"Thank you for submitting your entry for the above division and class. Unfortunately, your entry was not chosen to advance for further judging."
That was the terse and template response I received, 5 times in rapid succession, to my local county fair photography contest entries. AKA thanks, but no thanks. I didn't even make it past the general submission round to be actually judged in the judging rounds.
Hilariously, the judges/organizers voiced their sympathy under a separate "additional information" area towards the end of the email and not in the main rejection message, as if it's just an inconsequential, nearly forgotten footnote:
"We understand your disappointment and encourage you to try again next year. New judges are empanelled each year."
Over the past ~350 hours and couple years of shooting and editing, I know my photography has improved. I've been encouraged by photographers, mentors, and friends alike - all reviewing my photos and giving me notes on composition, lighting, and perspective. People have requested my images and paid for my work. I spent untold hours poring over all of my favorite shots from the past 2 years and asking people with an eye for photography for their opinions - which would they submit? Then, I put $40 behind my submissions and placed my bets in landscape, animals, plants, and things.
It was a calculated risk - I'd improved a ton, but would I be good enough to even make exhibition? The answer was: not this year. And yet, I'm not discouraged - if anything, I'm more determined and ready to prepare for next year. Even with the perfunctory "try again" note from the judges.
Don't get me wrong - failure sucks. The work and the anticipation naturally build towards reaching a peak, not falling off a cliff. But if you don't take calculated risks and try, you'll never be sure if you could have reached that new apex. Not to mention, my calculated risk was putting up $40 to back my work - a minor potential loss compared to major potential gain of personal satisfaction, public awareness, and $400 prize money.
I didn't start this project with the intention of winning photography contests, but it is another benchmark to progress and improvement in an artistic space where subjectivity plays a role in addition to technical competency. And I like what I've shot. And I want to win. But, I'm patient and recognize that unlike some of these professional photographers who won, I'm an amateur with work and school dividing my attention. Nevertheless, I've got winning in the back of my mind. I'm still navigating the new role at work and now embarking on serious primary research work on my master's thesis, but ready to continue shooting when I can, even if it means shooting just a few hours here and there with the DSLR.
Of course, you don't need fancy equipment to work on composition and perspective - as all of those "Shot on iPhone" ads, I just need to open my eyes and look as I'm jetting around from place to place - hence how much more active I am on Instagram than on the blog.
TL;DR: When it comes time again to submit for a photography contest, I'll be ready to take another calculated risk, even if it means failing.
Reviewing/editing for county fair entry: 5 hours
New Hours to Date: 353
Failed Landscape - lunar eclipse over Huntington Beach
Failed Plants - dew drops on moss in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Failed Animal - a bird at the San Diego Zoo
Failed Thing - Foucault Pendulum, Griffith Observatory