Losing It?

Another no-win evening for me at the photo club tonight. The judge was very critical, which I am not against and I can appreciate why some people are not keen on Infrared/Lensbaby/blurry photography, but some of the comments were a bit baffling....

For this shot of my wife & myself in a hotel room, where Mrs Tuttle was putting on some make up using a handheld mirror, the first words were "I don't understand it". The Judge then quoted "the lady appears to be holding a balloon while putting on her mascara".(!!!) This got a few sarcastic laughs from watching members and a couple of them sitting next to me just shook theirs heads in disbelief! I even got a sympathetic pat on the back!

Seeing that this was my first image (of four) that was looked at, I knew the rest of my efforts had no chance whatsoever. So I won nowt. This infrared Lenbaby shot, a personal favourite of mine (many of my friends, work colleagues & family also like it) was dismissed for being too fuzzy on the edges not enough black sky.

Am I being a bad loser? Am I being unreasonable? Am I bragging about my work? I have been in the club for nearly 3 years now and I have got used to the negative comments (though not always) on my work, because at the end of the day it is just an opinion. Anyway, I enjoy producing the images I share on blipfoto, Facebook, the club website & competitions etc. And I know many people out there appreciate them. So thanks to you.

On a positive note, I came runner up twice in a local (Ellesmere Port) competition
called Art In The Port last week. So it aint all doom 'n' gloom!