier days he had similar fears but he stressed that we had to seek this kind of feedback to grow as an artist.  I agree with this wholeheartedly.  We have to be open to the fact that something we create and that we absolutely love may be met with indifference by our peers.  As difficult as it may be, we need to confront these fears and put ourselves, well our work at least, out there to be judged.  That was my challenge to me by entering the awards.

Back to points 1 and 2 – So how did I do?  Out of the four photos I submitted I received two Silver – one in Sport, the other in Photojournalism and one Bronze in Landscape of all things!  I feel good about the results and certainly didn’t expect to do that well – so very excited!!

Side Note: Photographer Keith Ladzinski was with me when I took two of these shots so just maybe he was my lucky charm