5 Things To Do When Entering Photographic Competitions

Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail

Photography competitions are fickle things. There is an element of luck in any competition and you could have the most amazing image and still not get placed. While controlling what the judges feel and see in your images is something you can’t control, there are aspects of entering a photography competition you can control.

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Sand, Wind and Time - Commended award in Scottish Landscape Photography of the Year.

Last week I found out that my image “Sand, Wind and Time” was given a commended award in the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. This spurred me on to finish selecting my final entries for Landscape Photographer of the Year. I was discussing this with my good friend Chris Sale and he reminded me of the tips on photo competitions that I had shared with him over the years and so he suggested I make a video about them all. Well, that’s just what I did. So here are the 5 things I do when I enter a photographic competition:

As you will have noticed in the video, most of the things I do are fairly logical and process-based, but they are still critical in being successful in a competition. The old saying, “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” is very true here.

Before I go I must thank Andi Campbell for sharing his tips for entering photography competitions. Winning Wex Photographer of the Year is far from easy so I know you will be most impressed with his work when you visit his website.

Just a short blog post from me this week, but I hope enjoyed it and you picked up a couple of tips. Are you entering a photography competition this year? Are you planning on entering LPOTY? Do you have any tips of your own? Let me know in the comments below.

5 Great Landscape Photography Books - On My Bookshelf S01E01

A New Video Series

For me, photography books are still very important in my development as a landscape photographer.  I value the experience that a book gives me.  Rather than simply just scrolling through an image feed on one of the popular photo sharing sites, reading a book gives me the time to really look at a photograph.  It's a more involved experience and I like the way it forces me to take time away from the computer to look at an image in detail.  Besides, looking at photographs in print is always a great experience.

So I've decided to create a new series of videos for my YouTube channel called On My Bookshelf. In each video will talk about a book (or even a few books) that are important to me and tell you why.  I think we all should spend more time reading photography books, and hopefully, these videos will give you some ideas on what to read next.

5 Great Landscape Photography Books

For my first video in this series, I tell you about my 5 favourite landscape photography books.

I hope you enjoyed the video and that it has inspired you to grab your favourite photography book.  If you are interested in picking up any of the books I mentioned in the video, you can use the following links:

1. The Causeway Coast by Steven Hanna (ISBN 978-0857043047) - Amazon or direct from Steven for signed copy

2. The Art of Landscape Photography by Ross Hoddinott and Mark Bauer (ISBN 978-1781450529) - Amazon

3. Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 26 (ISBN 978-0565093952) - Amazon

4. Photographing Cornwall and Devon by Adam Burton (ISBN 978-0992905132) - Amazon

5. Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 1 (ISBN 978-0749552244) - Amazon

The links used above are Amazon affiliate links. By buying through the links I may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price for you.

There are a number of exciting landscape photography books coming out over the next few months so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you get notified when I publish a new episode of On My Bookshelf!

So do you have a favourite photography book?  Which photography book are looking forward to seeing next?  Let me know in the comments below.

My Year So Far...

Holidays!

In this blog post, I'm going to take a brief look back at my first half of the year as a landscape photographer.  I would normally do this type of blog post at the end of the year but as I'm on holiday at the moment I haven't been doing much photography so I don't have any photographic adventures to tell you about.  By the time you read this though I'll be back in the UK and weather permitting I'm back out shooting the landscape.  Normal service should be resumed next week!

The Good

It's been a good year for me so far as a landscape photographer.  I've been working hard and I'm out shooting more than I've been in any other year.  The effort has paid off and my work is getting viewed by a much wider audience now.  This is thanks to successes such as:

• South West Coast Path 2018 Calendar Competition - though I didn't win the overall competition it was still great to get placed and you will be able to see my image of Start Point as the January 2018 photograph.  You can pick up a copy from the SWCP Shop.

• YouTube Channel - though I started my landscape photography channel last year, it is the first half of this year that I've have seen a significant growth in subscribers and video views.  My video of my adventure in Glencoe gave me a great boost, and my video on printing, and my 5 Minute Photo Adventure series have helped the channel to keep growing.

• Outdoor Photography Magazine - I've had a few images published in Outdoor Photography magazine this year.  This has included images in their monthly competition and in their Locations Guide section where I had to author the text as well as provide the images.

• Improve Photography - I also started writing articles for improvephotography.com this year.  I've written about a wide range of topics so be sure to head on over there and read my articles such as this one on printing at home.

The Not So Good

I'm going to keep this bit short.  I don't like to dwell on the negatives too much.  Unfortunately, it was another year of not making the shortlist in Landscape Photographer of the Year.  Despite the lack of success I still value competitions like this as they help inspire and drive my photography.  You can read why in this blog post I wrote last year:  The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions.

My Favourite 3 Images

Finally, I'd like to share my favourite 3 images of the year so far.  This is a tough choice as I have a decent pool of images to pick from thanks to numerous trips out with the camera.

