The post in which I post my thoughts on the World Nomads contest winner.

Friday, October 23, 2009

The post about the winners of the World Nomads contest is here: http://journals.worldnomads.com/scholarships/post/36171.aspx
I'm not thrilled with the winning entry.
Since I didn’t even make it to the short list, in some ways I feel I’m not qualified to pass judgement on the winner’s portfolio. After all, without making the shortlist, I’m obviously not capable of knowing what a winning group of photos would look like… Yes, I know that’s not true, but I’m really good at the whole self-doubt thing.
I wasn’t going to comment about the winner at first, because I figured I didn’t like it just because I was bummed at not winning, but reading the comments I see I'm not the only one. 
Here are the pictures from her entry. They can be seen larger at Flickr, and you can read the captions.
Go look. I'll wait.






photo sharing
Originally uploaded by black_booga








photo sharing
Originally uploaded by black_booga







photo sharing
Originally uploaded by black_booga
photo sharing

Originally uploaded by black_booga

photo sharing
5. Yah Yah, my grandfather
Originally uploaded by
black_booga


It is an excellent group of photos. They tell a story. 


But I don't feel they convey what the contest was looking for.
From the contest info: 
1. Shoot a series of photos (maximum of 5) that tell a story about a place you have visited. The judges will be looking for:
* originality
* ability to convey a story through photos
* excellent technique
Series of no more than 5 photos? check
Tell a story? check
Originality? check
Ability to convey a story through photos? check
Excellent technique? check
About a place you have visited? Not so much.
She says her “place” is her grandparents house, but only 2 of the pictures even convey that place. The other 3 could have been taken anywhere. It is an excellent group of pictures, but it is about a person, not a place. Look at that kitchen in photo #2. That is an awesome picture. It is as much about the place as it is about her grandfather. The cupboard with the plastic (aluminum foil?) over it, the piles of tupperware, the light coming through the window. That picture makes me want to see the rest of their flat. The final picture, the one that is just a portrait, it doesn't tell me anything about that place. For all I can tell it wasn't necessarily even taken in the flat. 
In comments about the judging, Jason Edwards said, “After I receive the list I have my assistant download all of the images and place them in folders without names attached. I then judge each of the entries not knowing who shot them, where they live, whether they are male or female, even their age. I do not allow myself to be influenced by anything other than the images.”
But he does have the captions. He knows she’ll be relatively young, because she’s shooting her grandparents. That probably wasn’t a big factor. But that first caption. They now know she is from Australia. In these tough economic times you can’t tell me that wasn’t at least a little consideration, the idea of not paying international airfare from halfway around the world. 
I really think the 2nd place photographer had a strong set of photos, and it does feel like it’s about a place rather than a person. There are portraits there, but they add to the sense of place. Here’s a link to his set. 
 Some of the comments other people left on the World Nomads show that I’m not the only one who feels this way. 
“...in this particular case I think that the winner is an unfair choice. This isn't sour grapes because I'm not a photographer and I didn't even enter. The brief was to tell a story about a place and I think the winner has primarily told a story about people, not a place. I don't see how her portrait shot tells a story about a place, it could have been shot anywhere. The judge previously commented that each photo should tell a story about a place, as well as the whole set together. I don't think the winner has done that. I think it's a very disappointing result for all those people that focused on the place, as the brief directed them to.”
“Yes, portraits were the best way to effectively choose a candidate to take to photograph wildlife and scenery in Antarctica. I was really hoping to see some excellent and creative travel photographers in the final three, but right now I just see portraits and some mildly decent images mixed in? Not sure if this was really done right, but that's not up to any of us. The entrants were instructed to focus on a place (we were restricted to a country) as this is a travel photography scholarship. We were told to look at last year's winners to see what he did that took him above the rest. I'm sure people actually followed those instructions. If we had been told to gather up 5 intimate portraits from inside a house and use that to explain why we would benefit the most from an amazing opportunity in Antarctica, I'm sure we would have.”
“Interesting that the first and second place are both from Australia and do not have, what I would call, particularly strong portfolio's.”
“yes, they do tell a story, a very nice story, but it is a story of people, of a couple, not of a place. yes, a home is a place, but it is not a story of their home, it is a story of the people. if it is a story of a home, then how does the portrait, photo 5, fit in? i know, i know, we could go on forever about how the people relate to the place...place/ people, people/ place, blah blah blah. sour grapes on my part. Congrats to the winner.”
“So they just wanted portraits basically?”
“Well, hasn't this been a learning experience. It's great to know that next time I want to win a travel photography competition and tell a story about a place I should take portrait photographs of my grandfather. How enlightening…”
I think the thing that disappoints me most about this is that I thought the fact that I’m not a portrait photographer wouldn’t be a factor here. The assignment was to shoot a place, and the prize was to go shoot at a place with no native human population. Yes, pictures of people can be an important element when shooting a place, but they aren’t always required, so I didn’t feel I needed to shoot somewhere with people. 
Well, there are always other contests to enter. I’ll just keep trying.

