NW Dive and Travel Photo competition

[lynchpit2]

They are now charging $5 per photo to enter this contest saying they wanted to offer better more awesome prizes for the entrants.
My opinion is that they did not get enough sponsors for the contest so they decided to make the entrants pay for their own prizes as you can either take a cash prize or an "envelope" with a trip in it.
My thought is they will get far less entries and will dilute the quality of pictures entered.

Thoughts?
Oh and if you are part of the show please divulge that in your comments.....

[Peter Guy]

I tried to enter last year and have no idea if my pictures were entered and considered. I do know I didn't get any notice of anything and didn't see any of my pictures there.

Won't be attempting to enter this year.

Rick will be at the Moss Bay Dive Club meeting, Tuesday, March 5 in Kirkland if you'd like to talk with him about this.

[Scubak]

...and dont forget about the outrageous admission prices...
K

[spatman]

...and dont forget about the outrageous admission prices...
K

I thought it was $10 for a day...

[Grateful Diver]

The past couple of years the show has seen higher prices and lower participation. I think that's a bad sign in an economy where people are struggling more to make ends meet and get the most value out of their dollar. Although I've won a couple prize at past Expo's, I wasn't really entering the photo contest for that so much as just the recognition that comes with comparing pictures with so many other photographers out there. Basically, I'd rather have lower value prizes than have to pay to enter. I probably won't submit photos this year.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Dusty2]

I have always avoided entering contests that require you to pay. But on the other hand I have pretty much decided not to enter any more photo contests. As Peter said unless you win or see your pictures on the monitor you never get any feedback at all. The thing with photo contests is they are so fickle to start with. It all depends on the judges and what they are looking for. There are so many entries and so many great pix how can you pic just a few out of the bunch and not pass up others that are equally deserving. Just on our board alone I see dozens of photos that I think are contest quality. How could you sort through those alone and pick just a couple. Now with so many people getting into full frame CCD's it's even worse!

[Scubie Doo]

Personally, I do not mind the fact they are requiring payment. However, I agree with Rich that photo competitions are very fickle. Regardless of the competition, I commonly look at the winning photos and think "Wow, that judge's choice should have won instead of the 1st place finisher." It is very tough to determine what the judges are looking for. Many times, they look for promotional photos that show well in publication.

I also agree with Bob, sizing my photos up with other great PNW photographers has always been more important than the prize. It is a nice way to see where your photos rank (at least in the judge's mind) among other great shooters out there. I also enjoy looking at the entries to see what others are capturing underwater. It can be very inspiring to see what others photographers are shooting. With that said, I will probably enter a couple photos and I really hope to see some of our own NWDC members enter at least one or two of their favorites from 2012.

Oh yeah, Rich. I believe the last several winning Cold Water Macro shots were taken with a G10. So ha!

[lundysd]

I know there are a lot of very talented up and coming photographers on this board, so let me just put this out there....

Having others evaluate and appreciate your work is a very important part of the photographic growth process. WIthout an outside influence to tell us what works and what doesn't, we become very stagnant and fail to continue growth (same thing happens in diving). If you aren't being pushed, you aren't improving. That being said, don't take these sorts of competitions too seriously. Often they're judged by just a few people who may have very specific ideas on what they like and don't like. Some judges like unique, but technically flawed, photos. Others prefer simple composition and subjects but perfect execution. Simply put -- there is no way to know what will win each year, and losing doesn't mean your photo isn't as good or better than the winners.. If you win -- awesome! Enjoy that feeling and use it to drive you forward. If you don't.... don't worry about it. I've entered a ton of photo contests over the years, and I haven't won anything from any of them in several years now (despite having grown immensely as a photographer during that time). Instead of critiquing my work from the eyes of the critics at these contests, I now simply ask trusted friends and colleagues (photographers and non-photographers alike) which shots they like the best, because that's who I want to enjoy my photos anyways.

[kitsapdiver]

Well put scott, as always!

Unfortunately I think this is the latest of several things I've heard that seem to indicate the EXPO is heading in the wrong direction.

[LCF]

I've never entered a photo competition, but most of the other competitions of any sort in which I have entered have had entry fees. I guess this is a change, so it's unwelcome, but it wouldn't discourage me from entering if I had any photos I thought were contest material.