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Porth Nanven

Glencoe

Trevose Head

So there you have it.  It's actually been a positive exercise writing this blog post.  With the lack of success in LPOTY putting a bit of a damper on my photography, looking back at my photographs and other success I feel recharged and ready for the remainder of the year.  Autumn is just around the corner and I've got a couple of photography adventures in the planning stage so there is plenty to look forward to!

Have you had a good year with your photography so far?  Do you have any big plans for the remainder of the year?  Let me know in the comments below.

My Top 5 Tips to Improving Your Landscape Photography

Tips for Landscape Photographers

I've been shooting landscapes since I got my first DSLR back in 2006.  However, it's probably only in the last few years that I've started to really progress as a landscape photographer.  

In this vlog, I share with you the 5 things I think will help you improve your landscape photography.  This is a personal list, and not even necessarily the only 5 things you should do.  It's just 5 things that I did that had a direct impact on my landscape photography.  Hopefully, some of them will work for you also!

In Summary

I explain the tips in the video, but for those of you who are currently unable to watch the video, the tips are:

1. Practice - Make sure you practice your photography. Practice lots!

2. Be Inspired - Have plenty of sources of inspiration!

3. Get Involved - Go on a workshop or enter for a magazine feature!

4. Get Sharing - Share your work or enter a competition!

5. Adventure - Get out there and go on a photography adventure!

And there is a bonus tip, but you'll just have to watch the video for that one!

So do you have any tips you want to share?  What things did you do to improve your skills as a photographer?  Which of my tips are you going to follow?  Let me know in the comments below.

Inspiration and Influence

A Source of Inspiration

Inspiration is a powerful thing and for landscape photographers it can come from many sources.  It could be from seeing in image in a magazine you were reading over a coffee one morning, or from a visit to an art gallery to see the work of some of the greats.  Either way, I'm not sure many of us would have become photographers if we hadn't been inspired by someone or something. 

As a landscape photographer (who is still learning his craft), I gain a lot of inspiration from the work of other landscape photographers.  In particular I have been heavily motivated by the inspiring photographs in competitions such as Landscape Photographer of the Year. (Read my thoughts on photography competitions here).  Images like those found in Landscape Photographer of the Year have driven me to shoot more and improve the quality of my work.  Without the influential and inspiring works of others I probably would have chosen to ignore some of those 4am alarm calls or have chosen to open a bottle of wine in the evening.

In this blog post I discuss my personal photographic influences. These are the photographers that have not only inspired my creative style but also given me encouragement to publish my work, write this blog and even create videos. 

Thomas Heaton

I first discovered the work of Thomas Heaton on the Improve Photography podcast  where I pleased to hear a British photographer being interviewed.  Not only does Thomas Heaton produce stunning landscape images but he produces fantastic YouTube videos on how he goes about his photography.  It was content that I could connect to and relate to. 

His stories are wonderfully told and though I'd been thinking about blogging and vlogging for a while it was definitely the viewing of Thomas Heaton's videos that gave me that final inspiration to just get on and do it.   His images also are a great source of inspiration.  So much so that I've purchased his 2017 calendar which you can see here and purchase here.  That calendar should encourage me to see a few more 4am alarm calls.

And if you ever need some motivation or inspiration for you landscape photography check out this wonderful video by Thomas Heaton called Wake Up.

Not only is this video by Thomas Heaton inspiring, but it is a great example of how to produce engageing content.

Jared Polin - Aka FroKnowsPhoto

As with Thomas Heaton I discovered the work of Jared Polin on a photography podcast, but this time it was TWiP.  It's hard to describe Jared in words but larger than life seems apt.  His work has influenced and inspired me in two ways.  Firstly his photography has greatly influenced my music work (see my blog post on My Other Photography Life).  Through his YouTube channel I have learnt not only how to go about shooting live music but how to work my way up from shooting local venues to music festivals run by national broadcasters.

He has also been very influential in how I style the content that I'm writing now and will be in the future. If there was ever a great example of how to produce compelling and entertain content it is him.   His free video guide to branding is well worth a download and I recommend you subscribe to his YouTube channel.

My first landscape photography video.  I'm trying to make engaging content, something that Jared is a master at.  I have a long way to go, but we've all got to start somewhere.

David duChemin

David's work and videos have been inspirational in developing the artistic style of my images.  His YouTube channel has a wonderful series of videos in which he delves into the art of photography.   Topics such as intent, composition, processing and printing have all influenced my approach to photography and how I output my images.  It inspires me to improve my process and approach to taking images in the field. 

Though I will probably never visit some of the locations David has photographed, images like the those found in his Portraits of Earth collection inspire me to improve my artistic skills and develop my own personal style.

When I shot this image I had a vision in mind. It also didn't need much post-processing. This kind of approach to my photography has been influenced by the approach taken by David in his videos.

