Some of you, many of you, whatever portion of you will take this as sour grapes, and hey... whatever. I'm putting this out there because I think I'm probably not the only one, and some may have had even worse experiences. Most of my years are now behind me, and I still find myself struggling for those fifteen, ten, I'll settle for five minutes worth of sic transit gloria mundi...
I am not a professional photographer, so I don't have the contacts one would make in that world, neither have I been able to afford going to all the exclusive photo reviews, festivals and seminars where one gets to hobnob with the elite gatekeepers of the photo art gallery and publishing scene. Those are just facts- not pleas for sympathy. And those of us in the same dire boat also do other things in addition to, or instead of... we: self publish books and zines, blog, create online portfolios, Instragram, etc, etc.
Some of us (like myself) also enter the occasional competition. And I wish to highlight occasional, since it's important that one enters those that respect your copyright (read the fine print), as well as your aspirations. People will ask, "Why do you even bother?" And again, I always reply that it's a relatively cheap alternative to getting your work seen by people "in the biz," as well as an "opportunity" to edit, review and maybe even rethink your work. That said, yeah- it's still a major crap shoot writ large!
While I have garnered the rare entry into an online or gallery group show, I've yet to win anything I'd consider tres formidable (eg- prize status, feature showing, etc). And for the competition at hand- all I was striving for was finalist status. Most of the time when I fail to win anything, I have a pretty damn good notion as to why I, in fact, failed. A lot of times I've grouped together loosely knit photos into a a single theme- and kinda hoped I'd get lucky that nobody notices they're just a bunch of singles that I... kinda loosely grouped together into one of their chosen themes. Hey, I'm no pro- don't usually do themes, I'm a singles kinda guy. Other times, when I do have a strong connection going, I might only submit 4 out of a possible 6, or 8 out of a possible 10, cause that's all I got on that particular theme- and again, hope I get lucky. Well, realistically, with all the legions of competition out there- luck ain't gonna save your ass when ya haven't fulfilled the full potential, while others have. Granted. Other times, I suspect judges are looking for a very particular style, or styles- this happened on another competition I recently entered. The winners confirmed I was right.
But I was ready for this one- 10 outta 10 rock solid entries, all on topic ("Street Photography"), all dynamic compositions... I've taken my lumps, I've weathered the storm- no excuses this time 'round, luck wasn't entering into the equation... my time to shine!
And I get the usual form rejection email...
My first reaction was to email back, "100% Complete Fucking BULLSHIT!" Whether that actually got back to be seen by anyone- I don't know.
A day later I officially wrote back to Lens Culture Support:
I have no delusions of grandeur concerning myself, or my work. I submitted 10 strong, dynamic photos to your Street Photo Competition. Each one could stand individually on its own, each one contributed to and reverberated with the subject at hand- not a weak link in the entire group.
Needless to say, I'm still awaiting a response. And while I'm waiting, it also occurs to me that even though I've submitted work to Lens Culture at least a half dozen times- not once have they even featured one of my "non-leather" photos on their online promos during any of their competitions. Really, Lens Culture- not one of my photos, not a one is worthy of your site under any circumstances... Really!?!? Amazingly, a couple of competitions ago they sent me a routine email about their latest contest, and I replied, "Why should I bother since I never win?" Someone actually responded that "you never know" and that... I "consistently registered in the top 15% of their entries." Uh-huh.
These photographs are documentary in nature, and as noted in my Artist's Statement- that very documentation is currently in jeopardy due to an "Ask First" movement that raised its very dubious head last year and which may very well curtail candid photography at the event should it somehow become the norm in this celebration of personal freedoms. If these photographs are somehow deemed lewd or pornographic (certainly not their intent), then the proper action would have been for Lens Culture to both reject and refund with explanation- not that I'm holding my breath... even if I am "in the top 15%."
But I was ready for this one- 10 outta 10 rock solid entries, all on topic ("Street Photography"), all dynamic compositions... I've taken my lumps, I've weathered the storm- no excuses this time 'round, luck wasn't entering into the equation... my time to shine!
And I get the usual form rejection email...
My first reaction was to email back, "100% Complete Fucking BULLSHIT!" Whether that actually got back to be seen by anyone- I don't know.
