My First Photography Contest

In our quiet little value we have a little cultural gem- the American West Heritage Center. It's a family friendly place with the purpose of educating visitors about turn of the century life on a farm through hands on activities, workshops, games, demonstrations, etc. Every season they have different activities, like pioneer days in the summer, harvest fest in the fall, a winter ball, and in the spring, their biggest event of the year- Baby Animal Days. People come from all over the state with mini vans full of kids to pet the baby farm animals, ride the train, lassel a log horse, watch a horse shoe making demonstration, and take a wagon ride.

This year they offered a photography contest for local photographers. They were looking for photos to use in their marketing. They had prizes for best photo and best photographer. I entered the contest. Hey, we'd be going with the kids anyway, why not take a shot at it? Here are the photos I ended up entering.

I recently learned, much to my surprise, I won the best photographer award for this contest, and my photo of the two girls holding a lamb received an honorable mention for best picture. Here's the judges comments:

"Best Photographer: Jaclyn Black: All of her photos are very good and very useable for marketing, ads, press releases, brochures, etc. AND most of her shots apply directly to Baby Animal Days. She has a distinct style that is artistic and quirky, but her style doesn't overpower her ability to communicate a story or emotion. She has a special skill of eliciting emotion with her photos, which is a GREAT skill to have if she plans on doing more for marketing purposes."

If you look at these pictures, there really isn't anything especially creative, technical, or captivating about them. I think I won simply because I followed the guidelines the best I could to capture pictures that were very usable for marketing purposes- what I would like to see on a broshure. And it worked!