Thursday, February 2nd, 2017
Celebrating Success
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 1000 | tripod with wifi-enabled self-timer
I had a different blog post drafted for today but I just found out some exciting news. Usually I don’t share these kinds of things because I’m not comfortable tooting my own horn and prefer for others to notice my success. Sometimes I even think it shouldn’t matter that I succeed at something or if someone notices… isn’t that silly? Now I wonder where Dominic gets his humility? When he is rewarded for a job well done, he says, “Well that’s the expected outcome,” and either refuses to accept the praise/award/reward or throws it away. Umm… yikes. That is all me. In working on myself, in studying perfectionism and anxiety (EXCELLENT book recommendations… Dr. Brené Brown‘s I Thought It Was Just Me and The Gifts of Imperfection), I have discovered that I very rarely share my successes or my stories. So here goes!
I had an image accepted into a juried show. Darkroom Gallery had a call for entry titled Black & White (& Blue), juried by Michael Kirchoff that open March 2nd, 2017 (Anna’s 16th birthday). It’s an image I’m particularly proud of and have had in my portfolio since the day I took it. It’s a black and white image called In Shadow and features Dominic in repose with his face in shadow, the light spilling in from the window behind him illuminating his young body.
It’s exciting to get accepted! Over 900 images were submitted and just over 50 accepted. But in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t really that big of a deal. This is my 13th or 14th acceptance to a total of about half a dozen galleries over the last few years and I get just as many rejections. What makes this so exciting?!? This particular show was my sixth acceptance in three years at Darkroom Gallery and that means I’ve been invited to be a Darkroom Gallery Master with their gallery. From their website:
After three years of great photography exhibitions, we noticed that a handful of photographers are “regulars”. We created the Darkroom Gallery Masters program to acknowledge their consistently excellent work and support of the Darkroom Gallery in our mission.
Darkroom Gallery Masters have been selected to exhibit in at least six of our juried photography exhibitions within the last three years. These photographers create works that jurors repeatedly select due to content, concept, mastery of formal photographic elements and creative approach.
It is a HUGE honor to be a Darkroom Gallery Master and something I’ve been earnestly working toward for the last year or so. I am beyond thrilled. YES!!!
Thanks for looking and for celebrating with me! I want to hear about YOUR successes too! Please come share!!!