I was a Guest Judge at the Roswell Photographic Society

This is only half the room.... yikes!

In August I was asked to be a guest judge at a local photo club named the Roswell Photographic Society. I have been asked by photo clubs in the past to give presentations on my work or to judge events, but this was different just because of the sheer size of the event. There were probably 100 people in the room. I did not have time to count because that would have just made things worse for my nervousness about public speaking. Where is the "King's Speech" guy when you need him?

I always feel under-qualified in these situations because honestly critiquing other photographer's work can be a tricky business. I consider many of these shooters to be way more talented than myself, yet I was asked to critique their art. Some people are very serious and some very sensitive, but I figure truth is the best policy... stated as tactfully as possible.

After a nervous start, I almost forgot that there were so many people listening to what I had to say. I was highly impressed with the quality of images in the contest... some were so good that I would have gladly hung them on my wall. I have a feeling that more than a few pros or advanced amateurs were sitting in the ranks.

A few people told me that I did a good job and that they were glad that I brought up some basic presentation pointers along with artistic advice that was not sugar-coated. I think I was fair, but I would hate to be on the other end. It takes a lot of guts to have your work praised or picked apart in public. This would be the Atlanta photo club to visit if you are serious about photography.

I don't feel that would be right for me to reproduce the photographer's work full size on my blog, but you can see selected photos from that night's contest by clicking the Gallery Link below...

Click image above to view some of the excellent Silhouette Contest entries.