| Marti Belcher | ||
marti@martibelcher.com 703-938-4515 |
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ROLE OF THE JUDGE
A person who decides to critique another's creative work, has taken on a serious responsibility. A good judge learns to leave his or her prejudices at home, while at the same time bringing another perspective to the photographs being entered in the competition.
Photography does not live in a vacuum and often we will see a photograph that harkens back to an Edward Hopper oil or a Jan Vermeer canvas. I believe a good judge has knowledge of these other visual art forms and uses that knowledge to upgrade the relevance of the images presented at camera clubs. We still fight the battle to have photography accepted as an equal art form along side of oil painting, sculpture, etc., and so it becomes necessary for us, as photographers, to work together to produce stronger photography art.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
The criteria are rather simple I believe. Presentation and quality of the print is what strikes me first. I have seen too many poorly printed images given awards because of the WOW factor. WOW is wonderful but a good photographer automatically presents a good print, matted properly. It is important for the new members in the Novice category to see that this standard is established from the beginning.
Design and composition are subjective. Design has to do with balance but sometimes imbalance is the goal of the photographer. To make you, the viewer, uncomfortable is courageous and valuable. Dorothea Lange’s ground breaking work of the 1930’s comes to mind as photography that raised the bar and was empowering.
Sometimes a half of a person is not appropriate, but sometimes it is. There again, I have seen too many pictures eliminated on these grounds because of some old rule set by somebody who knew how things were supposed to be. Henri Cartier-Bresson wouldn't win a blue ribbon with one of these judges and I do believe we need to be a bit more avant-garde with our judging in camera clubs.
Last but not least, I love to see a photographer do something different and risky. Any time you take a photography workshop they stress getting out of your box, stretching yourself, taking risks and being uncomfortable. That is the source of growth for all of us.