IPC 2013: I Hate My Case (part 4)

It started as a bit of a lark a few years ago when a photographer I know, Jeff, titled a forum post “I Hate My Case.” It’s the place where the horde of us who also competed and had love/hate relationships with our cases commiserated together while waiting for the IPC results. Since that time,  “I Hate Your Case” has become a good luck wish, in a way, much like actors bid “break a leg!” before going on stage.

A few days ago, I talked about how I fell in love with my case. I love the people in the images. I know that none of those images is the best it can be and there’s some question in my mind about whether I’m the appropriate person who can make them the best they can be. This case has taught me that I need to “up” my Photoshop skills. There were suggestions made for improvement that are outside of my skill set, should I want to attempt them. At this point in time, I’d re-shoot one of the images instead of trying to fix a particular issue through the use of Photoshop.

So, because this case is a reminder, proof if you will, of a lack in skill set, I hate it. Because I know the images within it could be better, I hate it. Because I feel a sense of personal failure in not having the guts to break a seal, I hate it. Because it needed work at the exact same time I had a major equipment failure that prevented me from working on it, I hate it. Because I am now thinking of three different ways I could have posed one of the images, I hate it. Because I will always wonder if the paper I used was the best choice, I hate it.

For a million little reasons I hate it and I will continue to hate it while my palms sweat as I await the results.

And then I’ll probably love it, again.

To be continued…

Get Caught Up:

Part 1: Goodbye Cruel Case!

Part 2: I Broke My #1 Rule

Part 3: District Critiques and Breaking Seals