InsaneJournal

Now get me some of those snap-snaps...
So...I'm thinking about entering my first photo contest. No money, of course, but a little prestige would be nice and I've never done anything like this before. Even if I don't win I'll probably feel good for entering. However, I'm still stuck on which specific pic I want to use, so I figured I'd invest in the wisdom of LJ to help me decide. I've narrowed my choices down to a few, although if anyone wants to go back under my photography tag and make a recommendation they're welcome to do so.



Photos must come from an international experience, whether on a study abroad program or other visit abroad.

Contestants must submit one digital photo with a title, location and description of the photo along with an Entry Form. Entries will be available for campus-wide voting and selection by judges. The judges "Top 10" selections will be displayed in the Karpen Hall Lobby from November 9-30, 2009 (Reception on Friday, November 6 from 5-6pm), contestants and winners will be highlighted on the study abroad website and may also be used in publicity.

JUDGING CRITERIA
Judging: Photos will be reviewed by a panel consisting of UNC Asheville faculty and staff.
Selection criteria may include:
1. Technical merit (clarity, focus, lighting, etc.)
2. Representation of the international experience
3. Sensitivity toward the host culture
4. Students "in action" in their host cultures and somehow exhibiting the ideals of study abroad/study away
(academic learning, culture learning, international awareness, sensitivity, and fun).

I've narrowed my choices down to a few, although if anyone wants to go back under my photography tag and make a recommendation they're welcome to do so.



The hollow-winged angels the Grand Arcade put up during December. It's a nice urban scene, if a bit creepy, but I'm unsure if it represents proper "Englishness". I'm also not completely pleased with the framing.



A backstreet in Cambridge near...I think Christ's Piece? Near the tennis courts, anyway. The angles are very nice and it's the sort of picture I like to take (looking over my pictures an alarming amount are either streets or architecture, I seem to have a thing for organized lines and curves), but again I'm not sure if it's a proper portrayal of the necessary subject.



Okay, streets, architecture, and graveyards. This is a nice one in the Mill Road graveyard, mixing the snow and stone with a sedate human element. The original is again here, I'm seriously fiddling with this one because I don't like the bit up front (for the record that's the snow-covered stone partition between Anglia Ruskin and the graveyard).



You may have seen this one before, it's from the big fair on Parker's Piece. It's got the most people in it and is a lot more active than the others, although I don't know if it's organized enough.



A carousel in yet another fair. About four or five snaps later faithinfire told me to stop taking so many pictures and actually enjoy the ride. :p I honestly don't know if this one needs cropping or not, it looks okay but I'm almost worried about the steps in the foreground. Again, its Englishness is up for debate.



Horses tied up to the front of...blast, I forget the name, it's the pub in Fen Ditton near the Triadhouse. It's a nice "ethnic" scene, with horses next to a car as an artistic mix of historical and modern. I can't shake the feeling that it's somehow on an angle and the wall gets in the way, but I sorta like it. This is actually the cropped version, the original is here if you want to see what I left out. The pole just didn't look good.



Sheeps! Sheep crossing the road in that one town in York where we got off the steam train that I don't remember where it was (Rath, help!). I find the concept of animals roaming freely around towns to be a source of continued amazement and amusement, so I took this one and about four others because it seemed so strange to me they'd be left on their own. The plume of light off to the side severely bugs me, but I know bugger-all about photoshop or other such things to fix it.



Man flying a kite on the beach at dusk in Scarborough. Simple, but perhaps too simple.



One of those little fun park thingers, also in Scarborough. I'm rather fond of this one, both the positions of the people and the organization of shapes and colors. Does it work?



A shot of King's Parade, with the Corpus Clock on the left. I'm not sure what's on the left, although I'll hazard a guess that it's Gonvile and Caius College. I find it a nice slice of life piece, with the people walking and the tourists and the cafe on the side. Its suitability for the contest is what concerns me, I'm happy with the composition.



Yes, another shot of the graveyard, this one in the spring. It's the best of the spring group and I like the spread of the tree. Might still be too generic, though.



Waiting on the platform at...whatever place in York we were waiting at for the steam train to arrive. This might be the one that comes closest to what they want, as it was something I was actually participating in and it certainly looks pretty rustic and English. Still leaving it up to the peanut gallery, though.

And these aren't really submissions, I just wanted to post them anyway.



Rath and a candy apple at one of the fairs. Rawr.



And this fellow I found nosing around my window one morning.



He seemed friendly enough, so I let him go about his business.



No tips, though. I don't think coins dropped three stories would please anyone.



Some backstory here: behind Anastasia House there's a small lot where one could park a car or two. We used it for fire drill evacuations too. The gate is locked from the outside but not the inside. Here, my arm can be seen demonstrating the exact problem with doing this on bars wide enough to reach your hand through. They eventually welded up a grating around the handle, which while effective still seems to be missing the point.