The T-shirt winner...
At the tender age of 46 I've finally won a photography competition (the first and, so far, only competition I've entered) at choose-film.com.
I've very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand it's deeply satisfying to be patted on the back and told that one has done well, especially as in this case the 'award' was received as a result of voting on the site by my peers. Artists of all flavours are deeply insecure creatures driven to some extent by their egos. Self-criticism is a vital part of the artistic process but it's a tricky balancing act that can lead to us all attacking our own work as worthless. Insightful external criticism is always valuable and can help us to avoid the deep lows and achieve new heights both in our mood and in the quality of our work.
On the other hand I'm philosophically opposed to the basic concept of photo competitions. Photography, like all art forms, cannot be judged in an absolute way. Photography is a matter of taste. How one feels about an image is just that, a feeling. It cannot be categorically stated that one image is better than another. The work of one great master, such as Ansel Adams, cannot be said to be better than that of another, such as Edward Weston. They are simply different.
Highlight this Comment Andrew Jacona17/06/2008, 09:45
I once heard a very great man give a definition of beauty that I will never forget. The essence of what he said was that something that is beautiful, or has beauty, gives more than it takes. I really love this definition because it is so simple. There is no mention of the form of beauty. It is I believe, a spiritual observation. I don't know how this relates to this page or what is written within it but the reason why I feel compelled to share this with you is because I find David's images very beautiful. And also because it's a better answer to the question "What is Beauty?" than the answer - "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
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