"Bleak House" - Potential entry into Southern-themed juried show.

[DemoTex]

"Bleak House"

Too strong? Politically incorrect? Over the top? I'm thinking that it portrays a mindset that keeps parts of the rural South in abject poverty. This photo was taken in upstate South Carolina (serious Tea Party country).

[ohheckyeah]

1. As a southerner I guess I can't be

real objective, which is what you might run into with the jury if they are southerners.

If the theme was northern, would your entry be the most run down part of a ghetto you could find in a big, northern city?

I'm not always the most tactful person, anf I don't want to be offensive, but you did ask. I think it's rather cliched and over-the-top, but that's just my biased opinion.

[alfredo]

2. The difference is whether they take pride in their

Situation.

It's a good photo. If anyone is offended, that's their problem.

[ohheckyeah]

4. I didn't say it was a bad photo

and when you are playing to a jury offending them isn't really the objective, is it?

Have you ever heard of defense mechanisms? Some poor people use them, it's not that they take pride in their situation, they are defensive about it. You can't really tell without knowing a person if it's pride or defensiveness.

It sounds like you are the one offended by my opinion.

[alfredo]

13. I was raised on the wrong side of the tracks. It seemed that

some didn't realize they are reinforcing a stereotype, some don't see the characterization as a bad thing. They call it history, southern culture, heritage. It's a lifestyle choice. It is ignorance as a virtue.

Don't get above yer raisin'

[DemoTex]

3. "cliched and over-the-top.."

I can see that. On the other hand, it was like a rare alignment of the stars: all the cliches right there and ripe for the picking, as it were.

[ohheckyeah]

5. I wasn't trying to be offensive...

I was trying to express an opinion as tactfully as my untactful self could.

You never know who is sitting on a jury so it's a gamble to use a photo that is potentially over-the-top. If you don't care about that, then go for it.

My husband and I lived in a poverty stricken part of Virginia for a couple of years because his job took him there. Were the people there redneck? Yes, but they were also prideful people who hated their poverty and who were some of the most giving and nicest people we met anywhere.

[DemoTex]

6. You were not offensive.

I asked and you answered. This particular show will probably allow me to submit three photos, so all my eggs will not be in this basket, should I decide to use it. And I have - in the past - pushed the envelope on photo submissions to these types of shows, usually to my somewhat pleasant amusement at the results. However, I have learned that judges in southern photos HATE western-themed photos (landscapes).

[ohheckyeah]

8. How weird they would hate

western theme photos if they are SOUTHwestern. We lived in Arizona and loved it, but of course, we are now very glad we don't live there since it's gotten so crazy.

If you can enter three photos that changes things. Like I said, my opinion is very biased as I live in the south and the stereotypes of southerners can get a bit old. We live rural and fortunately don't see things like in your photo in our area, although there are some areas not too far from here where you do see such things.

The photo doesn't offend me, it makes me sad.

[NV Whino]

7. Your choice to enter depends on your mindset

If you enter to win, that's probably not the photo to enter for reasons stated above.

If you enter for fun and don't care about winning, go for it.

Another thing to remember is, you didn't set this up. The person or persons who live there set up the situation. You simply recorded it.

Personally, If I had taken that photo, I would enter it. It's not a pretty picture, but it tells a story. Much better than a pretty picture in my opinion.

[ohheckyeah]

9. I agree that a picture that tells a story is better

than a pretty picture. I've entered photos in contests because of the story, but found that most often pretty pictures win.

[Solly Mack]

10. If the contest is southern themed and the photo reflects an aspect of the south

then the photo fits the contest.

I'm a southerner. I don't find the photo offensive. Some will though. As if you're rubbing their noses in unpleasantness they'd rather not be reminded of. Some will want photos of multi-colored row houses in Charleston or some quaint capture of days gone by in Edisto. Some will appreciate the rawness of your photo.

You're not obligated to make a point in your photography but I do think there is an obligation of truth - of authenticity. Especially when the theme calls for a depiction/aspect of life in....wherever.(North, South, East, West, farm country, big cities, coastal, plain, mountain, etc..)

There are a lot of truths - some of them ugly.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. I love that photo.

It is so poignant and wretched, but I also see a beautifully done photograph. Since you say that you can enter three photos, I would use this one just because I liked it, and let the cards fall where they will. But then again, I never expect to win any contests, so that could make a difference.

[Stevenmarc]

12. A couple of questions?

First does the juried show have a history? If they do then what have the previous accepted entries looked like and is the look consistent from year to year?

Are the jurors listed? If they are professional photographers have you looked at their work? If they are curators then what is their body of curation look like?

These are the kind of questions you need ask yourself if you are seriously entering a juried show.

I've been on both sides of juried shows and it pays to do a little research. It doesn't really matter what we think about your entry, you need to get into the heads of the jury.

[jaysunb]

14. It's a keeper ! And I'm keeping !

This is award winning stuff.

[postatomic]

15. It's a very good photo

Personally, I would desaturate the colors in the flag. You don't need to emphasize it that much. Just fade them a bit.

And Stevenmarc asks some good questions. I'm a little more blunt: find out who the juror(s) is/are and play to that juror or jurors. It's sooooo friggin' subjective.

Good luck.

[justiceischeap]

16. You're right

It's almost as though that's the only thing that matters in the photo... it draws way too much attention to the flag, so why have the rest of the elements in the image.

[DemoTex]

17. Some good advice here and in the posts above! Thanks.

I do know past judges of this particular show. This year's jury has not been announced, but it soon will be. Hanging in this particular show is more important to me than winning. That said, if I can submit more than one image (and if only one can hang), there is the high probability that "Bleak House" will not be the image selected. I'll post another image below that I'm considering entering below ("Ocmulgee River Dawn&quot .

I agree about the flag saturation. Ironically, I already desaturated the rest of the photo almost to B&W (for bleakness) and desaturated the flag a whole lot. But I will pull a little more color from the flag. However, the flag is very important. A nondescript poverty scene, with which I empathize, becomes an in-your-face statement with their old Confederate flag. With the "REDNECK" Confederate flag it is a logic-defying in-your-face up-your-ass assault on the sensibilities of most that see it (and it is less than 10 yards from a heavily traveled highway - SC11).

I shot "Bleak House" from the window of my truck with a little Canon point-and-shoot. Subsequently, the back of the burned truck filled with garbage (and lots of beer cans). The scene got more interesting with a hand-lettered yard sign that said "BIKE REPAIRS." But there were always too many bikers around after that for me to dare get another shot. When another wreck and some derelict motorcycles were added to the front "yard," I decided to get another shot (with a telephoto from the F-Mart (that's ANOTHER story!)) at the first available opportunity. Next time I was by there, with my Canon 5D MK-II and a 70-200mm lens, the wrecks and the "Redneck" flag were gone. Nice curtains went up in place of the flag, leaving me to wonder if the "REDNECK" tenants had moved on to greener pastures.

I'll probably submit a version of this bucolic scene, too:


"Ocmulgee River Dawn"