Hey, I won something from Quark Expeditions!

No, it wasn't a trip to Antarctica, but it will help fuel my addiction.

Quark Expeditions tweeted on Wednesday: "Retweet this post within the next 48 HOURS & be entered to win a SIGNED copy of Return to Antarctica by Adrian Raeside! http://tiny.cc/2jccL"
I retweeted it, and this morning got a DM asking for my address so they could send me the book I won!

As for the World Nomads trip, not so much winning there. :(

The winner & the short list were posted. I'm not on either.

I have some thoughts on the winner that I'll be posting in a separate post.

Still waiting...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009


The winner of the worldnomads.com 2009 Photography Scholarship was supposed to be announced on October 19th. But they hadn't let me know I was the winner yet... I went to the site today to check out who won and found this in the comments: 

Hi everyone, 
A winner for the World Nomads 2009 Photography Scholarship is still undecided. 
Our judges have been so overwhelmed by your response that we need a few more days to make the final selection. 
We will send an email out directly to all applicants announcing the winner as soon as we can.
Thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Tara Parsons
World Nomads
  scholarships Oct 19, 2009 8:53 PM


And also followed by this comment from Jason Edwards who is the photographer I'll be going to Antarctica with:
Hi Everyone!
I have just read all of your recent postings, they are great and yes it is very exciting! I was sitting here smiling as I don't even know who the winner is myself!! Apologies for the delay but here is a a little background on the judging.
After all entries are received and we confirm the entries are loaded correctly the judging process begins at National Geographic Channel, World Nomads and other locations. The finalists from these rounds of judging are then collated for overlaps and a Finalist list compiled.
This list is then sent to me to judge and select the final candidate. I rely on the other judges to assess the overall entries so that I am fair and fresh with every entry I eventually judge. Having a variety of people review entries also creates a mixed set of results which is great.
After I receive the list I have my assistant download all of the images and place them in folders without names attached. I then judge each of the entries not knowing who shot them, where they live, whether they are male or female, even their age. I do not allow myself to be influenced by anything other than the images.
I rate each of the judging criteria out of 5 and log them into a spread sheet. Each finalist is assigned a number, last year there were about 10, this year I accepted 32 as there were so many strong entries! After i have completed the image judging I assess the written components and assign scores out of 5, to two additional criteria.
Only then do I create a calculation field to tally all of the individual totals and see what is the largest score. I then reveal the name of the person who is attached to that number eg finalist 17 or 25 etc. That is the first time I find out who the winner is! If more than one person has the same score I re-judge those candidates before revealing the winners name.
I hope you understand we take this very seriously and it has taken a little more time given the strength of your entries. With luck I should complete the judging today so depending where you are in the world you might receive this post and the winners name at the same time.
Thanks again for your fantastic entries you have made it very difficult. And yes we are already planning 2010!
Best Wishes
Jason
 Jason Edwards Oct 20, 2009 11:19 AM


The site has now been updated to say that the recipient of the Scholarship, along with the best entries will be published on WorldNomads.com on October 23, 2009.
At least they're based in Sydney, Australia so the 23rd there is actually the 22nd here. Even though the trip would be awesome, I'd also be totally thrilled to be on The Shortlist. After all, this is a National Freakin' Geographic photographer doing the judging y'all! To get onto the short list even would be quite the accomplishment. 
But, of course, we all know I'm going to win, right? :)

If at first you don't succeed...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Well, I didn't win the Quark Expeditions Official Blogger contest. I ended up coming in at about 22nd place or so. Not too bad considering I started a month & a half after the contest first opened. Thank you all for going and voting for me! It meant a lot that so many of my friends & family were willing to help me out. The guy who was in the lead ended up getting over 11,000 votes, so I really wasn't too surprised that I never caught up to him. I guess having a radio show where you can pimp for votes daily helps a little...

So, I've got this shiny new blog, and nowhere to go. What now?

I'm going to keep trying!

Plan B:

Getting votes didn't work, so now I'm trying with my mad foto skillz!

WorldNomads.com had partnered with the National Geographic Channel & Gap Adventures to award one exceptional individual the chance to go on assignment with renowned wildlife photographer Jason Edwards to Antarctica! (http://journals.worldnomads.com/scholarships/post/32554.aspx)

To apply you needed to do the following:
1. Shoot a series of photos (maximum of 5) that tell a story about a place you have visited. The judges will be looking for:
* originality
* ability to convey a story through photos
* excellent technique
2. Upload your photos (maximum of 5) from this theme to Flickr and;
a. Use the image captions to tell us about the place you photographed.
b. Numerically number your photos in the title if you wish them to be considered in a particular order.
c. Please do not use any Flickr tools that highlight certain parts of your photos as this only hampers the judging process.
d. Add the images to the
World Nomads Scholarship Group. Only photographs in this group will be considered.
3. Complete an entry form which includes a 300 word (max) essay on why you should be chosen and copy and paste the links to your photo series. Your written response will have significant weighting in the judging process, so think carefully about why you should be chosen. Remember this is a learning opportunity, not a junket for professional photographers.

