Picture 444 | The Final Contest...

ALRIGHT!

THIS IS IT!

As you can see with the title of the post, it's contest time!

Not only that, it’s the last time I’m entering this contest.

I’ve been entering this contest for five years now.

I’ve won pretty much everything…

It’s time to move on to other things… if we can find any.

Plus, it says it’s an amateur contest and I’m a professional now.

But then we checked the brochure and it doesn’t say that anymore.

So maybe I could keep going.

But no.

I think it's time to move on.
Here's links to the first, second, third, and fourth contests.

Anyways, here’s what happened.

Everything started off great when I got the new brochure for this year's contest in the mail.

I was actually in it!

But I wasn’t credited.

I was mixed in with a bunch of other people in a large collage.

At least I was there!

I’m happy.

After that….. I didn’t do anything contest related for six months!

I was still in college, so we didn’t have enough time to go walking in the parks.

Once I was down with college, we did actually go to one of the newest parks.

It was one of the categories for this year’s contest.

Photos had to be shot in that new park.

So, we did eventually get out but we didn’t get much.

But luckily I shot a boatload of photos while we were there, so I had a lot to choose from.

I went through every photo that I shot in the parks, looking for any good ones.

If you looked at that picture above, I'm missing two awards.

Best of Show, and Best Black and White.

We tried last year for Best B&W but I didn’t get it!

Maybe because I was also trying for second place as well and there was a color category.

I wasn’t putting 100% of my effort into Best B&W.

So, this year I did!

I even set my computer to be black and white while I was looking through the photos.

Seeing which on had the best contrast between the blacks and whites.

Then after getting those down to 30 photos, I went to my Aunt's and we narrowed down the group to the nine that we were turning in.

They looked awesome.

Here's a link to them.

Moving on, all the good black and white ones were in the nature category.

That’s where I was hoping to win Best B&W.

That was all the hard work.

After that, it was simply getting printed, matted, and turned in.

The printing was the fun part.

We have always been printing these photos at home.

Every time we printed them somewhere else, the colors would be off.

But since this year everything is 100% B&W, we didn’t have to worry about that.

So, since we were going through a store that allowed me to do something I always wanted to do.

PRINT LARGER PHOTOS!

11x14 photos always win. I’ve noticed that.

So, we splurged a little bit and made the three photos in the nature category 11x14 prints.

Side note, we found a 50% off coupon.

So even though we spent more money on lager photos, we actually saved money!

Anyways like I said, the good ones were in the nature category, so I was increasing my chances of getting that Best B&W!!

I WANTED IT!!

I didn’t care for Best of Show.

We did have a few photos that might win Best of Show, so I still could happen.

But I wanted Best Black and White more!

I love black and white!

I started out in photography with just black and white film.

It’s in my DNA!!

I WANTED THAT RIBBON!!!!!

…………………

………..

…..

…

.

I got a little carried away.

So, now we are at the time when the contest took place.

It was yesterday.

Did I win anything?

Did I finally get Best Black and White?

Did I get what I wanted?

I’ve been entering black and white photos since I started this contest because I’ve always wanted that award.

I’ve been trying for five years to get that award.

Did it happen?

Did we end on a high note?

OF COURSE I DID!!

Like last year, I went for second place and I got it.

This just proves once again that you can always get what you want in life, you just have to put in the effort.

I’m still ecstatic that I finally did it.

When you see that video, I look calm.

But I was trying really hard to not jump around with joy.

Speaking of the video!!

ONTO THE VIDEO!

The video is a long one, coming in at just over 41 minutes.

There is a reason for that.

Usually with these videos, I split them up into parts.

Part one involves that videos of use walking in the parks and shooting some photos.

Part two is us getting ready for the contest.

That would be us picking the good photos, printing them off and turning them in.

Then, the third part is the actual contest results and my thoughts.

This year, we didn’t do a lot of walking in the parks because I was still in college.

And then parts two and three don’t take up too much time on their own.

I decided to put it all on one video, knowing that the video shouldn’t be too long.

I think it worked out nicely.

Yes, it’s long.

But the time flies by pretty quick.

You can CLICK HERE to see the video or watch it below.

Alright.
That’s it.
It’s over.
My five year journey in the contest has ended the best way possible.
Yeah, I didn’t get Best of Show.
But I accepted the fact that I was never going to win it a long time ago.
That’s why I never pushed for it.
I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished.
It’s the greatest feeling to go for something and actually succeed in what you set out to do.
You can do anything if you actually try.
Things aren’t going to be handed to you.
I wanted a photography job, but I knew I was never going to get it.
But then I thought…. “You know what….. I can get it… I just need to GO get it…. The opportunity isn’t going to appear here at Wally World.”
So I went for it.
I started this contest to get my name out there
As a way to get people to see my work and what I can do.
I started going to college to get a photo degree.
The company I work for had a presentation one day about what they do and I was hooked.
One of my classes had a job shadow assignment and I knew where to go.
That assignment helped me land the job and the fact that I was almost done with my degree.
All this would have happened if I didn’t try.
 Now I have a job that I actually love with people who care.
Just that simple act of doing something made all this happen.
I’ve noticed I’m inspiring a few people.
I posted this when I got my diploma.

After this, I was a few of my friends posted that they have decided to go to college and pressure their dreams.
I feel like motivated them to try.
It feels great.
I never thought I would be an inspiration.
Anyways, I’m starting to ramble.
I’m going to go.
The next post is going to be another reflective post.
We passed my tenth anniversary of starting my photo journey.
But I didn’t have time to do anything about it.
Plus, we are coming up in the 10th year of the channel and the blog.
So, the next post will be a recap of the past ten years.
I want it to be good, so it’s going to take a while.
I’ll see you then.

One more thing….
Thanks Aunt Kay for forcing at gunpoint to go to college.
I wouldn’t be where I am if you and the rest of the family didn’t nag me every five seconds to pursue my dream.
I owe all this to you and the family.
Thank you.