Last year I entered several images for the International Photography Awards and just discovered (quite by accident) that I won an Honorable Mention - Cityscapes for my City Views Submission. I guess they never formally announced any winners, so when I went to submit again for 2011 I started browsing the last year's winners and found my work. What a surprise! I think I'll print myself a little certificate that I can hang on the wall. I find myself entering a lot of these competitions and forgetting about them...bad habit. Is going through the exercise of submission and the paying fees worth it? I think by being selective, one can hone your skills of efficiently submitting work, which is something you need to do when applying for grants and proposals. This has to be in order, or you'll spend an inordinate amount of time responding to these requests. Have your resume, artist statements, bio, and lo-res image portfolios well organized and handy. I've spent days working on a proposal...felt a lot like doing your taxes! Get your stuff organized and make it easy for yourself. And you may get an award to post on your resume!
