Confessions of a print competition junkie…

I’m sick. I’m “oh.em.gee. I just dropped my $3500 body on the cement floor and watched it smash to pieces!” ready to hurl.

I’m waiting on a comp print to arrive from the lab. I ran some tests, I ordered 8x10s and different finishes until I thought I’d made the correct choice for how to treat my B&W work for competition. I was going with a new lab for the first time for competition prints and I wanted to do everything perfectly. I recently decided to “step it up” with print competition by going back to entering physical prints, only. So I’m waiting, anxiously on the printed version of an image that I just did quite well with in a digital format, recently. But how is it going to look as a print?

Now, it’s not like I have an incredibly vast length of experience in print competition, heck no, that’s kind of laughable. My first comp was in the Fall of 2009. It was a digital competition. I think I entered 6 images, probably because that’s how many lines were on the entry form, but the rules do allow as many entries as you wish to send. Anyway – my home state is Ohio and we were home to the Mid East Regionals in 2010 and the Northeast District in 2012, so I’ve only recently completed my second state-only competition. Anyways – 2 State Level, 3 Districts and 3 IPCs plus 4 fall digital state level competitions is the extent of my competition experience. Plus those couple of times I entered Kentucky/Photo Expo online judging just for extra input on some things. OK, I’m done now.

I don’t belong to a local affiliate, (and I hear those have multiple print competitions per year), so my print competition experience is fairly limited. However, I live, breathe, eat and sleep print competition when I am in that groove (prepping for comps or at a convention), plus I’m a little on the OCD side, so I have researched a lot (some say excessively so) on the topic. Anything being taught or written about print competition, I’ve found it. It’s a sickness, I tell ya.

So anyway… back to this print thing…

The first year of competition, 2010, I entered prints at all levels of competition where it was an option and the final result was 4 merits at IPC (I think I had 2 seals going into IPC that year). My entries were printed by a combination of Bay Photo and Millers. The printing process I went through was hilarious. I ordered some prints in both Fuji and Kodak metallics, because at some point there was a special award for just metallic and I, silly little rookie, actually thought I might have a chance at it. 🙂 I finally decided to stay with Miller’s after hearing so many compliments about them and having a fellow PPO member report that all their merit prints had been printed by Millers. Plus, Bay Photo is clear out in California and the overnight and rush fees are too high. Yes, at some point in time I got stuck for time and re-printed something at the last minute and had to pay extra. Unfortunately, I haven’t entirely learned that lesson and still find myself pressed for time and sending images into the lab later than I should.

So, year one, all prints, all merits.

In 2011, I entered all digital. Don’t really remember why. I’m a scrooge, so it very well may have been a money issue. Entering digitally and not paying extra for all of those prints, plus the case shipping fee was a pretty good deal. Plus there was the added convenience on being able to work on my entries right up until the last minute. Yep, I generally seem to enter on the last day. I really need to stop doing that.

And the results were that all 4 sealed at the District level and I just happily forwarded them without changes to IPC, where two images went loan and one image went Showcase. Knock me over with a feather. Still, I’m not going to give the credit to the fact that these were digital entries. I was a better photographer the 2nd year, that’s it. I started competing very early in my studio photography career, so I’m still improving – I haven’t leveled out by a long shot – and that’s not bragging – I am still on the learning curve for a lot of things. I have a LONG way to go.

Then in 2012 I did all prints for District, sealed 2,used those and added 2 digital files to the case for IPC. One of the prints went loan. One of the digitals merited, one didn’t. And it was just a bad image. Ouch. I entered it at a state level competition later and it didn’t do well at all. Oh well.

So – yeah, a grand total of 3 or so years. Some experience, but not the ultimate authority by a long shot.

But, I’ve recently had a revelation and decided to go to prints only for future competitions. Because that’s how I want to do it. And I thought I had it all figured out; the paper, the mounting, the finish, the lamination. And I pushed the “send now” button in ROES and breathed a sigh of relief.

And about an hour later, the phone rang, it was Bill. From the lab. He wanted to double check that I meant to indicate the leather laminate for my competition print. Well, truthfully, I *did* wrestle with that choice. I had tested everything with a different competition image, but this order was for an image I had just recently added to my print competition entries and hadn’t had time to test anything with. Assuming, since it was B&W as well, that the same lamination would work for it.

Never assume.

I know now that I should run the same tests with each individual competition print. Woah, Nellie, the dollars start adding up here, don’t they?

Back to Bill. I talked at length with Bill. About my experience with print competition (so he could tailor his input to my knowledge level) and mostly, about the print itself. Hello?? When is the last time your lab called and talked to you about your competition print? I was astounded and almost missed part of what he was saying because I was so amazed that he called. In the past, I sent my image to the lab, click the little “competition print” box that lets them know to adjust the density and then sent the order. A few days later, I get my print. End of story, Easy Peasey.

So, what is with this Bill dude calling me? Well, he was concerned that the leather laminate may prevent the judges from seeing the detail in the print. He suggested not using laminate and switching to a high gloss paper. Which made total sense.

Until he mentioned the paper was Fuji Pearl. Woah. That’s metallic. I dunno about that. I guess it’s considered “high gloss” but everyone I know calls it “Fuji’s version of metallic.” And I’ve seen the metallic competition prints that should not have been printed on metallic. I own some. I completely ruined getting a merit score once because I didn’t know that metallic blew out whites easily. And the only thing white in my image was the subject’s eyes. Groan.

So, I tend to keep away from metallic. Because I haven’t yet learned when it’s okay to use it. All I know is that it was extremely over-used in the past and I don’t want to make a major mistake with a print that scored a 90 digitally a few short weeks ago. The last thing I want to do is kill an excellent image with a lousy presentation.

But Bill’s the pro. I prepared the image to the best of my ability and now I’m turning it over to the printing professional, so he can do what he does, to the best of his abilities. I told him I was going to trust him on this because he was the pro and he said he really wanted me to see the print on this paper. He had conviction, so I had faith.

But, oh man, I’m sick. The faith is wavering. [Bill, if you happen to be reading this: No pressure. 😉 ]And I’m waiting for the image, which probably has a few days yet to get here. Meanwhile, I have 3 more images to print. And there will be NO time to reprint those if I don’t like them, and the only other option will be to send them in digitally to the Northeast District. Against my pledge to switch to prints. Gah!!

But…

I got Bill on my side. A man who has been working on competition prints for many years and was personally recommended by the owner of the business as a person who I could ask for help. Again, Bill, no pressure.

Anyone else go through this? I know of a good number of photographers who print their own competition images. I don’t think I’d go to those lengths, but the idea of having the resources to print art prints for clients, makes it tempting, but it’s also against my religion to purchase a piece of photography equipment that cost more than my car, so I’m at a standstill on this one…

Stay tuned for the end to this story and other amusing tales from a print competition junkie.