So I applied. And now I wait. With fingers & toes crossed.
My photos were a lot better than many that entered. Unfortunately, there were also some I felt were better than mine. We'll see. It's up to the judges. The entry deadline was last Sunday, and if I win I'll know within the next 2 weeks.

The pictures I entered were from the Fort Snelling Upper Post. I went to photograph it twice; once right at sundown with some gorgeous light, but only from the outer edges, and once in early afternoon so the light wasn't great, but it was with a tour so I got to go behind the fence to get different views. Such cool buildings. It'll be a real shame if they don't get restored before crumbling completely away.

The five pictures I submitted were these (Just click on any of them to see a bigger version):
Fort Snelling 1

Fort Snelling 2

Fort Snelling 3

Fort Snelling 4

Fort Snelling 5

Looking for votes in creative ways

Sunday, September 13, 2009

This contest isn't about getting people you know to vote to send you to Antarctica. It is about getting people you know to vote, and then get people they know to vote, and then get those people to get people they know to vote, etc. It is not just a popularity contest, it is a marketing contest.


As time gets shorter and I need more votes I'm starting to get more creative in who & how I ask. Most of you who know me in real life already know that I am Jonathan Coulton's Merchandise Minion when he plays in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I have already gotten Mr. Coulton to tweet the link to vote for me. Unfortunately his zombie hoards did not come out in the numbers I was hoping for. Zombies must not have email.

I have been avoiding form letters when reaching out for votes. I don't want to annoy people with form letters, and I want to convince them with the personal touch.

On that note, I just send one of my strangest ones so far! Here is the email I sent to John Hodgman, Daily Show Correspondent and the PC in the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials. With over 80,000 followers on Twitter, lets hope he goes to bat for me!


Mr. Hodgman,

As someone who knows everything, can you help me learn SOME INFORMATION THAT I REQUIRE? I would like to know if Antarctica is real. Because the interwebs are full of lies & crazy talk I can not believe them when they say that it is. This is something I must find out for myself.

I am trying to use the interwebs to get to this mythical land to see if it is there. I have entered a contest at http://www.blogyourwaytoantarctica.com/blogs/view/548 and the winner of this contest will be decided by who receives the most votes. I would like to ask you a favor. Would you tweet and/or blog the link to my voting page and ask your minions to vote for me? I have made a conveniently short url for the TwitterLand: http://bit.ly/FrozenSharon or if that is too long, http://bit.ly/frzn will also work, although it is not as catchy & easy to remember.

I have offered to bring back a penguin for everyone who votes for me. I could send you your penguin through the U. S. Pony Express upon my return, or if you would prefer, I could wait and give it to Mr. Jonathan Coulton, Mountain Man Extraordinaire, at his first Minneapolis performance after my trip. Although, given his lack of care for your cats, that is probably not a wise option.

Because I am not an Internet Superstar, or Daily Show Correspondent, or anyone of consequence really, I have been reduced to asking those sorts of people to pimp me out for votes. Mr. Coulton and his two manservants Paul & Storm have already asked the TwitterLand to vote for me. I'm not in the lead yet though, so they are obviously not powerful enough. You sir, would be powerful enough.

If you are thinking to yourself right now that this is intriguing, but you have an aversion to helping complete strangers, we are not strangers. We have met once before in the strange land of St. Paul, Minnesota. I forged a bond with your strange mountain man companion that night by bribing him with homemade cookies. I am his official Minneapolis Merchandise Minion now. On that fateful day in St. Paul, I also had a Moose. Here is evidence of the Moose:

If I can get the votes to go to Antarctica, you won't be sending just me. A vote for me is a vote for Moose. This Moose has traveled to 5 continents and met Celebrities. He will be going with me to Antarctica, if it does indeed exist. Will you help us? Don't do it for me. Do it for the Moose.

If your schedule of Important Business does not allow you the time to write a Tweet, I can do it for you. Perhaps something simple like: "Does Antarctica really exist? @HellZiggy & Moose want to find out. Vote for them at http://bit.ly/FrozenSharon & then RT this."

Thank you for your valuable time, Mr. Hodgman, and I look forward to your reply.

Sharon Snyder, Future Antarctic Explorer

More than 300 words

Friday, September 11, 2009

300 words for a blog entry just doesn't seem like enough to convince someone who doesn't know me to vote for me. Unfortunately this contest is mostly a contest to see who can get the most votes, not who is the best choice to send to Antarctica.


