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FTP Blues, A Contest Case Study

I uploaded photographs for a contest recently, and they were lost to the digi-ether. In the end, it was my fault. I was supposed to use a web-uploader for low-res, and an ftp site for hi-res. I used the ftp upload for low-res and, well, didn’t exactly follow directions…

No tears. A good lesson.

I thought I might post my entry here, to show what I’ve been up to recently. First, I wanted to give a shout to Gavin Rooke’s competition, called “Society of Photographers“. This year’s edition is called “6×6“. Gavin’s a good guy, has great taste (check out the list of judges), but most of all, he’s using the web to do more than build another photo sharing site or photoblog.

Gavin’s created a dynamic contest that uses comments and favorites (elicited from both judges and entrants, in a closed pool) to anonymously winnow the entries from 50 photographers to the winning six. I recognized many of the entries by their work, but still, anonymization goes a long way to cutting-down on favoritism. Last year’s contest was 10×10, in which photographers submitted ten photos on a particular project. Books were made, and there was a gallery show. 6×6 will produce six photographers, with six pictures each, six books, and a traveling show. And I thought I was busy…

This year I’ve been working on a project about fandom, and what it means to be an avid watcher. Rather than make formal portraits, I’ve chosen to shoot candids that show fans as they are, in moments in which their specific affinities are being individually expressed. Or something like that. The text or photos aren’t bulletproof, but they’re current, and in process.

Here’s what my entry looked like when I uploaded… The word part was required.

6x6

(Details: Hyde Park / Nashville Superspeedway (2) / Wimbledon / Atlanta / Chickamauga)