A day later I officially wrote back to Lens Culture Support:
I have no delusions of grandeur concerning myself, or my work. I submitted 10 strong, dynamic photos to your Street Photo Competition. Each one could stand individually on its own, each one contributed to and reverberated with the subject at hand- not a weak link in the entire group.
If
my series could not be judged fairly on its own merit because of its
explicit sexual nature (consciously or unconsciously) then I should have
been notified from the get go, and my money refunded.
Sincerely,
Stan B.Needless to say, I'm still awaiting a response. And while I'm waiting, it also occurs to me that even though I've submitted work to Lens Culture at least a half dozen times- not once have they even featured one of my "non-leather" photos on their online promos during any of their competitions. Really, Lens Culture- not one of my photos, not a one is worthy of your site under any circumstances... Really!?!? Amazingly, a couple of competitions ago they sent me a routine email about their latest contest, and I replied, "Why should I bother since I never win?" Someone actually responded that "you never know" and that... I "consistently registered in the top 15% of their entries." Uh-huh.
These photographs are documentary in nature, and as noted in my Artist's Statement- that very documentation is currently in jeopardy due to an "Ask First" movement that raised its very dubious head last year and which may very well curtail candid photography at the event should it somehow become the norm in this celebration of personal freedoms. If these photographs are somehow deemed lewd or pornographic (certainly not their intent), then the proper action would have been for Lens Culture to both reject and refund with explanation- not that I'm holding my breath... even if I am "in the top 15%."
So on to the photographs... five in B&W/five in color- best of both worlds!
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
Check out the utterly smooth transition from B&W to Color... bound and nekid guy in front of a chain link fence on one side/bound and nekid guy in front of a chain link fence on the other- smooth as butter, I tell ya!
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
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| Photo: © S. Banos |
Change your last mame to Arbus. You will then be heralded as a stunning visionary.
ReplyDeleteYou know, at first I pretty much dismissed your comment as such an obvious oversimplification, but... when ya come down to it. That's the only way that LC would have published something like this- if a name was attached.
ReplyDeleteA couple of people have contacted me to say- what were you thinking? Did you honestly think they would publish those. And to be quite honest, the thought that they would be rejected for their subject matter did not enter my mind... ever. Until they were outright rejected, that is. Only then did that door open, and people started saying... Well, Du-uh!
Damn, I thought we had crossed that threshold a coupla thousand decades ago- at the very least. How-wrong-I-was!
Anyway, thanks to all concerned for your encouragement, and condolences. As for Lens Culture, who like to tout themselves as ever so supportive of struggling photographers and their work, seriously, all you had to say was- "Sorry, we can not publish these. Here's your money back, good luck." Is that too much? Instead, you continue to send me contest notices to this day, asking me for yet more of my money. And every time you do- I will reply with this post.
Heard back from LC today, their response did not address any of the relevant issues at hand and served to pump up their own wonderfulness, while negating any responsibility...
ReplyDelete"We appreciate your participation and sorry you didn’t win in the Street Awards competition this year. Please note that the results are subjective, especially with such a diverse jury.
We’re trying our best to help everyone through Submission Reviews and Sessions. The rest of LensCulture will always be free and entering our competitions is optional.
We are disrupting the photo competition model. We feel they should offer more benefits to all who enter, not just the < 1%. That’s why we provide a free submission review to anyone who enters a series. No one else is doing this. Our reviewers are often the same people photographers pay hundreds of $$ to see at a portfolio review. We’re getting accolades for this from key industry people as well as photographers who get the reviews. By the way, we’ve provided over 4000 reviews this year; we’re quite proud of that.
We have no expectation that you continue to submit to our competitions. However, based on our experience, if you do want to gain international recognition with your work, try to submit your work to as many good competitions as you can afford (Critical Mass, Aperture, FOAM, etc). That’s what we have learned winners do. We recommend a number of good competitions in our free guide to photo competitions and in our submission reviews.
If you have any ideas on how we can further help photographers move forward with their career, we’d love to hear them."
MY REPLY:
If someone's work is going to be ("subjectively") rejected outright because of its subject matter (eg- sexual content) as opposed to its overall quality, then the participant's work has not been judged- it has been summarily disqualified. That is your right; but then, in all fairness- the participant should be notified outright, and his entry fee returned in full.
Sincerely,
Stan Banos
I see they are going to have a gallery show in SF of the winners. You should mount a sidewalk display of yours as a protest.
ReplyDelete