So why am I the best choice? Simple. I really really really really want to go! Honestly, that's why we all entered, isn't it? A better question would be, if I did get selected to go, what would I have to offer?

Well, I'm not a professional writer, but I do know what I am doing. There won't be any of the grammar mistakes that make intelligent people want to stab their eyes out. (Notice the correct use of there/their in that sentence?) I know the difference between its & it's, between there, their, & they're, and between your & you're. I've been keeping a journal online since 2002, and have a very conversational writing style.

In addition to my journal at LiveJournal, I keep up with the latest social media trends. Twitter's popularity may have exploded when celebrities such as Oprah & Ashton Kutcher joined, but by that point I'd already been using it for almost two years. I also have active accounts at Facebook and Flickr.

If I am selected to be the Quark Expeditions Official Blogger, my blog entries won't be just writing. I'm an amateur photographer who has been taking photos since my first photography class 20 years ago. I joined the digital revolution in 2003 with what was then Canon's top of the line prosumer camera, the G3. Since then I've upgraded to a digital SLR, the 40D, which I will be bringing with me to record all the beauty & detail of Antarctica.

My favorite things to photograph are nature, both animals and plants, landscapes, and architecture. Here are some samples of my work. These were taken in a 3 hour time frame on July 18, 2009 when I participated in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk in Minneapolis.

SKPW16

SKPW8

SKPW10

I also love taking pictures of birds. I can hardly wait to take pictures of penguins in the wild!

8076

Now that you know a little about what I have to offer, how about learning more about me?

I'm 39 years old. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN with my husband of 15 years, Rick, and our two cats. I just received my A.A.S. in Graphic Design and Visual Communication. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. Before settling on Graphic Design, I had studied Zoology and Photojournalism. Currently, I'm employed at a camera store where I work in the photo minilab printing other people's vacation pictures.

Rick & I love to travel, but can rarely afford to. The first time we saw an ocean I was 31 years old and Rick was 32. We never left the country until I was 34 & he was 35, and that was just a day trip to Canada. When I win this trip to Antarctica we will have another milestone. At 39 & 40 years old we will be leaving North America for the first time.

It won't be just Rick & I on the trip. We will be bringing my little buddy, Moose, with us. Moose is a Beanie Baby moose that I've had for over 10 years. He goes with us on our vacations, as well as traveling with friends when they go cool places. I may have never left North America, but Moose has been to 5 continents already. Besides his travels here in North America with us, he's gone to England, Italy, and France with friends. He also just recently went to Ethiopia, and has been to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The 5th continent he's been to is Antarctica. Yes, he's already been there even though I haven't! I met a guy working at McMurdo Base through his blog, and he graciously agreed to host Moose for a visit. I also take pictures of Moose with different celebrities I meet. He's met folks such as Alton Brown, Adam Savage, Penn & Teller, James Marsters, Kevin Sorbo and even a Blue Man from the Blue Man Group! If you are on Facebook you can follow Moose's adventures on his page here.

Well, that's all for now. I plan to keep updating this page with info about me, about how I'm doing on the contest, with special thanks to people who help put out the call for votes, and with samples of my photography. Even if I don't win this contest, I intend to get to Antarctica some day and this blog will chronicle how I get there.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for updates!

Sharon, the Quark Expeditions Official Blogger (hopefully!)

Penguin!


I took this penguin picture in California. That's silly. I should be taking penguin pictures in Antarctica!




I'm ready to go!

Hi everyone! I have entered the Quark Expeditions Blog Your Way to Antarctica competition. Here is my entry:

You may not know it yet, but I am the person you need to send to Antarctica. In fact, I am so confident that you will choose me that I have already submitted my passport application and am knitting myself a scarf!

I am quite simply the best, most fun choice to be the Official Quark Expeditions Blogger. Through my blog I will show you the excitement and joy of someone who has never left North America when she gets her first look at a new world. You will see Antarctica through the eyes of someone whose previous international travels consisted of only 4 days in Canada.

Like many people, I’ve wanted to travel the world since I was a child but have never had the means. I have, however, travelled vicariously through my job (printing other people’s vacation pictures), through my postcard collection (no friend ever went on vacation without me asking for a postcard), and through my travel companion, Moose (when my friends go to cool places they take Moose). Moose even has a Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/MooseSnyder - which shows all the exciting places he has travelled to. I can’t wait to add pictures of myself with him on his return trip to the bottom of the Earth. (He went without me last time!) Now it’s my turn!

I’ve journalled on the internet since 2002, blogging about all aspects of my life. I have active accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. As an established amateur photographer, I use these sites to share my experiences, as well as to keep up with my international friends.

For me, this truly will be the trip of a lifetime, and through the internet I will share it with you all and the world.