Ross Hoddinott

Ross has probably has probably inspired me the most in my journey as a landscape photography.  This will be largely due to the regular contact I have with him (see my post on Tuition and Mentoring).  Through the many 1-2-1 tuition sessions I've had with Ross I have learnt a great deal about photography and how to approach and shoot the landscape.  With each new photography skill learnt from Ross my confidence grows and it is with that growing confidence that I find myself being even more inspired to not only shoot more but to drive up the quality of my images.

Furthermore I find his images inspiring as not only is a lot of his work local to me but I find he produces images of a style and quality that I wish to aspire to.  Just check out his wonderful image of Dawlish Warren in this link. 

I created this image of a groyne on Dawlish Warren after being inspired by the work of my photography mentor Ross Hoddinott.

Always Look for Inspiration

While all these photographers have inspired and influenced my artistic style, each one has also influenced my photographic journey in other ways.  Photography is so much more than just taking images and through following the work of others I have been inspired to extend my skills as a photographer by taking on challenges such as writing this blog.

I continue to find new sources of inspiration and influence, and hopefully one day the pictures I take or the content I create will inspire a photographer to produce something special.

Which photographers inspire you to get out of bed in the morning?  Do we even need inspiration or should we try to find our own direction from the start?  Let me know in the comments.  

The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions

Measuring Success

There are many ways to try and measure the success of your photography.  You can post your images on social media sites such as Flickr, Instagram or even Facebook and see how likes you get.  If you are a full time photographer you can measure your success by how well your business is doing. 

I measure the progression of my photography skills in two ways.  Firstly I have my images regularly critiqued by a professional photographer (see my post on Tuition and Mentoring).  This provides invaluable and detailed feedback on my images that I can use to further develop my skills.  The other way I measure progression is through my success (or failure) in photography competitions.  For me having my work recognised in competition provides some sort of validation for my photography.  Some people may consider this shallow or vain, but for me photography competitions have often been a great source of inspiration and being placed in one of the more prestigious competitions would be a great source of pride and joy. 

Entering Competitions

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One of my entries in LPOTY 2015.

It's only recently that I've actually started entering images into competitions.  Though I've always I wanted to enter I probably lacked some of the commitment to achieve this in the past (see my bog post on Practising the Craft of Photography).  Over the last couple of years I've put a significant amount of effort into being placed in Landscape Photographer of the Year (LPOTY).  I fully appreciate that going from entering no competitions at all to being successful in LPOTY is a bit of a jump but for me LPOTY is the pinnacle in landscape photography competitions.  So I'm aiming high that's for sure but seeing an image printed the LPOTY book would be for me at least, a dream come true.

The good thing about having such a lofty goal is that it has driven me to get out more with my camera and improve my photography.  In 2015 I entered a number of images into LPOTY  but failed to have any shortlisted.  At the time I was gutted not to have progressed anywhere.  I had put a significant amount of effort and passion into those images, and the rejection was painful.   

Rejection and Motivation

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This image was shortlisted in OPOTY 2016 but it unfortunately didn't make it any further. It was however published in Outdoor Photography magazine (issue 206).

However, I use that pain as a way to motivate myself even more!  I decided to submit some of my images in the Outdoor Photographer of Year competition (OPOTY) in 2015.  One of my images was shortlisted for the competition but that was as far as it went.  The image did go onto win the monthly competition in Outdoor Photography magazine which was a huge confidence booster.  I love Outdoor Photography magazine so seeing my image in print there was really pleasing.

So for the 12 months following the end of LPOTY 2015 I worked hard at my photography.  I was out shooting more than ever and I undertook more 1-2-1 tuition days with my mentor (see blog post on Tuition and Mentoring).  By the time LPOTY  2016 had come around I had already had a few images in Outdoor Photography magazine published and I had won a local photography competition.  

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One of my entries in LPOTY 2016.

When I entered my images for LPOTY 2016 I was more confident and was excited about the possibility of being shortlisted.  The excitement was unfortunately short-lived as I soon got that email that had caused me so much pain last year.  But I'm not letting it get me down.  After all, who knows what the judges are really looking for?  It's not to say that I necessarily had a bad image it might be that it didn't appeal to that particular judge at that particular time.  Art competitions are fickle things so some of my entries from previous years will be submitted again.  They might just strike a chord with someone else.

I invest a lot of time into these photography competitions and while rejection is painful, that just makes me try even harder the following year.  I'm already hard at work for my OPOTY 2016 portfolio and of course my LPOTY  2017 portfolio.  If I do ever get placed in one of these prestigious competitions it will be joyful day.  Of course with such a singular goal what would I aim for after that?  I'll just have a cross that bridge when I come to it but for now I will live with the pain and joy that competitions bring.

So how do you feel about photography competitions?  Are they a painful or joyful experience?  Are they a measure of success or just fickle things where luck is a factor?  Let me know your thoughts.