1. TREES ONLINE EXHIBITION COMPETITION: A.Smith Gallery- Deadline: March 18, 2024

This was my first competition entry. I chose this competition because of the subject matter, though I was hesitant as there was no request for information about the work and images submitted were treated as single images, rather than a series.

The call was for photographers of all levels to submit work reflecting the theme “trees” to A Smith Gallery by March 18, 2024. Exhibition Dates | April 12 to May 23, 2024: https://asmithgallery.com/exhibitions/trees-5/ – Online Gallery and a reception. The entry fee for 5 images was $40 and I paid $20 as well to have a 30 minute post competition review with the gallery directors.

The Juror for “trees” was Wendi Schneider, Denver based photographer, and artist, widely known for her luminous gold leafed influenced by a background in painting and art history, Schneider layers oils on her photographs to manipulate the boundaries between the real and the imagined. I realised the importance of researching the jurors after the competition was judged, as all images chosen were akin to her artistic style.

Dear Niki

Thank you for entering A Smith Gallery’s “trees” exhibition.  Unfortunately, your work was not selected by the juror Wendi Schneider for the exhibition. Wendi had to make some very difficult decisions in her jury process of the images submitted. The quality of the 1,365 submitted images was outstanding.  Regrettably, many excellent images were not included in the final 55 that were selected.  To view the selected images, please see:  https://asmithgallery.com/exhibitions/trees-5/

It has been a pleasure seeing your images and I hope that you will enter future calls.

Sincerely,

Amanda Smith

Gallery Director

A Smith Gallery

p o box 175

johnson city, tx

www.asmithgallery.com

amanda@asmithgallery.com

Though I was not chosen for the exhibition it was good that I entered and went through the process for the first time. I had to conform with the submission guidelines: Digital images should be up to 1800 pixels on the longest side saved in JPEG format at 72 ppi. Each image should be labelled with consecutive numbers followed by your name, i.e. 1FirstName_LastName.jpg. The number should correspond with the number on the application form.  This I navigated successfully.

I selected 5 images for submission that could stand alone, and then for the review they asked for a further 5 images.

My notes from the verbal review of my work:

• Images submitted all strong, quality excellent
• They awaken your senses

They asked for my questions:

• I asked how to submit when you are working from a body of Work and yet only single images are asked for with no opportunity for context. They suggested look carefully at the jurors, as jurors often selects work of her own type, but this is not always the case. Sometimes jurors will select work different to their own as a change.
• I asked if Jurors see titles. They said in their case no, they number them, but that where are used titles work well. I think if I was submitting with no context in future I would add a signposting title.
• I asked what genre they see my work as. They said, fine art, though they said that increasingly fine art photography is defined by post production changes…

They suggested to look to enter competitions which call for Bodies of work, or at least those that ask for artist statements as my story is strong and important.

They also advised that I shouldn’t be put off putting my work out there for the same reason. I discussed my concern that because of the sensitive nature of my work, I don’t want to share my work locally, so maybe I should share away from here in some way.

I asked for advice on how to gain feedback and of course they said by portfolio reviews. They suggested I might try:

• The Los ángeles Centre for Photography
• The Carmel Center for Photographic Art – Anne Jastrab
• The Griffin Museum
• Photo fest
• Atlanta photography group.

My concern remains how to do this with minimal financial investment as I am not aiming to take the work forwards after SYP.

• I asked about how to contact other photographers who submitted for feedback/support. They advised that some have websites, or to google, or to use Instagram. They will add the contact details/websites to the winning gallery images, so I will contact one or two of those whose work I like, as a way of networking. Those I thought would be of interest were David Lang, Leslie Giem and Ann Milne. However, having researched their work it isn’t relevant to my project, concept or style. I

Reviewing the artists chosen I made a note of:

• Ann Milne / Oasis in the Redwood Forest, Rotorua, New Zealand / annwebbphotography.com, though After research she is a ‘straightforward’ landscape photographer from New Zealand, her competition image is unlike any of her other work.
• David Lang / Spreading Wings / the 27 / davidglangphotography.com, Some tree images – all I phone work
• Leslie Gleim / New Life, Ohia Tree / lesliegleim.com- Beautiful work but not relevant to my work

Although thought the gallery owners reviewing was weak, I did gain some insights into how to choose what to submit to and how. It was also a good practice run for me and I lerant to have pertinent questions ready.

I will watch out for the Gallery Talk with the gallery directors discussing all 55 images.  The Gallery Talk will be posted in the blog section of the website. The online exhibition as well as the GalleryTalk will be permanently archived after the end of the exhibition: trees (2024) At: https://asmithgallery.com/exhibitions/trees-5/ (Accessed 10/04/2024).