The Mundane and the Rollercoaster

It's been a week of not-much and also quite-a-lot around here.

Sienna has had a cough all week, she had the first day of term at home but then managed two days at school, enough to fit in the quintessential play date with her best friend :) Unfortunately she spent yesterday throwing her little guts up all day, but she seems a lot chirpier today and has her appetite back. I've also had some sort of fatigue-fuzzy headed sort of virus thingy so it's pretty much been a quiet week at home, not doing a lot or getting a lot done, for that matter.

Scored 75 - Family Category

On the other hand, a lot of Monday and Tuesday was spent with the laptop open watching the AIPP VIC awards judging on livestream, making occasional notes and baking carrot cupcakes. I joined the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) at the end of last year, which means I will be an 'Emerging Member' for two years before I'm eligible to be an 'Accredited' member. Anyway, anyway, I entered the VIC awards and was very excited to receive two silver awards, one for an image I entered in the 'Family' category and one in the 'Weddings' category.

Scored 73 - Family Category

According to the AIPP newsletter, "A Silver Award is considered to be a high standard of professional skill. The judges are looking for something exemplary, something that is over and beyond what we do on a day to day basis. For this reason, many very good professional photographs don't get a Silver Award, not because they don't reach an acceptable standard, rather because they didn't excite or impress other professional photographers who probably shoot the same type of work on a daily basis."

Scored 73 - Wedding Category

So now I have something new in my arsenal against my own sense of inadequacy (that comes and goes), which is always useful. I have a level of peer recognition that may be useful for marketing purposes, perhaps. I entered 9 images, 2 got Silver Awards, 6 got scores in the 70s ("acceptable to very good professional standard") and 1 in the 60s (needs improvement). I also got a far better idea of what sort of images connect with the judges and what technical aspects / style aspects tend to be viewed well (or, not very well). I watched hours of judging and sometimes found myself astonished at results, while at other times I understood them completely.

Scored 75 - Portrait Category

It is so subjective, in that opinions and emotions are involved, also fantastic because very experienced and technically advanced experts are involved, and a great learning experience either way. I've still gone through the "maybe I'll quit photography" phases this week, among other conflicted thought processes, but will keep plodding along for now. I know myself well enough to know that self-condemnation is inevitable, I've just got to refocus and keep going. It applies to housework, parenting, gardening, scrapbooking and pretty much anything I get my hands on, LOL, so it's part of the process. Process of living? Dreaming, perhaps? Anyway.

Scored 75 - Wedding Category

Scored 75 - Portrait Category

Now, I get to consider whether I will enter the APPAs with those Silver images or not...I plan on attending a 'Print Critique' at the AIPP - a step which really should have come before these awards, but I was a bit slap-happy about entering to be honest - to help me decide about that next week.

I've also uploaded this new recipe to Season with Saltbush - click over to have a look. It's easy and can be adjusted to use conventional herbs if you don't have any native ones in your pantry. And, speaking of subjectivity, this recipe and image was submitted to TasteSpotting and rejected for "composition, lighting" but at the same time was accepted by FoodGawker and got 364 favourites in 2 days, the highest of any of my recipes. Like most things, it just needs the right audience.